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Eric Shipton: Everest & Beyond
Threading his way over Tibetan passes or forcing the forbidding cirque of the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, mountaineering legend Eric Shipton (1907-1977) continues to fascinate readers. Here biographer Peter Steele draws a full-bodied portrait of the self-effacing explorer with new information about his public and private lives. He gives, for the first time, the full story behind Shipton's shocking exclusion from the 1953 British expedition to Everest, a controversy that reverberated through the climbing world long after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully reached the summit.
- GenresMountaineeringTravel
290 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Peter Steele
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 24, 2021
I have been fascinated by the Everest story, but didn't know more than the name of Eric Shipton. The fellow was the elder companion, and dare I say muse, of the younger Edmund Hillary, one of my heroes. When I chanced by this book, I had to get it.
I don't like to recount the bones of a book when I review, believing that I'd rather point generally to a books strengths and weaknesses. It's not cool to overly influence a future reader. Rather, I try to give my overall impressions of the characteristics of a book, supported by examples. Generally, this was a book that I liked beacause if filled in a huge gap in my appreciation of the mountaineering community. The biographer recounted facts as he knew or discovered them, and for the most part suppressed his admiration. The biographer freely mentioned flaws in Shipton's personality and lifestyle while reminding us why he, and we, should see that Shipton is a giant among men and explorers.
The story of Eric Shipton starts with his unconventional boyhood. He found himself on a farm in Africa, where he began his high altitude exploits. He spent some 25 years in Nepal and Tibet exploring far-flung unmapped areas. Mt. Everest always beckoned, and Shipton was among those who explored routes, was turned back annually by shortfalls in navigation and technology, but without his efforts the final thrust to the summit would not have happened when it did. The story is in the book. Shipton's preference was for lightly equipped and manned parties rather than the massive assault teams that were de rigueur. He was an iconoclast and a pioneer.
Thereafter, a restless Shipton found himself in southern South America. As he aged, he continued his explorations of trackless terrain well into his 60's. The book concludes his later years as a legendary climbing expert lecturing on tours and cruises.
Biographer Steele draws heavily on interviews and source material to pull the book together. As such, some of the chapters are a bit more ragged than others, a consequence of lesser material. There are some blanks on the map, so to speak. In the first Appendix, Steele mentions occasional troves of photographs; while there are some in the book, more photos would have been a real help putting faces to the many celestial mountaineering names who interacted with Eric Shipton.
Another failing: while there were plenty of maps, I found them not altogether helpful. Rather than a birds-eye drawing of the areas, it would have been nice to see even an approximation of the routes Shipton's parties traveled amongst the peaks, glaciers, passes, and mountain towns.
I don't like to recount the bones of a book when I review, believing that I'd rather point generally to a books strengths and weaknesses. It's not cool to overly influence a future reader. Rather, I try to give my overall impressions of the characteristics of a book, supported by examples. Generally, this was a book that I liked beacause if filled in a huge gap in my appreciation of the mountaineering community. The biographer recounted facts as he knew or discovered them, and for the most part suppressed his admiration. The biographer freely mentioned flaws in Shipton's personality and lifestyle while reminding us why he, and we, should see that Shipton is a giant among men and explorers.
The story of Eric Shipton starts with his unconventional boyhood. He found himself on a farm in Africa, where he began his high altitude exploits. He spent some 25 years in Nepal and Tibet exploring far-flung unmapped areas. Mt. Everest always beckoned, and Shipton was among those who explored routes, was turned back annually by shortfalls in navigation and technology, but without his efforts the final thrust to the summit would not have happened when it did. The story is in the book. Shipton's preference was for lightly equipped and manned parties rather than the massive assault teams that were de rigueur. He was an iconoclast and a pioneer.
Thereafter, a restless Shipton found himself in southern South America. As he aged, he continued his explorations of trackless terrain well into his 60's. The book concludes his later years as a legendary climbing expert lecturing on tours and cruises.
Biographer Steele draws heavily on interviews and source material to pull the book together. As such, some of the chapters are a bit more ragged than others, a consequence of lesser material. There are some blanks on the map, so to speak. In the first Appendix, Steele mentions occasional troves of photographs; while there are some in the book, more photos would have been a real help putting faces to the many celestial mountaineering names who interacted with Eric Shipton.
Another failing: while there were plenty of maps, I found them not altogether helpful. Rather than a birds-eye drawing of the areas, it would have been nice to see even an approximation of the routes Shipton's parties traveled amongst the peaks, glaciers, passes, and mountain towns.
June 10, 2024
I read a lot about Eric Shipton over 20 years ago & this book was a good refresher without telling me anything new.
May 15, 2011
A nice biography of an enagmatic mountaineer/explorer. His modus operandi seems to be "less is more" as he preferred low-key, minimal personnel expeditions versus the super-sized commercial ones you see these days, like climbing Mount Everest.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews