True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent on AnnapurnaIn a startling look at the classic Annapurna -- the most famous book about mountaineering -- David Roberts discloses what really happened on the legendary expedition to the Himalayan peak. In June 1950, a team of mountaineers was the first to conquer an 8,000-meter peak. Maurice Herzog, the leader of the expedition, became a national hero in France, and Annapurna, his account of the historic ascent, has long been regarded as the ultimate tale of courage and cooperation under the harshest of conditions. In True Summit, David Roberts presents a fascinating revision of this classic tale. Using newly available documents and information gleaned from a rare interview with Herzog (the only climber on the team still living), Roberts shows that the expedition was torn by dissent. As he re-creates the actual events, Roberts lays bare Herzog's self-serving determination and bestows long-delayed credit to the most accomplished and unsung heroes. These new revelations will inspire young adventurers and change forever the way we think about this victory in the mountains and the climbers who achieved it. |
Contents
ONE June 3 | 13 |
TWO Resistance | 28 |
THREE Looking for Annapurna | 45 |
FOUR Breakthrough | 70 |
FIVE Deliverance | 95 |
SIX The Woods of Lété | 119 |
SEVEN The Meditation of Rébuffat | 135 |
EIGHT The Silence of Lachenal | 158 |
NINE The Passion of Terray | 192 |
TEN Une Affaire de Cordée | 212 |
Note on Sources and Acknowledgments | 226 |
Other editions - View all
True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent on Annapurna David Roberts Limited preview - 2013 |
True Summit: What Really Happened on Mauric Herzog's First Legendary Ascent ... David Roberts No preview available - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
Adèle Aiguille alpine alpinist Alps Anna ascent avalanche Ballu bivouac boots Camp IVA Chamonix Chamonix guides chop chop chop cliff climb climbers Conquistadors cordée Cornuau Couzy Couzy's crevasse death descend Dhaulagiri Eiger Everest expedition feet Fourès France French frostbite frozen Gaston Gaston Rébuffat Gérard Herzog glacier Grandes Jorasses hands hero Herzog and Lachenal Himalaya ice axe Ichac JEAN COUZY Jean-Claude June knew L'Autre Annapurna Lachenal and Herzog Lachenal wrote Lachenal's diary Lionel Terray Louis Lachenal Lucien Devies Makalu Marcel Schatz Maurice Herzog memoir Michel Guérin Miristi Khola Montagne mountain napurna never night north face Oudot pair peak pitches piton published purna reached the summit ridge rock rope route Schatz seemed seracs Sherpas slope snow Starlight and Storm story summit photo teammates tent Terray and Lachenal Terray and Rébuffat Terray's tion toes told took turned Vallée Blanche Walker Spur writes