Savage Arena: K2, Changabang and the North Face of the Eiger

Joe Tasker

Oct 2013 · Vertebrate Publishing

About this ebook

I could never again maintain that I was caught up in this game unwillingly. I knew now what I wanted to do. Willingly would I accept the hardship and fear, the discipline and the sacrifices, if only I could be given back the chance to climb that mountain.' Joe Tasker lies, struck down by a tooth abscess, in a damp, bug-infested room in the Himalaya, wondering if he will be well enough to climb Dunagiri, his first venture to the 'big' mountains. He is there with Dick Renshaw to attempt to make a two-man ascent of the Peak - one of the first true Alpine-style expeditions to the Greater Ranges; an attempt that forms part of this tale of adventure in the savage vertical arena of hostile mountains. Joe Tasker was one of Britain's foremost mountaineers. A pioneer of lightweight mountaineering and a superbly gifted writer, in Savage Arena he vividly describes his participation in the first British winter ascent of the North Face of the Eiger; his first ascent of the West Wall of Changabang with Peter Boardman - considered to be a preposterous plan by the established climbing world; the first ascent of the North Ridge of Kangchenjunga; and his two unsuccessful attempts to climb K2, the second highest mountain in the world. This is a story of single-minded determination, strength and courage in a pursuit which owes much of its value and compulsion to the risks entailed - risks which often stimulate superlative performances. It is also a story of the stresses, strains and tensions of living in constant anxiety, often with only one other person, for long periods in which one is never far from moments of terror, and of the close and vital human relationships which spring from those circumstances. It is a moving, exciting and inspirational book about the adventuring spirit which seeks endless new climbing challenges to face, alluring problems to solve and difficulties to overcome, for it is not reaching the summit which is important, but the journey to it. Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman died on Everest in 1982, while attempting a new and unclimbed line. Both men were superb mountaineers and talented writers. Tasker's first book, Everest the Cruel Way, was first published in 1981. Savage Arena, his second book, was completed just before he left for Everest. Both books have become mountaineering classi. The literary legacy of Tasker and Boardman lives on through the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, established by family and friends in 1983 and presented annually to the author or co-authors of an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature. For more information about the Boardman Tasker Prize, visit: www.boardmantasker.com 'The most riveting book on climbing that I have ever read.' Chris Bonington 'A gripping story of tremendous courage and unbelievable endurance.' Sir Edmund Hillary

Ratings and reviews

I was totally involved from the beginning to the end and now understand a little bit about how the motivation to climb works. I like cycling over mountain road passes but cannot explain why, but now I realise that no explanation is necessary. Not that a bike ride comes anywhere close to climbing a mountain!

well written a great read. up there with the best mountaineering books

Unreal adventures. Felt like I was there!