White Limbo: The First Australian Climb of Mt. Everest

by Lincoln Hall

'The best book about mountaineering ever … It should be read by everyone who still understands the spirit of human endeavour, courage and sacrifice and who holds adventure in their heart.' Sunday Telegraph

The highest point on earth - the summit of Everest - is every climber's dream. In 1984, it was the goal of a small team of Australians. They planned a quick, lightweight ascent of an unclimbed route without oxygen. But their battle with storms, avalanches, extreme cold and thin air meant they soon began to run out of time. Walt Unsworth, Everest historian, wrote, 'Their actual achievement was astonishing; one of the greatest climbs ever done on the mountain.'

First published more than two decades ago, White Limbo continues to be a true adventure classic and now contains a foreword by by Bradley Trevor Greive (best-selling author of The Blue Day Book ).

Genres: Mountaineering, Adventure

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Lincoln Hall is one of Australia's best-known mountaineers, with a climbing career that spans three decades. He is the author of seven books, including the bestseller White Limbo, which chronicled the first Australian ascent of Mount Everest in 1984. Hall, who has worked as a trekking guide and edited adventure magazines, is also a director of the Australian Himalayan Foundation. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1987 for his services to mountaineering.

Reviews

[Nick Fowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great adventure! I personally didn’t find the storytelling to draw me into their adventure too much. I enjoyed the information provided on food and equipment etc which does give an insight into the scale and effort of the campaign and production

[Bearly Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read. A great story for anyone interested in the history of Mount Everest climbs. A very honest account of the difficulties and sacrifice needed to even attempt summiting the highest peak on the planet.

[Lloyd Fassett]

12/17/21 found it through this list of mountaineering books https://youtu.be/mC1uDbVdO-M

[Elise Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It did not matter that there was no pot of gold at the top. It was enough to climb the rainbow."

I found the 'Everest in Perspective' chapter very interesting, a good start to a book about the first Australian expedition to summit the mountain.

Lincoln Hall paints a stunning picture of the scenery in Nepal, Tibet and China and the expeditions travels through these places. The big things - the rush of the city, the magnificence of the temples and shrines - interspersed with the little things - a shifting cloud allowing a glimpse at the peaks, the vegetation on the side of the road. He gets a bit overly poetic/cliche at times - "the human world with its endless suffering and ephemeral joys was in the dusty and primitive city below. Above soared the heavens in all their purity" - but you can only take his perspective as exactly that - his personal opinion, seen through his own cultural and spiritual lens. Everything with a grain of salt as far as his musings on culture and society go. And as much as it is a travel/adventure novel and location and scenery are essential elements, he could ease up on the adjectives a bit.

I enjoyed Dead Lucky more - I feel it was a more refined narrative. Perhaps because it was more of a personal recount and this reads somewhere between a lonely planet guide and a project report on the expedition. Certainly still worth the read, but more fact-heavy and less of Lincoln himself in the book, I would say. The final two chapters I found easiest to read, as this was the crux of the story - the summit attempt and its result. There was also less discussion of technical aspects and more focus on the team dynamic and Lincoln's reflections on the climb and the state of mind (and body) that the climbers were in.

Might have been an easier read if I knew anything about mountaineering (there is a handy glossary at the back) but Hall certainly paints an incredible picture of one of the places on Earth that few people will ever experience for themselves.

[Theresa Matheson-Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

i find a lot of media about everest has colonial overtones (white man “conquering” a sacred peak so they can boast about it to their mates etc., usually stepping over other peoples corpses to do so). this book was really refreshing in that the author clearly has a lot of respect for the earth and for his peers. a genuinely interesting read with none of the yuckiness i normally encounter in this genre :)

[Karen Beath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the 1984 attempt to summit Everest from a new route without supplemental oxygen. As usual Hall writes well and he is incredibly humble. It can at times be difficult to understand some parts if you're not a mountaineer but otherwise this was a great read

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not to belittle their achievement but it's not the most eventful climb. Having said that it's really well written and a great insight into what it takes to scale Everest.

[Andrea May · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read - not too technical.

[Drouyn Cambridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

[Leiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love anything to do with Everest so naturally I loved this book about a bunch of Aussies and their adventures with this captivating mountain.

[Jef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one more than dead lucky as it excluded a lot of the mention of sherpa's "taking advantage" of climbers.

An awesome account of the first Australian team to successfully summit everest. Gives decent insight into what it is like to climb from the Tibetan side, which there is less written about than from the Nepali side.