Suggested Reads
A trip to the mountains and cultures of Asia, or indeed anywhere, is greatly enriched by reading about the region before arriving. Once in a while books come along which we feel merit special mention. Every few months we will be updating this short list with books that have inspired us and we feel will do the same for you.
Mount Everest: The Reconnaissance 1935
Tony Astill's award winning book (Banff 2006) is one of the best-kept secrets of historical mountaineering literature. It should appeal greatly to non-mountaineers as well because it captures the joy of pure exploration, which fueled the early Everest expeditions. Astill tells the story of the 1935 expedition to Everest under the leadership of legendary explorer Eric Shipton. Also on the expedition was Bill Tilman a close friend of Shipton and a person of equal if not greater abilities and renown. In those days one walked to Everest from Sikkim. Among other challenges faced in simply reaching the peak was the need to circumvent the Ama Drime range which guarded the eastern flanks of Everest. Shipton, like his friend Tilman, had a weakness for the truly unexplored and both men noted that the Ama Drime range and its great peaks such as Nyonno Ri (‘crazy mountain’ in Tibetan) offered what much of Everest already had lost-the opportunity to explore untrammeled valleys and countless nameless summits. Though the expedition eventually made it to Everest and succeeded in climbing part way up the great peak, they were defeated largely because they had ‘squandered’ the fine weather window exploring the Ama Drime. This is wonderful book that captures a vanished era and the personalities of fascinating men. Amazingly, the Ama Drime Range is still largely unexplored. For those interested in a taste of that era of exploration, see High Asia’s trip to the region in our Exploratory section . For more information on Tony Astill’s book please see this website : http://mounteverest1935.co.uk/
WARRIOR WANDERER: The Life and Times of the Legendary Explorer Bill Tilman.
Once in a while we stumble on books that influence our entire lives. For me, the writings of H.W. (Bill) Tilman and Eric Shipton, are such books. Mr. David A. Glen, filmmaker and author, has written a wonderful life of Bill Tilman which captures the explorer, the military man and the shy intellectual that he was. Quoting from the book: “Short and wiry in stature, Tilman was renowned for his fortitude on mountain expeditions high in the Himalaya, vast tracts of which he had helped pioneer, often shouldering loads equal to those of the tough little Sherpas. Yet he was also something of an enigma to those who followed his odysseys. He was a shy, taciturn character who never boasted of his extraordinary achievements…. Other than some lectures he gave following each of his expeditions, he inevitably retired to his home in Barmouth to write his books, fifteen of which remain as some of the finest travel narratives ever written.” Read this book and then, for those of you that have not, discover Tilman’s unmatched Mountain Travel books. For more information on Glen’s biography of Tilman and the film he has made on him as well, please see this website: http://www.tilman.tv/index.htm
Mountains of The Mind: A History of A Fascination (winner of the Somerset Maugham and Guardian First book awards)
Robert MacFarlane has written a truly magical book. All the more so in that it comes from the fertile mind of man whom at the time of writing was little more than 25 years old. Robert articulates an ancient connection we humans have for high and wild places-one that exists even in those who never actually travel to these places. “His story begins three centuries ago, when mountains were feared as the forbidding abodes of dragons and other mysterious beasts. In the mid 1700s the attentions of both science and poetry sparked a passion for the mountains; Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Lord Byron extolled the sublime experiences to be had on high; and by 1924 the death on Mt. Everest of George Mallory came to symbolize the heroic ideals of his day. MacFarlane also reflects on fear, risk and the shattering beauty of ice and snow, the competition and contemplation of the climb and the strange alternate reality of high altitude..” This is a must read for those who have always felt a primal connection to wilderness in general and mountains in particular.