Structured Chaos

by Victor Saunders

Structured Chaos is Victor Saunders’ follow-up to Elusive Summits (winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize in 1990), No Place to Fall and Himalaya: The Tribulations of Vic & Mick. He reflects on his early childhood in Malaya and his first experiences of climbing as a student, and describes his progression from scaling canal-side walls in Camden to expeditions in the Himalaya and Karakoram. Following climbs on K2 and Nanga Parbat, he leaves his career as an architect and moves to Chamonix to become a mountain guide. He later makes the first ascent of Chamshen in the Saser Kangri massif, and reunites with old friend Mick Fowler to climb the north face of Sersank.

This is not just a tale of mountaineering triumphs, but also an account of rescues, tragedies and failures. Telling his story with humour and warmth, Saunders spans the decades from youthful awkwardness to concerns about age-related forgetfulness, ranging from ‘Where did I put my keys?’ to ‘Is this the right mountain?’

Structured Chaos is a testament to the value of friendship and the things that really matter in life: being in the right place at the right time with the right people, and making the most of the view.

Genres: Climbing, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published March 4, 2021

Reviews

[Luca Signorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure.: Victor is a good friend. It's not my fault he's a great writer too!

"Structured Chaos" is the third and very overdue entry on "Slippery" Vic's climbing memories, the other two being "Elusive Summits" (that won the Boardman-Tasker prize in 1990) and "No Place To Fall.". Was originally going to be titled "A History of Failures", but you know how publishers are! If you're looking for testosterone-fueled, serious tales of dramatic mountaineering exploits, look elsewhere. If you want the real deal, with all the gloriously funny and goofy details of what's like to be a climber, this is your book. Not that in Victor's book you won't read about climbing in remote and scary places: you'll get plenty of that. But climbing itself is just part of the fun.

The rest is about meeting a cast of incredible characters in some amazing place, and all the messy details that follow. So you'll get Victor going back to the Malaysia of his childhood and finding memories may be misleading or being involved in one of the most extemporaneous boxing matches ever. You'll get complicate fighting retreats on K2 and freezing winter attempts of Nanga Parbat. You'll get a lot of glorious climbing failures making for a great climbing trip. You'll get the funny (and the grim) sides of mountain guiding and a lot of hilarious tales about the complications and frustrations of Himalayan climbing. All great stories, and all written in Victor's unmistakable self-effacing style. You'll love it, I promise. And Victor's not paying me to write this, I swear!

[Adrian Trendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that I read this book and am writing this review in less than 24 hours from it arriving should tell you a few things. Firstly, it’s a great book and highly readable. Secondly, we’re in lockdown and work isn’t possible. Thirdly, the weather’s poor otherwise I would have been on the hill.

All joking aside, this was a gripping read and if time had allowed I would have read it in one sitting. A late night read followed by this morning before breakfast saw me finish the final few chapters.
It is only fitting that Mick Fowler, his partner on many epic climbs, wrote the forward and hits the nail on the head, summing the book up as “not so much about achievements. It is about friendships, personalities, experiences and a journey through life.”

The title is inspired as is the reasoning behind it;
‘Mountains have given structure to my adult life. I suppose they have also given me purpose, though I still can’t guess what that purpose might be. And although I have glimpsed the view from the mountaintop and I still have some memory of what direction life is meant to be going in, I usually lose sight of the wood for the trees. In other words, I, like most of us, have lived a life of structured chaos.’

Vertebrate’s website gives a good description of the book;
“Structured Chaos is Victor Saunders’ follow-up to Elusive Summits (winner of the Boardman Tasker Prize in 1990), No Place to Fall and Himalaya: The Tribulations of Vic & Mick. He reflects on his early childhood in Malaya and his first experiences of climbing as a student, and describes his progression from scaling canal-side walls in Camden to expeditions in the Himalaya and Karakoram. Following climbs on K2 and Nanga Parbat, he leaves his career as an architect and moves to Chamonix to become a mountain guide. He later makes the first ascent of Chamshen in the Saser Kangri massif, and reunites with old friend Mick Fowler to climb the north face of Sersank.

Structured Chaos is a testament to the value of friendship and the things that really matter in life: being in the right place at the right time with the right people, and making the most of the view.”
“The Baltoro Blackadder” , “Age Related Forgetfulness”, a bout of boxing in a pub full of National Front supporters, there’s a lot of diversity in this book. Sure, as you’d expect there’s a climbing slant but it’s a very peoplecentric book and all the better for it. Vic might be best known for his epic climbs like the Golden Pillar of Spantik but, to my mind, this book beats his earlier expedition books because of the added human interest, the tales behind the climbs, the cameos of famous climbers, the minutiae of human life. Having survived a winter ascent of the Eigers North Face, Vic and Stevie Haston fall out big time. If you’ve ever met Stevie, or know of his reputation then the following description will strike a chord; “now all the suppressed irritations poured out…we were abrasive and abusive…two pig headed climbers, we were on the verge of coming to blows and I didn’t care. Stevie lifted me by my collar till my feet were flailing inches from the ground and I was so angry I still didn’t care. I watched fascinated as his eyes bulged and the veins on the side of his neck swelled and wriggled like caterpillars. He was turning redder and redder. I understood I was about to come to some very real harm.”

The author is obviously highly intelligent, having originally trained as an architect, and there’s a lot of clever stuff in the writing but I especially like some of the puns. Chapter 13 is called “The Sersank Redemption” and involves climbing a mountain that “looked a bit like the Orion Face on Ben Nevis, only on steroids and grown gigantic.” It’s a reunion with his old climbing partner, Mick Fowler, yet things have changed, a quantum leap from “before it was the usual boys’ blather, food and girls, now it was pensioners’ talk. It could have been heard on any golf course…arthritic limbs…failing eyesight. Fittingly the front cover is a photo of Spantik and pretty much the end of the books is the Sersank chapter. Two hard climbs, epics in their own right but separated by decades, years when Saunders and Fowler didn’t climb together.

Vic won the Boardman Tasker Prize for mountain literature with his previous book, “Elusive Summits.” Combine this with Vertebrate Publishing’s propensity to produce prize winning books and not only is “Structured Chaos” a wonderful read, a worthy addition to mountaineering literature but must surely be in with a chance for an award in 2021.

[Sarah Laing · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read from Architech turned Mountain Guide Victor Saunders. Whilst the climbs are described in detail, the real story connecting all the tales of daring are the friendships forged on the crag or mountain.

Starting from Victors early life in Malaysia, to canal railway embankments in London, to the North face of the Eiger, then to the greater ranges, this is a whirlwind tale of friendship and the memories created in occasionally the most extreme of environments. Those looking for a detailed breakdown of all Victors ascents will be disappointed - this is a tale of the characters that come with the pursuit of the summit and the memories they leave in the mind.

Recommended

[Alex Ekins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book directly from the publisher on it's publication and as soon as I got home I tentatively had a quick look not intending to start reading it. I couldn't put it down. I kept getting to the end of a chapter fully intending to put it aside but I'd just keep going. Each chapter stands alone and each recounts tales from the authors life. Climbing on the Canal path walls of London, K2, a winter attempt on Nanga Parbat and attempts on smaller Himalayan mountains. A well written and compelling read. Very enjoyable.

[Neil S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly absorbing, entertaining and brilliant read. A gem.
In his Foreword, Mick Fowler recounts how Victor describes his life so far as 'Structured Chaos' and what an apt title for this book of personal memoirs. Not by any means a typical autobiography, it is, as Mick says, a book about friendships, personalities, experiences and a journey through life.
This much anticipated book is long overdue especially given that Victor's previous award winning titles 'Elusive Summits' and 'No Place to Fall' were published back in 1990 and 1994, respectively. Note to self - must re-read these two classics again soon. If you don't have them, seek them out.
I had high expectations for 'Structured Chaos' and was not disappointed. Victor leads you through his varied life in an extremely entertaining, informal and often witty way. Rather than you reading the book, it is more like Victor is there chatting with you and re-telling many of his best or most memorable life experiences and talking about those enduring friendships. It is compelling and, should time or tiredness have allowed, could easily have been read in one sitting.
If you were expecting a typical account of peak ascent after peak ascent, then it isn't, for that read the Alpine Journal. Instead this is a refreshingly different, almost wacky sometimes, very honest, heartfelt and reflective journey through a rich and varied life.
The story starts with a trip to re-visit a small village in rural Malaysia where Victor spent his early childhood, continues through boarding school days in Speyside, before student days in London in the late 1960's/early 1970's. This is where he discovered climbing, making his way down a dark and dingy alley to the only climbing store in the city, then up several rickety flights of stairs to a Dickensian attic to buy his first climbing harness, rock shoes and steel snap link, a precursor to his first trip climbing in the Avon Gorge.
An 'internship' in Japan was followed by a spell as 'the oily rag' working his passage on a rather tortuous journey back to the UK on a freezer boat. The 5th chapter, 'London Calling' describes Victor's first meeting with Stevie Haston which leads to an Eiger winter epic. Climbs on the brick walled London canals are enlivened by descriptions of some of London's architectural gems, a hark back to his original profession.
The book then continues with an eclectic mix of stories including amongst them tales of Mick Fowler; a boxing match; K2; Nanga Parbat; his career change and a very personal family history; early guiding; illegal use of a sat phone near the disputed Indian/Pakistan border; the question of whether lecturing on avalanche avoidance makes you an expert or not including a very reflective story about the loss of his close friend Roger Payne on Mont Maudit, an incident Victor could so easily have lost his life on should he not have decided to delay his departure from the hut; a climb on Chamshen; chess moves; back climbing with Mick on Sersank; pensioner discussions; etc. The book is full of surprises. You really can't wait to start the next chapter to see what it will reveal.
Go and enjoy

[Dave Hume · Rating 5 out of 5]

“An irritating little squirt…”
The quote is by Mick Fowler, one of Victor Saunders’ long time climbing partners, from his first impressions on meeting him. Saunders is one of Britain’s top Himalayan mountaineers and authors. His climbing CV is impressive and he is a fluent, funny and quirky writer. Two of his earlier books won prestigious prizes for Mountaineering Literature. ‘Structured Chaos’ is how he describes his life, and the title matches this autobiographical account perfectly. There is little of the conventional about Victor Saunders. His family heritage is exotic – his grandparents fled Nazi Germany, his father was a decorated wartime Commando, an escapee from POW camps, a police superintendent in Singapore, and later the household comptroller for a Malaysian Sultan. Victor’s mother was a Russian emigrée who met his father in Hong Kong. Victor was born in Scotland in 1951, and spent his early years in Malaysia before returning to school in Scotland, where he traumatically encountered the game of rugby.
“All the other boys seemed already to be stubbly bearded men, a foot taller than me and bulging with threatening muscles. My future looked unappealing”. Victor had poor eyesight and asthma and unsurprisingly hated school, especially games. After school his next stop was to study architecture in London, and it was then that he discovered climbing, firstly in the Avon Gorge.
An architecture internship in Japan saw him short of cash to return home to complete his studies, and he cadged a job as an “wiper” (“….at the bottom of the hierarchy….I was literally the oily rag”) on a 4000 tonne refrigerated cargo ship that took a very long way round – Australia, Fiji, Panama, USA, Canada – before he made it back to London.
While bouldering on canal-side walls, Victor met Stevie Haston and they planned to climb the North Face of the Eiger. His alpine training involved walking round Stockwell on tiptoes because of a tip that you needed strong calf muscles to climb in crampons. His subsequent successful ascent with Haston is an understated epic – “I had long since given up the luxury of being frightened. So when he (Haston) fell off, I merely observed his body fly past until it was jerked to a halt by the belay. It was his pitch, and therefore it was his problem.”
From the 1980’s to 2019, Saunders records a series of winter and exploratory high altitude climbing that places him amongst the top British climbers. His expedition tales are full of humour, self-deprecation, warmth towards companions, retreats, failures, tragedies, successes, hardship, toilet troubles and some very hard climbing in very remote terrain. Saunders now lives in Chamonix as a Mountain Guide.
Structured Chaos is not a typical Himalayan climber’s memoirs – it is a collection of memorable personal events by a fine writer, whose life energy and wry asides burst through each tale. As a reader, I still don’t know what makes him tick, but he is certainly still ticking.

[Michael Righton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having spent a brief time working with Victor, this book fills in many but not all of those behaviours and curiosities that he comes out with. Anyone travelling with Victor are exposed to the most wonderful in-depth, inspiring and fascinating conversations not to
forget the debates!
In awe of what he has achieved on the mountain and while this book gives us a glimpse of some amazing successes, it also makes us aware that mistakes can be made but it’s about how we respond to them that makes him such an excellent guide and climbing companion. This book is a small glimpseof his life as it simply could not include all his stories and experiences… perhaps that’s the next book.

[P M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read with a strong and distinct voice from the author. It feels light hearted yet thoughtful, like a chat over a cup of tea and cake. It tells the tale of the authors climbs through his varied friendships and the climbs (and journeys) that the author has been on. For those who want all action and climbing detail it may be lacking but it looks into the far more interesting topic of what, why and with whom these escapades are engaged in.
On another note this is very readable, and not in a bad way, to be thoughtful whilst also so engaging is a testament to the authors ability.

[MR ALAN MACKAY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another prize winner?

I have read all Vic's books so came to this with high expectations. I wasn't disappointed. He leads us through his wonderful, chaotic life by way of chapters that would each work on their own. There are musings on friendship, on ageing, on what it means too climb. I found it entertaining and moving in equal measure. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in climbing and mountaineering. I also hope he wins another award for it.

[H G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. The book contains a series of stories, which at first appear a little disjointed, but when read as a whole give a glimpse into the life of the author. Each story keeps the readers attention, and as you read more, you get an idea the events that shaped Victor's life.
An enjoyable easy read, with plenty of adventure!

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 32 of 2022: Structured Chaos by Victor Saunders (2021, Vertebrate Publishing, 180 p.)

"...going to the right place, at the right time, with the right people is all that really matters. What one does is purely incidental."
Colin Kirkus (1940), quoted in Structured Chaos by Victor Saunders.

The author, Victor Saunders, characterizes his life as "structured chaos". He thinks of This as having a clarity of purpose that gets muddled in the effort to live life. This collection autobiographical essays centering around Saunders' climbing life and three life long bonds forged over the decades...and the effects of these advancing decades, injury, and the loss of friends can have on it. He writes of going to the right places, at the right time, with the right people...especially the right people.

This book was a joy to read. Saunders is a skilled and engaging writer.

One of the last essays in the collection particularly resonated with me. It describes Victor reconnecting with a climbing partner from long ago in his 60s for a Himalayan expedition. It was encouraging to me as I enter kicking and screaming into my 7th decade of life with a leg injury that constantly threatens me with throwing in the towel on outdoor pursuits.

Like the author, I have been blessed with many right people in my life.

I highly recommend this collection.

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right place, right time, right people. 4/5

This is not your usual mountaineering book and I liked Victor’s chatty, precise style. The writing is almost luxurious at times and he has a good turn of phrase, for example describing himself in a sleeping bag as a mummified worm. He’s had a great life and certainly made the most of it, and this book takes a step back to reflect on that. To be still climbing in the Himalayas in his 70s with Mick Fowler in his 60s is simply awesome and very inspiring. There are chapters on revisiting his childhood in Malaya, time spent on a cargo ship returning from Singapore, and of course many tales of climbing around the world. The book lacks much cohesion though, so is more a scattered collection of interesting stories from his lifetime. In today’s world full self-obsession and ‘stoke’, Victor comes across as old school, with low ego and an understated way of describing climbing trips – I admire and appreciate this. The one underlying thread through the book is friendship, that life is about doing things with people you enjoy being with - amen to that.

[Agnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would I Recommend It?
YES, if you like mountaineering books.

Thoughts
I LIKED IT! I am such a sucker for mountaineering books!

More words and thoughts to follow, but now, now I must get sleep so I can go hiking tomorrow.

It's really more like 4.5 stars. Only a couple of reasons why it's not a full blown 5. I have to be fair to other mountaineering books I've read. There are comparisons happening now.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read dozens of mountaineering books over the years and this is by far my favourite due in large part to Saunders’ incredible humour and wit.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Mountains have given structure to my adult life. I suppose they have also given me purpose, though I still can’t guess what that purpose might be. And although I have glimpsed the view from the mountaintop and I still have some memory of what direction life is meant to be going in, I usually lose sight of the wood for the trees. In other words, I, like most of us, have lived a life of structured chaos.’

This opening paragraph of Victor Saunders’ hugely enjoyable memoir gives a flavour of just how engaging his writing style is and why I found it almost impossible to put his story down – not many books tempt me to stay up until the early hours of the morning so that gives you some idea of how good this one is! He tells his remarkable story via thirteen chapters, chronologically tracing his journey through life and reflecting on the experiences which have shaped him. He begins with his early childhood, which he spent in the forests of Malaysia, ‘running around half-naked in the tropical sun with my younger brother, Christopher’ until, aged ten, he and his brother were returned to Britain to be ‘incarcerated in a miserable Scottish boarding school’. The reader then follows him as he recounts tales which show his progression from starting to climb as a student, to scaling London’s brick canal-side walls, to the North Face of the Eiger, to eventually climbing in the Himalaya and Karakoram; over the decades he has been on more than ninety expeditions and climbed on every continent. However, his accounts of his experiences don’t concentrate on the challenges or technical difficulties of these climbs (although some of the wonderful photographs show how challenging many were!) but instead are told through the experiences he shared with his climbing companions and his reflections on their behaviour … as well as his self-deprecating reflections on his own! This means that we learn just as much about the failures as the successes, about the tragedies and hardship and, most important of all, about the warmth of his feelings towards his fellow climbers, his respect for them and the value he placed on the friendships which were forged through their shared experiences. His accounts are full of humour, capturing the sense of fun – and of the ludicrous – all of which seem to encapsulate an essential part of the author’s approach to climbing mountains … and to life.
I appreciated his honesty about how frequently life has felt (and still feels!) confusing when, faced with having to make decisions, he’s found himself juggling with apparently contradictory ideas, beliefs and feelings. He addressed this in his prelude by quoting two different ‘creeds’:
‘Sybarite’s Creed: Never bivouac if you can camp. Never camp if there is a hut. Never sleep in a hut if you can use a hotel.’
‘Climber’s Creed: If you were not cold, you had too many clothes. If you were not hungry, you carried too much food. If you were not frightened, you had too much equipment. If you got up the climb well, it was too easy.’
His conclusion? He believes in both creeds ‘wholeheartedly and without reservation’, recognising that his ‘erratic path’ through life has been shaped and influenced by people rather than places … ‘it’s not the mountains that remain with me but the friendships.’
From the moment I started reading I felt I could hear his voice so vividly that it felt almost as though he was in the room with me, not only sharing his recollections but, as a result of his frequently rather philosophical reflections on his experiences, inviting me to ponder in a similar fashion! And, on a very personal level, I loved that his account of visiting the YHA shop (down a dingy alleyway just off London’s Strand) reawakened some wonderfully vivid memories of my first visit there (in late 1960s) to buy a tent, sleeping bag, walking boots, maps and a rucksack in preparation for a week of fell-walking in the Lake District!
I found this is a wonderfully entertaining, thought-provoking and, at its core, very intimate, memoir from a man who, even if he at times fears he’s losing his memory, has certainly not lost any of his zest for life. The publisher describes the book as ‘a testament to the value of friendship and the things that really matter in life: being in the right place at the right time with the right people, and making the most of the view’ and I think this is a major reason why its appeal will extend far beyond the world of the climbing fraternity. I recommend it without reservation.
With thanks to the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Tim Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read

I really enjoyed this book it was very easy reading and engaging. Probably the inverse of what I'm reading about. All the stories are well detailed and have a nice mix of humour and fun. Having said that the tales are very interesting and informative. I highly recommend this book.

[Klemen Lipovšek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing life

Mr Saunders brushed with death more than once. Crazy climbing stories, rescue stories and searching for his roots. Worth a read.