Chris Bonington Mountaineer by Sir Chris Bonington

Chris Bonington Mountaineer by Sir Chris Bonington

'Very few books have been published that illustrate comprehensively the mountaineering struggle in its tight arena of stark challenging savagery, and provide some hint of the sheer scale of the peaks and a feeling for their moods.' - Ken Wilson Chris Bonington's Mountaineer is a photographic autobiography of his 30 years of climbing on the world's most challenging mountains. In the 420 photographs collected here we are permitted a frank perspective into the surreal, majestic, mundane and occasionally tragic corners of Bonington's incredible mountaineering career. Whether in the Arctic, the jungle, or on an 8,000-metre peak, these pictures provide the detail of daily life on expedition, the action of the climbing and the majesty of the mountains. Few climbers can match Bonington's consistent success rate. He ranked among the world's most accomplished mountaineers for over 30 years. Today, he is one of the most famous and respected climbers in the world. This photographic autobiography underlines his characteristic openness and, of course, his unparalleled successes.From his 'foundations' - climbing in the Lakes, Yorkshire and Scotland - Mountaineer takes us to the Alps and on to an expedition apprenticeship in 1960s Kathmandu. This quickly leads to trips to Patagonia, the Karakoram, the Amazon, Baffin Island and the River Nile, before the meat of Bonington's career begins with Himalayan big walls and 8,000-metre peaks. Accompanying Bonington's photographs are morsels of climbing and exploration history. His prose is conversational; the reader could be flicking through a photo album with Bonington giving an explanation of each shot from just over his or her shoulder. The overall result is a penetrating insight into the motivations and fears of a driven climber who set out year after year from a life of comfort and success to test himself amongst the world's most savage mountains. A beautiful book, Mountaineer is a must for anyone with a love of or interest in exploration or climbing.

'A gem, both in terms of climbing history and pure scenic mountain photographic art' (The New York Times). 'A visual triumph!' (Stephen Venables, Alpine Club Journal). 'A coffee table book par excellence. The photos, well chosen and admirably reproduced, constantly remind us of the reasons we go to the mountains - Bonington's life story is by definition exciting and unique.' (Steve Roper, American Alpine Journal).

Born in 1934, Chris Bonington - mountaineer, writer, photographer and lecturer - started climbing at the age of 16 in 1951. It has been his passion ever since. He made the first British ascent of the North Face of the Eiger and led the expedition that made the first ascent of the South Face of Annapurna, the biggest and most difficult climb in the Himalaya at the time. He went on to lead the expedition that made the first ascent of the South West Face of Everest in 1975 and then reached the summit of Everest himself in 1985 with a Norwegian expedition. He has written 17 books, fronted numerous television programmes and has lectured to the public and corporate audiences all over the world. He received a knighthood in 1996 for services to mountaineering, was president of the Council for National Parks for eight years, and is the Non Executive Chairman of Berghaus and a Chancellor of Lancaster University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781898573302
ISBN 10	1898573301
Title	Chris Bonington Mountaineer
Author	Sir Chris Bonington
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Baton Wicks Publications
Year published	1996-10-01
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable