The Everest Years: The challenge of the world's highest mountain

The Everest Years is Part III of a series of autobiographical books by Chris Bonington. It is a very honest and human account of the period of his life that culminated in him finally summiting Everest at the age of 50, back in 1985. It also covers the details of the deaths of several close friends on climbs, which is always a hard read. He has chosen to have a reflective approach, as some of the expeditions have already had their own books written by him, and here he shows how the expeditions related to each other, and he to the participants on them. In the book Bonington admits his style of leadership is not to everyone's liking, and he is good at highlighting the highs and lows of the inter-personal relationships, particularly on his smaller teams. This is a reprint, under a different imprint, of a book first published in 1986. It does unfortunately suffer from a number of typos, and hyphenations that do not survive different line lengths in the new setting. It is also disappointing that Bonington's excellent photography is poorly reproduced in this edition. On the plus side it is great to have maps of expeditions, and some route overlays on some of the photos. Overall it is an excellent read, detailing some of the ground-breaking expeditions he led (or took part in, as he was not always the leader) in a period when he was arguably the highest profile mountaineer of his time.

Chris Bonington captures the brutal, almost arbitrary cruelty of mountain climbing while capturing the magic that drew him back despite numerous tragedies. A book full of love, for the landscape, the people he encounters on his expeditions and the family he leaves behind. Follow this with Savage Arena by Joe Tasker, the best climbing book I've read and one that dovetails beautifully but sadly with this.

Reading this book, you will get to know a man that has influenced UK mountaineering for many decades with insights on leadership, expedition planning, taking chances and enjoying the mountains.He reminds us the value of family and friendships and how they influence our decision even when we think they won’t understand.His ability to convey situations in such a way that are both heartful and visceral, which will transport you to the Ogre, Everest, Antarctica and many more. Which makes this a must read!

It's a blastLike all of Chris Boningtons books you feel his obsession with climbing and mountains up close and he does not spare himself in anyway.Unlike some of his earlier books this is easier to read for the non obsessive reader,as there is no long lists of gear or detailed plots of who went there and when, just a really good read about a man in love with the high places, and the price that was paid along the way.Like his Annapurna book and "Everest the unclimbed ridge" the sense of loss when yet another co climber is killed is there all the time, together with the love for the beauty of the places he climbs. This dualism between beauty and loss seems to be a constant in Boningtons writing and really make it interesting, also beyoun the climbing and mounteneering parts.His love for the Nepalese people is also clear in the book and is yet another reason to enjoy the book