Eric Shipton: Everest and Beyond

by Mr Peter Steele

Peter Steele brings a self-effacing narrator to life by talking to family and friends and by looking thr ough hundreds of very personal letters written over five dec ades. '

Genres: Mountaineering, Travel

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Peter Parziale · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Babs Schmerler · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I can't remember the last time I read a biography, a friend gave me this one to read. As an avid mountaineer, I have heard Shipton's name but had no idea how much exploration and mapping of Pakistan, Nepal, and Patagonia he was involved in. I also did not realize that before WWII most reconnaissance of Mount Everest was from the Tibet side and that parties actually got very close to the summit. The author adding personal details about Shipton's romantic dalliances and relationship with his mother made for a more personal picture. I especially liked the hand drawn maps and excerpts from letters, etc. I usually think of biographies as being somewhat dry, but this one was anything but. Shipton was just as much an explorer as he was a mountaineer. His exploits are well worth reading about.

[Douglas Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a lot about Eric Shipton over 20 years ago & this book was a good refresher without telling me anything new.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.