This anthology, devoted to climbing on the world's two highest mountains, spans the years 1933 through 1996. It describes the development of climbing these two peaks, reminds us that Everest and K2 are among the world most dangerous places, and explains why the world's best climbers cannot stay away from them. The book includes prose about mountaineering's ultimate challenges by writers such as Jon Krakauer, David Roberts and Chris Bonington. Matt Dickinson tells what it is like for an amateur to climb a swaying aluminium ladder on Everest's North Col route; Jim Haberl waits high on K2's Abruzzi Ridge for sunrise over China to warm his extremities; Maria Coffey mourns the loss of her beloved who died on Everest's unclimbed Northeast Ridge; and Doug Scott summits Everest via the difficult Southwest face.