Incredible Ascents to Everest

Standing 8848 metres above sea level, Mt Everest is a geographical giant. Ever since it was established that the mountain is indeed the tallest in the world humans have tried to taming it. The terrain is treacherous, the weather unpredictable and the atmospheric conditions extreme, danger of injury, illness, delirium and even death is ever present. Despite this, over the last 90 years, hundreds of men and women have attempted this perilous journey to the peak and many have lived not only to tell the tale, but bask in the warm glory of the fame that this achievement naturally brings with it. But it is more than a quest for fame, that drives ordinary people to undertake this most extraordinary challenge of all.

For people like George Leigh Mallory and the men of his generation the challenge was not just personal, they were attempting to scale the mountain on behalf of humanity. It was 29 years after Mallory's disappearance that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to stand on the peak of Mt Everest. The mountain, it seemed, could be tamed. Those who came after were driven by a variety of reasons, but whatever their motivation, each of the climbers included in this book overcame extraordinary odds to reach the top of the world's tallest mountain. In the process not only did they create history, they also shattered stereotypes to redefine the limits of possibility.