The Untrodden Andes

 

Product Description

Good reading.
The Untrodden Andes is account of Dutch Alpine-geological
expedition to Peruvian Cordillera Blanca in 1952.
2 Dutch climbers, Cees Egeler and Tom de Booij, together
with famous French guide Lionel Teray accomplished
first ever summiting of Huantsan, at the time highest
unclimbed peak in Cordillera.
During the attempt, de Booij survived 300 feet fall.
Well written, book is worth 20 Euros or so, as this is
what antique bookshops will charge you for it.

Apparently, same book was published in the States as
Challenge of the Andes: The Conquest of Mount Huantsan.
Not sure, though, whether the book content is the same
as of The Untrodden Andes.
Nevertheless, US edition is sold these days for 8-9 US$,
which is almost bargain.

Features

Paperback: 203 pages,
32 black&white photos. 9 maps
Publisher: Faber & Faber London, 1955
Language: English
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces

Content sample

"Farther down, the wall receded sharply away.
I lovered myself, feeling very much like a spider on its thread,
until my foot touched the ice-wall below. What a relief!
As always, after a long descent by rope, it was wonderful to find one's feet again.
Actually I had quite a job to get a footing, for the flank on which I landed
was pitched at a gradient of at least sixty-five degrees
and I was almost at the end of rope.

Then cautiously turning over on my stomach, I let my legs dangle into nothing,
slid over the edge, and in the failing light began to descend the thin rope.
This swaying through space made an unforgettable impression on my mind.
The upper crust of the overhang was fringed with enormous icicles,
one of which broke off as I accidentally came in contact with it
and went tinkling past me down into the void.
It was eerie.

If it had not been for the pressing time factor
this would have been a thrilling adventure; but, suspended there,
I was all too conscious that the occasion was not just another interesting descent.
It was grim reality.
A desperate race against time."

(narator is Cees Egeler)

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