ALONE TO EVEREST

New York, NY: Coward, McCann, 1954. First American Edition, First Thus . Hardcover. Fine/Very Good. Text/BRAND NEW & Bright. Green linen boards/Fine. DJ/VG; Strong & sound w/nips, chips, rubs to edges & small losses to upper spine corners; under mylar. Autobiography/memoir of Canadian-born mountaineer Earl Denman. A purist with little regard for modern equipment and well-heeled official expeditions, Denman was the first to scale all eight of the Virunga Mountains of Belgium Congo accompanied by only local guides before he set sights on a lone conquest of Everest in 1947. With a lean purse of $700 and the simplest of equipment he set off to Tibet despite Nepal's borders being closed to the Western world. Remarkably, he was able to persuade Tenzing Norgay (1914 - 1986) and Ang Dawato to partner with him. Everest did eluded them but the trio did reach the foot of the North Col before turning back. Denman will walk part of the way back to Darjeeling in bare feet after his boots wear out. The 600-plus mile (1000 km) roundtrip from Darjeeling to Everest and back took the three only five weeks by foot. An outstanding show of resolve and the lure of adventure. In 1953 Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first two to conquer Mount Everest.