Everest, the West Ridge

I first read this book in the summer of 1969, and it is anything but dry or boring. Hornbein's matter-of-fact narrative does nothing to diminish the drama and the risk inhering in any attempt on Everest, but especially one in which the climbers descend by a route which is completely new to them. Hornbein also worked very hard to select incredibly beautiful photographs and inspirational quotations from some of the most famous mountaineers of all time. These, combined with the narrative of his own personal odyssey on the West Ridge, make this book into a truly inspirational piece of literature. Those who require sensationalism and hyperbole will not like this book, but those who recognize the drama inhering in any "point of no return" decision to continue going on up will see that no hyperbole is required. The narrative of events is compelling, especially if one has ventured into the high mountains and feels their majesty with both awe and respect--and sometimes terror. For some reason this book changed my life, and those who respond to challenges with the desire to do something worthwhile with their own lives will see in mountaineering a metaphor for every great and risky enterprise.

This book tells the history of the 1.st ascent via West Ridge of Mount Everest by Thomas Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld, both members of the 1963 american expedition lidered by Norman Dyhrenfurth that also putted the first american(Jim Whittaker) on top of Mount Everest.They set out to climb Everest by the traditional route via South Col, but somewhere along the journey to base camp a group of climbers decided that a new route would be the biggest thing still to be accomplished in Himalayan mountaineering, among them were Hornbein and Unsoeld.Hornbein became a fanatic about summiting Everest via The West Ridge through a couloir and with the support of Unsoeld, Barry Corbert,Al Auten, Dick Emerson and some good sherpas, he did it.Corbert and Auten pioneered a route to Camp 5W, followed by some sherpas and by Hornbein, Unsoeld and Emerson. From camp 5W Hornbein and Unsoeld attacked the summit, summiting it at 6:15 p.m. on may 22 1963, them they traversed the mountain and descented via the south col route at night. On the descent they actually found two other climbers(Barry Bishop and Lute Jerstad - that summited that same day)and spent the night out with them at 8000 mt. The rest is mountaineering history.This classic book is a must have in any mountaineering collection and a must read to anyone who is interested in this subject.Note: The only fatality during the expedition was Jake Breitenbach who died in the khumbu icefalls while leading a reconnaissance team. The couloir that Unsoeld and Horbein used to reach the summit is still known as the Hornbein Couloir.

This classic mountaineering volume was written at a time when Himalayan mountaineering was entering a new and exciting phase - a purer seduction of the mountain, where more aesthetic methods and lines of ascent override the basic urge to reach the summit (and nothing else). Tom Hornbein was definitely cast into this new mold, although at the time he was probably not aware of it. This expedition, which was on many occasions threatened with defeat, succeeded in a mountaineering tour de force. Not the ascent by the "yak route", but by pushing a route up one of the most formidable ridges anywhere in the Himalayan chain and traversing the mountain back along the south-east ridge. Without the grit and determination of Tom and Willi, this would have been just another ascent of Everest to add to the ever-growing list. Their dream was borne out in the end. Tom's open and unprepossessing prose is a refreshing change from the pithy accounts of yesteryear, giving the reader more insight into the inner workings, and tensions, of any large mountaineering expedition. A must read for any serious mountaineering scholar.

Willie Unsold and Tom Hornbein would not rest until they attempted the West Ridge of Mt. Everest and traversed to the other side. Barry Bishop and Lute Jerstead arrived on the summit in mid afternoon and waited for Tom and Willie, but started down without them. What happened that night high on the mountain is mountaineering legend. In all but a hand full of nights on Everest, they would have died from the wind and cold. That night the mountain was calm and windless, and they survived. This story from 1963 is as gripping as the first moon landing in 1969. To all who seek adventure in the high mountain world, Everest, The West Ridge lives on.

While reading Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air", I couldn't help but notice how frequently he quoted passages from "Everest: The West Ridge". I now know why. Tom Hornbein gives us his fascinating personal account of the 1963 American expedition to the tallest mountain in the world. The mountain, its weather and even members of the expedition present Hornbein with a myriad of challenges which would have defeated most. He also generously shares with us the spirit and pleasure that is Willi Unsoeld. This is a story as grand as the mountain itself