In 1953, when he was thirty-three years old, Edmund Hillary became the first man to stand at the summit of Mount Everest, the Holy Grail for a generation of mountain climbers who had tried and failed to reach the highest point on earth (29,035 feet). High Adventure is Hillary’s definitive and wonderfully entertaining memoir of his Himalayan quest, beginning with the 1951 expedition that discovered a possible route up the south slope of Everest, and culminating in the successful expedition of 1953 led by Sir John Hunt. Hillary’s memoir takes us step-by step up the slopes of Everest, describing vividly and in great detail the agonizing climb that he and Tenzing Norgay embarked upon, the perils they faced, and the dramatic final ascent that forever secured them a place of honour in the annals of human exploration. High Adventure is a mountaineering classic, to be sure. But it is also a thrilling and inspiring story of courage and endurance — a story that will captivate a new generation of readers on the 60th anniversary of Hillary’s extraordinary achievement.
