A Slender Thread

Description

Published by Hutchinson, London, 2000, 1st UK Edition, D/w, Fine.    Stephen Venables is a British mountaineer and author, who is best known for his 1988 new route on the Kangshung Face of Everest, completed solo and without supplementary oxygen, making him the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen.  This volume tells the story of the successful 1992 Indian-British expedition which made the first ascent of Panch Chuli V, a remote 6,437 metre peak near Nanda Devi on the borders of India, Nepal and Tibet.  The summit party was Venables, Steve Sustad, Dick Renshaw and Victor Saunders, supported lower on the mountain by Chris Bonington. On the descent, however, an epic ensued, with Venables taking a 300 foot fall, miraculously surviving but breaking both legs.  The story for the whole team then became an extraordinary one of survival and retreat, involving the British and Indian climbers’ skill, compassion and courage.