Descent into Chaos: The Doomed Expedition to Low's Gully

by Richard M. Connaughton

In early March 1994, five members of a British Army expedition emerged from Low's Gully, a five mile long hell hole falling away from Mount Kinabalu in the jungle of Borneo. However, the achievement of the five - mostly fit and able young British non-commissioned officers - in being the first to conquer Low's Gully was overshadowed by the fact that the other five members of their team - two relatively old and senior British officers and three young novice Chinese storemen and guards - were apparently still lost in the gully. What had gone wrong and why had the group broken the golden rule for such expeditions - never split up?
The rescue attempt by Malaysian and British servicemen and local people became a daily feature in the newspapers and on television. Then the five, seemingly against the odds, were found alive and reasonably well. Shortly afterwards, one of the officers sold his story to the Daily Mail and publicly blamed the members of the first group to emerge for the debacle; these claims were repeated in a book, SOS, subsequently written by the two officers. Yet the findings of the Board of Inquiry into the incident went against the officers, the Board taking the view that the leader's judgement and leadership were flawed.
Richard Connaughton's search for the truth behind this bizarre story took him around the United Kingdom and to Sabah, Eastern Malaysia. The result is this, the first balanced account of what became the notorious debacle of the Low's Gully expedition.

Genres: Climbing

142 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair, I read the "other" book first written by the officers involved and I think this has perhaps prejudiced me in some way. In fact, now I feel the need to go back and reread that book for comparison. I wish this author had just written a fair and balanced narrative about the story, which he does seem to do, but without mentioning the shortcomings of the "other" book. Or, if he felt the need to do that, then perhaps specific examples from the book rather than vague criticisms should have been used, but I suppose legally he might not be able to do that. I have changed this rating several times back and forth between a 3 and 4 star. I admire the work and research that has gone into this work and appreciate someone setting the record straight, but truthfully, if I had picked this up first and had no knowledge of the officer's account, I would have found it a little boring.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I know, the ONLY Canyoneering expedition book available, makes for a surprisingly good read. A bunch of "experienced outdoorsmen" try to do the biggest, baddest canyon in the world. They fail - and have to get rescued - big surprise. Connaughton's telling of the tale is straightforward and level-headed, unlike the two officers that "led" the expedition. And he keeps it short and free of filler. An engaging read for us canyon-heads.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The events themselves are riveting, but the writing is somewhat lackluster and fraught with British-isms and phrasings that complicate a smooth reading.

Anyway, this is just the latest book that displays the corruptibility of military brass, and the extent to which they'll go to build themselves up at the expense of the lower-ranked. Maddening.

Recommended for leech lovers.