All the other problems which arose were of minor importance, such as the very frequent laryngitis and bronchitis. Some tooth fillings fell out and were replaced temporarily. The Expedition leader suffered an abscess under a wisdom tooth, which I treated with an analgesic and a course of antibiotics, and fortunately it subsided. Some diarrhoea and travel sickness occurred, and the beginning of the panaris of a finger. The broken wrist of the injured Basque climber was given a temporary cast.
On systematic examination we found some results of old knee injuries.
What we were laughing about …
– Drink and piss to save your life.
– One night without a pee means danger.
– Racing at high altitude means running into trouble.
Conclusion
There is only one failure in the mountains: death.
Dr Urs Wiget
We would like to warmly thank the following for their generously donated products:
Food
W. Jordan (Cereals) Ltd Cadbury Typhoo Ltd
Mattesons Meats Ltd John J. Lees plc
Swissco Ltd Fox’s Biscuits Ltd
J. W. Thornton Ltd Shaklee (UK) Ltd
Daniel Quiggin & Son Springlow Sales Ltd
Farley Health Products Ltd Raven Leisure Products Ltd
Ski & Climb International St Ivel Ltd
C.P.C. (UK) Ltd Charles Mackinlay & Co Ltd
Sanctuary Mountain Sports Ltd Brooke Bond Oxo Ltd
George Payne & Co Ltd Lucy Foods
UB Biscuits Ltd Derwent Valley Foods Ltd
Weetabix Ltd Halls Brothers (Whitefield) Ltd
Del Monte Foods Ltd Twinings
John West Food Ltd The London Herb & Spice
Rowntree Mackintosh plc Company
Paterson-Jenks plc The Rock
James Robertson & Sons Chivers-Hartley
Thomas Tunnock Ltd John F. Renshaw & Co Ltd
Joseph Walker Ltd Romix Foods Ltd
Tate & Lyle Ltd Callard & Bowser Group
RHM Foods Ltd The Kenco Coffee Co Ltd
Shepherdboy Ltd Trebor Ltd
John Smith & Sons Ltd Carshalton Confectionery
Cadbury-Schweppes Ltd W. A. Baxter & Sons Ltd
Gear
Epigas Bowater Drums Ltd
Firmin Ltd Stephens Plastics Ltd
Life Support Engineering Ltd Dale Agency Co
The Bristol Wire Rope Co Ltd Reed Corrugated Cases Ltd
Index: Kingdoms of Experience
Abuse Training, Mal Duff theory of, 1
acclimatization, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Advance Base Camp, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 15, 16
Allan, Sandy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68
Allen, Rick, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35
Baltistan, 1, 2
Barton, Anna, 1, 2, 3, 4
Barton, Bob, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
Base Camp, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Basque expedition, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 death of Juan-Jo, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
delays in Lhasa, 1
members of, 1, 2
party with, 1, 2
Bible, Jack’s, 1, 2
Boardman, Peter, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Bonington, Chris, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Boy Racers, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Bricknell, David, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
Bricknell, Ilush, 1, 2
Broad Peak, 1
Buddhism, 1, 2
Camp 1 (CB’s), 2, 3, 4, 5
Camp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Camp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Camp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Changtse, 1, 2, 3, 4
Chengdu, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Chernenko, 1
China, 1
Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Cho Oyu, 1, 2, 3, 4
Clachaig Inn, Glencoe, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Clifford, Dr Adrian, 1, 2,
including ‘Dr Aide’s Go Faster Pill’, 1
Cowboy, hats, 1; Glenmore, 2
Dailey, Anne, 1
Dailey, Terry, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Dalai Lama, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
‘Democratic Rebirth’, 1
Denman, Earl, 1, 2
Diemberger, Kurt, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
Duck, Donald, 1
Duff, Liz, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
Duff, Mal, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75
Ecclesiastes, 1
Egg, 1,000 year old, 1, 2
Everest, Mount, see also North East Ridge first sight of, 1
East Ridge, 1
Hornbeim Couloir, 1
Kangshung Face, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
North Col, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
South Col, 1, 2, 3, 4
South-West Face, 1, 2, 3
Summit, 1, 2
traverse of, 1, 2, 3
West Ridge, 1, 2
Yellow Band, 1, 2
Fear, varieties of, 1
Fyffe, Allen, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38
Fyffe, Eileen, 1
Gangapurna, 1, 2
Glencoe, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Glenmore Lodge Outdoor Centre, 1, 2
Habeler, Peter, 1
Haston, Dougal, 1, 2, 3, 4
hippies, bunch of old, 1 musical tastes of, 1
Hoey, Marty, 1
Hunt, Lord, 1
Irvine, Andrew, 1, 2, 3
Jack or Yan, Chinese interpreter, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Jo-Kang temple, 1
Kalanka, 1, 2
Kanchenjunga, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Karma valley, 1, 2, 3
Karta, 1, 2
Kathmundu, 1, 2
Kekus, Nick, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Kellas, Dr A. M., 1
Lhasa, 1, 2 bazaar, 1, 2
delay, 1
girls, 1
leaving of, 1, 2
party, 1
Luo, liaison officer, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
MacKinlay’s whisky, 1
Maclaren, Malcolm, 1
Mallory, George, 1, 2, 3, 4
Makalu, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
man who wasn’t there, 1
media, problems of dealing with, 1, 2
Men On Ice, 1
Messner, Rheinhold, 1, 2
monasteries, destruction of 1, 2 rebuilding of, 1, 2;
Tashi Lumpo, 1
monsoon, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Mrs Davies’ Hotel, Rawalp
indi, 1, 2, 3
Mustagh Tower, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Nisbet, Andy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
North East Ridge (‘the Unclimbed Ridge’), 1 Ballad of, 1, 2, 3, 4
description of, 1, 2, 3
evacuation of, 1, 2
history of, 1, 2
problems of camps on, 1
First Pinnacle, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
Second Pinnacle, 1, 2
Final Pinnacle, 1
First Rock Buttress, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Second Rock Buttress, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Third Rock Buttress, 1, 2,
Norton, Col. E. F., 1, 2, 3
Norwegian Everest Expedition, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Nuptse West Ridge expedition, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Odell, Ν. Ε., 1, 2
oedema, cerebral, 1, 2, 3, 4 ; pulmonary, 1, 2, 3
oxygen, use of 1 limited, 1, 2, 3
ascents of Everest without, 1, 2, 3
Panchen Lama, 1, 2
Patey, Tom, 1
pee bottle, gentle art of using, 1
Peking, 1, 2, 3, 4
Pilkington Brothers plc, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Pilkington, Sir Anthony & Lady, 1
Pink Rabbit, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Potala, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Pumori, 1
Raphu La, 1, 2, 3,, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Rawalpindi, 1, 2, 3
Red Guards, 1, 2
Renshaw, Dick, 1, 2
Rongbuk monastery 1 nunnery 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
glacier, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
valley 1, 2, 3
Scott, Doug, 1, 2
Shigatse, 1
Shipton, Eric, 1, 2
Shishipangma, Austrian ascent of, 1
Skardu, 1
snowblindness, 1, 2, 3
Squibb, Sarah, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
stoves, problems buying, 1, 2 problems with, 1, 2
Sultans of Pain, 1, 2, 3
Tasker, Joe, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
The Macallan, 1, 2, 3
Tibet, 1 et seq.
Tilman, Bill, 1, 2, 3
Tinker, Jon, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49
trombone, uses of, 1
Tsang Po river, 1, 2
Tullis, Julie, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
Unsoeld, Willi, 1
Voytek, 1, 2
Wall, the Great, 1
Watts, Chris, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Watts, Sonja, 1, 2, 3
Whillans, Don, 1
Wiget, Madeleine, 1, 2
Wiget, Urs, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Wilson, Maurice, 1, 2
Wood, David, 1
Xegar, 1, 2, 3
yaks, temperament, 1 herders, arrival of, 1, 2
yeti, prints, 1
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Poetry
MEN ON ICE
A FLAME IN YOUR HEART (with Kathleen Jamie)
THE ORDER OF THE DAY
WESTERN SWING
INTO YOU
Mountaineering
SUMMIT FEVER
KINGDOMS OF EXPERIENCE
Novels
ELECTRIC BRAE
THE RETURN OF JOHN MACNAB
WHEN THEY LAY BARE
THAT SUMMER
Copyright
First published in paperback in Great Britain in 1999 by
Canongate Books Ltd, 14 High Street,
Edinburgh, EH1 1TE
This digital edition first published in 2009
by Canongate Books
First published in hardback in 1986 by Century Hutchinson Ltd
Copyright © Andrew Greig, 1986, 1999
Introduction copyright © Chris Bonnington, 1999w
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
on request from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84767 740 2
www.canongate.tv