ON ROOF OF WORLD

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 39, 15 February 1941, Page 19

ON ROOF OF WORLD

KARAKORAM CLIMBING

The second highest mountain in the world is officially known merely as K2 and is in the North-western Himalayas. Its height is 28,250 feet,, and it is topped only by the mighty Everest, which is some 750 feet higher. In 1909 the Duke of Abruzzi made his famous ascent to 22,000 feet, and this remained a record on K2 until June, 1938, when two members of the American Expedition reached 26,000 feet, the highest climb yet made save Everest. •'.•■:•

In "Five Miles High," edited by Robert H. Bates and published by Robert Hale, the members of the party collaborate in telling the story of this epic expedition, and their vivid narratives make wonderfully exciting reading. The first part of their account describes the long eventful trip, with ponies^ and coolies, through the gorges of the Indus River and the deep valleys of the Karakoram Range. Then follow months of reconnaissance from the base camp, and finally the heroic attack «n the summit The accounts of what followed will enthral both the layman and the experienced mountaineer. There are vivid pictures of terrible ice slopes which had to be negotiated inch by inch, of attempts to gain greater altitude which ended at the foot of linscaleable precipices and delayed the climbers until another way was found, and of deadly avalanches of falling boulders.

Even those who have never, been nearer the sky than the top of one of Wellington's hills will get a thrill out of this narrative. It is told in simple but vivid language, there is a wealth of informative detail about the Himalayas and previous attacks on their lofty heights, there are easily followed maps, and above all there are many superb photographs taken by members of the expedition. One lucky "shot" caught an avalariche in various stages of its descent. "Five Miles High" is the very model of what a book about mountain, climbing should be.