Ascent

I am no climber, and never will be but have enjoyed, both vicariously and with envy, the adventures of Bonington though it is now over 30 years since I read Bonington’s ‘The Everest Years’ that lead me to go on to read his other autobiographical works – ‘I chose to Climb’ and ‘The Next Horizon’. I was dubious whether a new autobiography would add much to what I had already read, other than to refresh my memory, especially as ‘The Everest Years’ had ended with the then 50-year-old author’s summiting of Everest it was unlikely that age would bring greater adventures. How wrong I was. Of course, there is familiarity in his re-telling the tales of the Eiger, Annapurna, K2, the Ogre and Everest adventures but not only did the author continue to climb in the Himalaya in his sixties and elsewhere – notably in Morocco - into his seventies (indeed the book opens with his climbing the Old Man of Hoy aged 80 in 2014) but this is also a more personal book than his earlier autobiographies. There is much more here on the author’s earlier life with many gaps filled in by his mother’s unpublished autobiography. The early unconventional (for the 1940s) family life is covered with honesty – his father’s desertion and his mother’s arguments with her own mother, her same sex relationship and attempted suicide are all here. Also here is the story of his own long 1st marriage to Wendy and the support she gave not only to her often absent husband but also to the partners of the many climbers lost on expeditions – the roll call is long as Bonington, in reflective mood, notes that ‘Four of the eight lead climbers on Annapurna’s south face died in the mountains, all of them great friends. Of the four of us who climbed Kongur, I have been the only survivor for over thirty years, after Al Rouse died in 1986.’ As Bonington was a trailblazer for the professionalisation of Mountaineering in Britain – and one of the 1st to make a reasonably good living from it, not only has he been the face of Mountaineering in the British media for 50 years he has had to work to maintain that position in order to continue to earn his crust. It was this logic that drove him to be a reporter covering the Eiger Direct climb and after a stint of photo-journalism covering Blashford-Snell’s 1968 expedition that led him back to lead expeditions in the Himalayas in the 70s and early 80s. In that time, the nature of the game changed from siege to Alpine style climbing and for most of this period Bonington was away from home and at the same time Bonington’s fame, if not fortune, grew. When asked ‘how I justified it when I had a wife and two sons. There is no justification; it was my thirst for adventure, undoubtedly selfish, that drove me on’ Bonington is honest but I feel a little too hard on himself – after all he did need to earn his crust though undoubtedly his family paid a price. With frank honesty he discusses that price that was paid as he chronicles his oldest surviving son’s late teenage drug habit and run ins with the law. This could be laid at the feet of an absent father but happily Joe is today himself a successful businessman in outdoor adventure so, perhaps, his father’s influence has been more favourable than he credits. The final chapters of this superb book are both poignant and inspirational. They tell of the tragedy of the developing illness (MND) and loss of his wife, Wendy and the intense grief that this brings but they also tell of the development of a new romance and that love is never closed no matter one’s age. This is an enthralling and inspirational book that should make anyone’s Christams reading list – you don’t need to be a climber , or even an outdoors person to enjoy it. The final words I shall leave to Sir Christian Bonnington: “What I wanted was to make every single day of my eighties mean something, get out and climb and walk, enjoy my grandchildren, keep working and make life as rich and exciting as it possibly can be.”

I do not climb and never will. I'm scared of heights! But for some reason I have read several books by climbers including a few previous ones by Bonington. Perhaps it's the fascination of wondering why on earth they do it? This seems to be a final book chronicling his whole life and overlapping some of his previous novels. He is good as describing his enthusiasm and the landscape whether in North Wales or Everest, and the dangers are brought home when so many of his friends have died on his adventures. He has certainly led an interesting, well travelled life....often at the expense of his family which he acknowledges....and this would be a good one off never for those who want a brief resume of his life and climbs. The photographs on Kindle are not as good as a real book of course, which is a shame, but nevertheless an enjoyable read about someone who made a career out of climbing.

As an avid collector of climbing and mountaineering literature for over sixty years I must have read all the biographical accounts and expedition books featuring Chris Bonington, including his previous autobiographies, and I assumed there would be little new to learn. I was wrong – the 2017 publication ‘Ascent’ broadens the Bonington history, it gives a revised slant to some of his escapades, and it includes fresh material. The book’s sub-title is ‘A life spent climbing on the edge’ which is endorsed by the front endpaper showing a photograph of a very young Chris Bonington on his first climb on Harrison’s Rocks, and at the rear is a photograph from over six decades later of Chris and Leo Houlding for an ascent of the Old Man of Hoy. The ‘Introduction’ has Chris Bonington accepting he is an ‘old man’ but still he is full of vigour and verve, and as with earlier publications his enthusiastic writing continues to be stimulating and inspirational. ‘Ascent’ is Bonington’s most personal and complete autobiography, but it is also an adventure story told with honesty and humility about his own unique circumstances and experiences. The book is presented in four parts: ‘Beginnings’, ‘Apprenticeship’, ‘Peak Years’ and ‘Beyond Everest’. A short ‘Author’s Note’ acts as an acknowledgement to literary helpers and assistants, and it refers to Bonington’s researches and reflections, with reliance on family diaries, correspondence and direct communications, It includes what is a essentially a condensed bibliography of books providing background information, followed by a comprehensively detailed ‘Index’. Supporting maps and diagrams are included, and there are two sections of colour photographs appropriate to the narrative. Together with existing material there is unpublished information on forebears to fill gaps in previous writings; particularly relating to influences of Bonington’s grandmother and mother, and linked to Chris coming to terms with himself. He outlines aspects of his schooldays, military career, and early mentors including Hamish MacInnes and Don Whillans. The next few chapters embrace climbing to increasing standards in Britain, and initial Himalayan successes on a joint-services expedition to Annapurna II and a civilian expedition to Nuptse. Bonington first glimpses the possibilities for being a professional mountaineer. Like myself, readers of mountain literature will recognise accounts of Bonington’s part in a rescue from the north face of the Eiger, and his first British ascent of the face with Ian Clough. Yet there is much more including climbing classics such as the Frenêy Pillar, the Grandes Jorasses, the Torres del Paine, plus numerous others including a trip to the Ecuadorian Andes, climbing in the Cheddar Gorge and subsequent filming, the first ascent of the Old Man of Hoy and a year later the BBC outside broadcast of a second ascent that so raised public consciousness. For many readers they cannot be anything but aware of this next phase in the life of Chris Bonington with regard to being ‘on the edge’, leading to being more and more in the public domain; especially his involvement as photographer, reporter and participant in the first direct winter ascent of the north face of the Eiger. Older readers like me will remember the publication in 1966 of Chris’s first autobiography ‘I Chose to Climb’, but in ‘Ascent’ there is updated interpretation of his achievements with reappraised analysis of then major British players like Tom Patey, Dougal Haston or Ian Clough, and from elsewhere like John Harlin or Layton Kor. Additional commentary covers his love for Wendy, their early years of marriage, her support, coming to live in the Lake District, and the loss of a child; all providing insightful evaluation. However at the time, the greatest impact on the world of mountaineering was Bonington leading a team for the first time in 1970 to the Himalaya to tackle the south face of Annapurna. Again particulars are well-known about success for Don Whillans and Dougal Haston, coupled with the deeply felt loss of Ian Clough on the way down. Chris returned to the Himalaya in 1972 as team leader for a first attempt on the south-west face of Everest. This was beaten back but a second attempt in 1975 was successful for Dougal Haston and Doug Scott. Pete Boardman and Sherpa Pertemba also succeeded but Mick Burke never returned, and Chris provides insights to acceptance of risks of death in the mountains. A variety of excursions are mentioned before and after these well recorded Everest expeditions, and the next highly publicised event was Chris and Doug Scott climbing the Ogre in 1977 as part of a small scale expedition. The specifics of accidents on the way down with Doug breaking both legs and Chris being injured became clouded with accounts almost air-brushing over the heroic inputs of Clive Rowland and Mo Anthoine in rescuing their companions, and little is added in ‘Ascent’. Time heals, and returning to fitness, Chris with K2 in his sights, in 1978 led what was to be his last big siege-style expedition, but this led to disaster with the death of Nick Estcourt. Chris found comfort with his family, but life was not without problems and Chris acknowledges he was at ‘something of a cross-roads’. ‘Ascent’ shifts to a series of episodic expositions on sports and pastimes associated with Bonington’s book ‘Quest for Adventure’ such as cave diving or sailing, but climbing remains his joy, and before long came an irresistible chance to climb in China covered as trips to remote Mount Kongur, and some enjoyable exploring for Karun Koh, plus activities at home. The most serious undertaking at this stage in 1982 was a small team climbing alpine style on the north-east ridge of Everest, which failed with the traumatic loss of Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker. Chris promised Wendy he was finished with Everest, but he was tempted to join a Norwegian expedition and he finally summited Everest in 1985. The tempo of life changed after Everest and Chris reminisces about risks, about Wendy’s love and support, and about old and new friends, but still he is finding new adventures on the likes of Shivling, Menlungtse and other peaks; but the dynamics of ‘Ascent’ change. It is not practicable for a book-review to comment on everything in the long climbing life of Chris Bonington, but it continues into the final chapters, with wide scope indicated by inclusion of four trips to Greenland, hair-raising epics on Panchchuli in India, treks with experienced Himalayan expert Harish Kapadia, and with reconnaissance and climbing on Sepu Kangri Throughout ‘Ascent’, apart from indicating how he selected climbing members for expeditions, and reference to dithering over alternatives, or reversing decisions on strategies, or expressing feelings at the loss of companions, there is little of Chris Bonington’s psyche and he is not particularly introspective. He does not provide answers to how he survived when others died, or how he justified risk taking with a wife and family left behind. However, most important features of the final part of ‘Ascent’ are the poignancy of family trials and tribulations with his sons, and the outpouring of grief over Wendy dying from motor neurone disease. Even here Chris depends on mountains to ponder and to find solace, as he takes family members to Kilimanjaro and to Danga in Nepal. Also he reflects on elements of public recognition and reactions of the climbing fraternity to his commercial endeavours, and he touches on his charity work, service with the BMC, political honours, honorary degrees and other personal matters. Chris Bonington concludes with an explanation of how after half a century with Wendy he is so happy at finding new love with Loreto, the widow of Ian McNaught-Davis. From his brief description of her chivvying him over the writing of ‘Ascent’ and exploration of the hills around her property La Loma, it is clear he has not really retired – his vigour and verve remain. I was inspired by my first Bonington book ‘I Chose to Climb’ using the name ‘Christian’, and dedicated to ‘My Mother and Wendy’ – they would be proud of his ‘Ascent’ in which they are acknowledged as his greatest champions – ‘Ascent’ continues as inspirational, and it fully deserves a 5-star rating.

I always liked Chris Bonnington and happened to come across this book while shopping for something different. It is very well written. What a life. What you take away from the book though is that he is just lucky to be alive. Most of his climbing friends died one way or another, either falling off the highest walls in the world, hit by rockfall, just falling into a crevasse right next to base camp... The list is endless. As a child I went to a slide show by Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker...both disappeared on a Bonnington expedition on Everest. If you like mountain climbing stories, it is worth reading.

In Ascent, Sir Chris Bonington splices his amazing suite of mountain stories with his less known, but equally interesting personal and family life journey. The splicing is well balanced, maintaining our interest to the last word. In a high risk sport he saw many lose their lives, Sir Chris survived to tell his tales in a very readable and personable style. An impressive ascent for a boy who failed English to a man recognised for his love for life leadership and generosity on and off mountains.

Book seems relatively new! Good deal for the price paid. Gifted it a friend :) Very satisfied.

I bought this book for my husband and he thinks it was a fair assessment of the climbing life of Chris Bonnington. He has admitted that some decisions on expeditions were not the best but overall a very good book.

Wow.....where to start. I've read hundreds of mountaineer and exhibition books, all the while Sir Bonnington has been my favorite author and climber. I have all of his books and with reason. He is an incredible story teller with a life chocked full of stories to tell. He makes you feel like you are there. He makes you feel as though you know the folks he is writing about personally. This book is no exception. He is such a great man and climber but he never fails to let you see his human side. That a great man such as he has feelings of doubt, fear and humility is an inspiration. This book leads you through his extraordinary life. I read it as if I was reading the holy grail. He makes you look on life as a challenge to be lived to the fullest. This book is the crown jewel in my Bonnington books and all my hundreds of mountain books. Thank you Sir Bonington. My greatest happiness for you that love has found you again. Best wishes!

A good read though a bit technical at times for an armchair adventurer like me. Still very informative and gripping at times.