The next horizon;: Autobiography II

by Chris Bonington

The first volume of Chris Bonington's memoirs, I Chose to Climb, was published in 1966 and told of his initiation into mountaineering, from schoolboy beginnings, culminating in the British ascent of the North Face of the Eiger and his decision to turn professional. The Next Horizon picks up where that volume left off and relates his subsequent adventures as a mountaineer, photographer, journalist and expedition leader. The book opens with a journey to Chile to climb the Central Tower of Paine in 1962 and it ends in the summer of 1972 with preparations for the autumn Everest expedition which in the event only just failed to put a British climber on top of the world's highest mountain for the first time. Here we learn more of the charismatic generation of climbing personalities with whom he travelled as well as the development of Chris Bonington into the devoted family man and celebrity he is today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, Mountaineering, Biography, Climbing

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Chris Bonington was educated at University College School, London and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He was commissioned in the Royal Tank Regiment in 1956. He spent three years in North Germany in command of a troop of tanks and then two years at the Army Outward Bound School as a mountaineering instructor.It was during this period that he started climbing in the Alps, making the first British ascent of the South West Pillar of the Drus in 1958 and then the first ascent of the Central Pillar of Freney on the south side of Mont Blanc in 1961 with Don Whillans, Ian Clough and the Pole, Jan Dlugosz. At that time this was one of the most difficult climbs in the Alps and even today is considered one of the great classics of the Mont Blanc region.He made the first British ascent of the North Wall of the Eiger in 1962.

Reviews

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I have to hand to Chris is that this book is warts and all. It shows him being somewhat unreasonable about competition on the climbs. For example, his group have been in Chile for weeks and got nowhere with the climb yet when another team arrive they virtually try to force the guys to climb something else in what amounts to bully boy behaviour! Chris gets mad about when someone else gets the chance to maybe lead the climb or summit first out of envy. It seems extreme and dumb but he is honest enough to admit to it. I enjoyed reading about the expeditions including the days where nothing happens as it gives you a feel for what really happens. Again there is a lot of drinking and stupidy and safety fails but it is all in there.

The one thing that gets me about climbers is the level of selfishness they can display though this is a matter for their family to deal with rather than for me to judge. However in this case while he is climbing a volcano his child tragically dies and he of course rushes home. I totally get why they want to move away from the memories but Chris starts dictating where they should live to better suit his career the rare times he is home. He wants to take his wife away from her friends and the area she loves to suit him, when he is away climbing most of the year! I just found it staggering that he could do that and I would have said no to him especially under those circumstances. But if she agrees, well what can you say? The moral for me is don't marry a climber! This was another entertaining book with some good climbing adventures so I look forward to reading the books he wrote about some of the bigger expeditions he was on.

[Lee Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much content focused on his journalistic assignments for my liking, although the Annapurna expedition was a good finale.

[Steve Bennett]

I