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High Achiever: The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington
Sir Chris Bonington has been the best known mountaineer in Britain for almost forty years. This text examines his deepest motives and reveals the joys and occasional despair of living a life at the limits of physical and mental exp.riences.ir Chris Bonington has been the best known mountain eer in Britain
- GenresMountaineering
Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Jim Curran
14 books10 followers Jim Curran has been around on the British climbing scene for over forty years. Over that time he has sought, and succeeded, to express himself creatively through a broad range of work. As a cameraman he has filmed 15 mountain-based documentaries, ranging in subject from Everest to the remote Scottish islands of St Kilda and Hoy, via the Andes, Caucasus and Atlas mountains.
He also filmed, scripted and narrated the documentary, Rock Queen with Catherine Destivelle, the French climbing superstar, which won him an Emmy Award for outstanding electronic camerawork.
As an award-winning biographer, his work has covered similar ground. Trango, The Nameless Tower, K2 - Triumph and Tragedy, Suspended Sentences, and K2 - The Story of the Savage Mountain, are all important reads in the field of mountain literature. He has also written the authorised biography of Sir Chris Bonington: High Achiever - The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington.
More recently, he has returned to his early passion – painting – as his chosen means of expression. He has had two one-man exhibitions of his paintings and drawings: at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, and most recently at the Alpine Club in 2004. He is now painting full-time.
He lives in Sheffield where his painting is constantly interrupted by the attractions of the Peak District in general, and the attractions of climbing on gritstone outcrops in particular.
His films and books have won many awards world-wide, and he has been short-listed four times for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.
He also filmed, scripted and narrated the documentary, Rock Queen with Catherine Destivelle, the French climbing superstar, which won him an Emmy Award for outstanding electronic camerawork.
As an award-winning biographer, his work has covered similar ground. Trango, The Nameless Tower, K2 - Triumph and Tragedy, Suspended Sentences, and K2 - The Story of the Savage Mountain, are all important reads in the field of mountain literature. He has also written the authorised biography of Sir Chris Bonington: High Achiever - The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington.
More recently, he has returned to his early passion – painting – as his chosen means of expression. He has had two one-man exhibitions of his paintings and drawings: at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, and most recently at the Alpine Club in 2004. He is now painting full-time.
He lives in Sheffield where his painting is constantly interrupted by the attractions of the Peak District in general, and the attractions of climbing on gritstone outcrops in particular.
His films and books have won many awards world-wide, and he has been short-listed four times for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 8, 2025
Chris Bonington is the most famous British mountaineer and alpine climber. In 1970 he led the successful British expedition on the South Face of Annapurna, and in 1975 the expedition that he led conquered the South-West Face of Everest. His climbing record includes hundreds of peaks and extremely difficult routes on many continents.
On Goodreads, I reviewed Bonington's account of the 1970 expedition, titled Annapurna South Face. My interest in the British climber results from a slight personal connection. Almost half a century ago, I worked in a research group with Jan Wolf, a prominent Polish climber and mountaineer, who told me stories about Bonington's colorful persona.
High Achiever is a solid account of Bonington's life and climbing career. We read about his difficult childhood in a wartime, single-parent family and about the awakening fascination with mountains. We learn about his short British military career and follow his increasingly difficult climbs. Then comes the mature period, when he became one of the world's most accomplished climbers and a successful leader of large mountaineering expeditions.
The biography confirms my friend's stories about Bonington, particularly about his absent-mindedness and propensity for changing decisions. Yet it is a very sympathetic biography (Jim Curran, the author, participated in several adventures together with Mr. Bonington), and the reader gets the picture of a tough, strong-willed, yet sensitive and honest person with great organizational skills, equipped with a gift of perseverance until the task at hand is completed. Yes, there were some conflicts when he was leading large expeditions, yet, eventually, all sides agreed that his leadership was effective and his actions were most likely to achieve the goals.
On Goodreads, I reviewed Bonington's account of the 1970 expedition, titled Annapurna South Face. My interest in the British climber results from a slight personal connection. Almost half a century ago, I worked in a research group with Jan Wolf, a prominent Polish climber and mountaineer, who told me stories about Bonington's colorful persona.
High Achiever is a solid account of Bonington's life and climbing career. We read about his difficult childhood in a wartime, single-parent family and about the awakening fascination with mountains. We learn about his short British military career and follow his increasingly difficult climbs. Then comes the mature period, when he became one of the world's most accomplished climbers and a successful leader of large mountaineering expeditions.
The biography confirms my friend's stories about Bonington, particularly about his absent-mindedness and propensity for changing decisions. Yet it is a very sympathetic biography (Jim Curran, the author, participated in several adventures together with Mr. Bonington), and the reader gets the picture of a tough, strong-willed, yet sensitive and honest person with great organizational skills, equipped with a gift of perseverance until the task at hand is completed. Yes, there were some conflicts when he was leading large expeditions, yet, eventually, all sides agreed that his leadership was effective and his actions were most likely to achieve the goals.
November 6, 2019
My mind was a little boggled by this story. Tiffany semed to have a very blasé attitude about her experiences. Her tone was a little off putting I can't see that she really cared about anything but her own welfare and outcome and that is all well and good but I found her lack of empathy off putting.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews