' As a player & pundit I've seen & experienced plenty of the good, the bad & the ugly. & let's get face facts
- there is still
Sir Chris Bonington's memoir Ascent will chart not only his many triumphs in the climbing world
- such as the Eiger, & the Himalaya
- but also the struggles he has faced in his life bringing up a family, & maintaining a successful & loving marriage over the decades of travelling the world to conquer mountains.
He has undertaken nineteen Himalayan expeditions, including four to Mount Everest which he climbed in 1985 at the age of fifty, & has made many first ascents in the Alps & greater ranges of the world. Along the way we will be fascinated by his many daring climbs, near-death adventures, & the many luminaries of the mountain fraternity he has climbed with, & in some cases
- witness their deaths on the rock. The mercurial Dougal Haston; the legendary-tough Don Whillans, the philosopher of the rock Stephen Venables, & the enigmatic Doug Scott, plus many more – this will be an expert’s opinion on the past sixty years of British/ world mountaineering.
In Ascent Chris also discusses his first wife (Wendy) who tragically passed away after a long battle with motor neuron disease
- his many years of caring for her, & then in his twilight years deciding to return to an iconic climb from his past
- The Old Man of Hoy
- to summit at the age of 80 years of age. He has now also found love again amidst the sadness & grief. It is a truly inspirational tale.
Ascent will be a memoir like no other. Not only a cerebral narrative on what it takes to conquer fear, & learn/ develop the technical skills necessary to climb the world’s greatest peaks; what it is like to survive in places no human being can ultimately reside in for longer than a few months at very high altitude, but also how one overcomes emotional obstacles, too, & rediscover what drives us on to happiness.
Ideal for adrenaline junkies!
This hardback book has 24 x 16.5 x 3.5cm approx.