Mount Everest – Only the sky above

by Helga Hengge

Mount Everest — Only the sky aboveMy journey to the top of the world 29,028 feet — on 27 May 1999 Helga Hengge reaches the top of the world, the highpoint of an exciting career between the extremes of creative work and outstanding mountaineering achievement. In her inspiring account she takes her readers on an adventure through Tibet and up to the summit of Mount Everest offering authentic insights into the dynamics of tackling the ultimate challenge. Accompanied by spectacular images of her two-month long ascent she shares her story of pushing physical and emotional boundaries and the secrets of her success. New York Fashion Stylist Helga Hengge isn't your classic mountain woman. So when she decided to climb Mount Everest, no one expected her to make the history books. Finally, after six weeks of waiting, of hiking up and down between 17,000 and 26,000 feet to help our bodies acclimatize to the altitude, the day of our summit bid had arrived. The weather forecasted for May 27th, 1999, was clear skies — a long-anticipated window between storms. Although it was nearly midnight here at Camp 4, 27,200 feet above sea level, the full moon made it look like morning. The orange down cocoons next to me had begun to stir, and I could hear the Sherpas slurping soup in the silence. The top of my sleeping bag was crusted with snow crystals. I took off my oxygen mask and got dressed in bed, careful not to overlook two layers of fleece, down pants, down jacket, summit socks, heat liners in my boots and gloves; sunblock and glasses in one pocket, water bottle with hot tea in another; cough drops, crackers, goggles and tissues in my pack.To stand on top of the world, to look down over its curve with no higher place to go — it was a vision I'd had in dreams for years. I just never expected I'd climb to the top of Everest and get to see it myself. I'm not exactly your classic mountain woman. I was born in the U.S. to German parents, and although I grew up in Munich, I work in New York City as a fashion stylist for magazines, including this one. The most physical aspect of my job is carrying huge trunks of clothing to and from photo shoots. I like to jog and hike to keep in shape, but I've never been particularly adventurous, either. When I read Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer's 1996 bestseller, I thought everyone in the book was nuts. A huge storm had swept the mountain and killed eight people. The survivors lost noses, fingers and toes to frostbite. Not bad, considering the One of every 10 people who summit fails to make it down alive. Why would anyone do something so obviously self-destructive? In truth, I did have an inkling. When I was a little girl, my grandparents would spend two months a year climbing in the Himalayas — in places such as Butan, Pakistan, Nepal and the tiny kingdom of Mustang, where they were the first Germans to ever set foot. Once a year, they would invite us to watch a slide show of their travels. My grandmother, who had rugged, tanned skin covered with freckles from her weeks spent outdoors, served my mother, my five siblings and me tea. My grandfather worked the projector as we sat on pillows and stared at the wall. There, pagodas glowed golden in the sunset, colorful prayer flags fluttered in the wind and snowcapped mountain peaks towered like waves on a stormy ocean. I was transfixed. One year, however, my grandfather almost died when he tumbled partway down a couloir before his fixed rope could stop him. My mother was so scared by his accident that even when my siblings and I were older and my grandparents had died, she was still reluctant to let us climb anything higher than the mountains surrounding Munich. Helga Hengge, who has dual citizenship, was the first German woman to successfully summit Everest and the first American woman to do so from the North side.

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2009

Reviews

[Kirkirvarpa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Labai mėgstu tikras istorijas. Ir kalnus. Net kai šios kalnuotos istorijos sugula į puslapius ir įgauna tik popierinį tikrumą, man jos vis tiek lieka be galo tikros. Įsivaizduoju tą aplinką. Aukštyn šaunanti aukščiausio pasaulio kalno smailė, sniego pusnys ir ledo uolos. Bandau įsivaizduoti emocijas ir tą beviltiškumo jausmą, kai žengi pirmyn tik po žingsniuką, ir kiekvienąkart po to sustoji, kad įkvėptum kelis didelius gurknšius oro. Kai 50 metrų įveikti yra didelis iššūkis, įšsitęsiantis į pusvalandį ar net valandą. Kai supranti, kad gali pralaimėti. Bet taip smarkiai nori pasiekti tikslą, kad rizikuoji peržengti savo jėgų ribą. Rizikuoji pačiu svarbiausiu - savo gyvybe.
Sunku įsivaizduoti, koks jausmas turėtų apimti, kai po dviejų mėnesių laipiojimo pirmyn atgal, nepakeliamo galvos skausmo, stingdančio šalčio ir begalinio nuovargio pagaliau atsiduri ant viršūnės. Tai yra kažkas stebuklingo.
Puikios emocijos ir galimybė pasijusti įspūdingiausių kalnų apsuptyje.

[Deniz Gürsel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up ‘Only the sky above’ by chance in a second hand sale. I didn’t know the author or the book but it appealed to me as I love the mountaineering genre in general.
I was really really hooked on to this book. I loved how honest she wrote about her feelings on climbing Everest and the time their group spent in the high altitudes. The determinism she had, yet the doubts that any human being would have are simply impressive. Plus she is not only a good mountaineer, she is also a very good writer.
I researched a bit and it turned out that she is actually from Munich and I live in the same city with her for 2 years! I really hope at some point I can attend her talk and get to know her a bit more.
Really great book, 5/5.

[Povilas Stanys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knyga mano rankose atsirado netikėtai ir gana stebuklingai. Vaikštinėjant po Vilniaus universiteto biblioteką ji tiesiog pažvelgė į mane, o aš likau bejėgis pasipriešinti jos traukiančiam žvilgsniui. Ne aš radau knyga, bet knyga surado mane.
Kiekvienas naujai atverstas puslapis, lydint autore į aukščiausią pasaulio tašką, traukė vis labiau ir labiau. Knyga vien savo spausdintais leido išgyventi milžiniško nuotykio įkarštį, aukščio svaigulį, deguonies trūkumą ir jei ne kūnų, tai mintimis pasiekti Everesto viršūnę.
Tai istorija apie svajones. Apie baime, su kuria dažnai susiduriame siekdami tų svajonių išsipildymo. Apie žmogaus valią ir ryžtą. O kartu ir apie abejonę savimi, savo ištverme ir jėgomis, kurią dažnai jaučiame kiekvienas. Tai žmogaus istorija apie žmogiškus jausmus siekiant žmogiškų svajonių, todėl yra labai verta žmonių dėmesio!

[Vita Mikuličiūtė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Labai realistiška knyga apie Everestą ir girl power. Ne tik apie patį lipimą į kalną, bet ir apie visas dramas, įtampas ir konfliktus, susijusius su tuo. Galbūt trūko literatūrinio grakštumo, bet naivoka, matyt, to tikėtis iš prisiminimų knygos.

[Kate]

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