A Slender Thread Escaping Disaster in the Himalaya

by Venables, Stephen; Willis, Clint

• ISBN13: 9781560252986
• ISBN10: 1560252987
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-04
• Publisher: Da Capo Press

Summary

Stephen Venables and three companions made the first ascent of Panchu Chuli Va remote Himalayan peak on the borders of India, Nepal and Tibet. A rappel anchor failed on the descent, pitching Venables into a 300-foot fall. Crashing through the black night, flung from rock to rock, he assumed that he was plunging to his death. Against all odds he survived, but was left stranded 19,000 feet above a labyrinth of glaciers and snow slopes with two broken legs, the threat of gangrene, and scant food or medical supplies. If he was to return to his wife and son waiting at home some 5000 miles away, Venables knew he had to draw on his reserve of courage and determination. The third Adrenaline Classic, A Slender Thread is a spellbinding account of Venables' survivaland his intense personal struggle to understand the risks he takes for the sake of his insatiable passion for climbing. He comes as close to anyone to answering the unanswerable question: Why do they do it?

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Clint Willis
Maps & Diagram	xv
Prologue	xxi
Stephen Venables
Mountain Nomad	1	(20)
At the Foot of Vishnu	21	(18)
Towards Rajrambha	39	(16)
Ribbon in the Sky	55	(16)
Interlude	71	(12)
Into the Jungle	83	(12)
The Hanging Valley	95	(16)
Night on a Bare Mountain	111	(18)
A Falling Light	129	(18)
Limbo	147	(18)
Trapped in the Clouds	165
Rescue	175	(185)
Home	185	(12)
Recovery	197	(18)
Tierra del Fuego	215	(20)
Appendices
I Indo-British Panch Chuli Expedition 1992	229	(2)
II Expedition Diary	231	(2)
III History of Expeditions to Panch Chuli Massif	233	(2)
Author's Note and Acknowledgments	235	(2)
Photography Credits	237