High Achiever: The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington [Paperback]

Chris Bonnington is a well known figure and has written many excellent books himself, I was looking forward to finding out more about him and I imagined that this author with many excellent books and articles behind him would bring new insight in to this formidable figure. Instead we just get reruns of tales already told. It feels like the book has been written by a researcher, great for those new to the subject but a complete waste of time if your familiar with the leading lights of British mountaineering. A dissapointment

The author is in a unique position for a biographer. Jim Curran has climbed with Chris Bonington over the years on home crags and he has accompanied him on major expeditions to the highest and hardest mountains in the world, and he has written a number of excellent mountaineering books. I have all his books on my shelves, all books included in his bibliography, and all books by his subject. I started to read Jim Curran's `High Achiever' on the life and climbs of Chris Bonington thinking it unlikely I would find anything I didn't know already. But I was mistaken. This book provides new insights.

Following coverage of Chris Bonington's boyhood Jim Curran embraces the whole period of his mountain involvement from an exploratory mountain dreamer, through his climbing life with pioneering on the Eiger, a race for the Central Tower of Paine, survival of the Ogre affair and other climbs, together with more well known Himalayan expeditions. He looks behind the triumphs and tragedies.

Chris Bonington's own books include autobiographies from `I Chose to Climb' and `The Next Horizon' coupled with accounts of expeditions to such mountains as Annapurna, Everest, Kongur and Sepu Kangri together with other adventure escapades. Though Jim Curran believes the Bonington climbing era is not yet over he suggests that after summiting Everest Chris toned down his obsessive nature and became more laid back.

`High Achiever' is not just a book about mountains climbed during the life of a mountaineer. Biographers have more scope than their subjects and Chris Bonington's books cannot tell the full story. `High Achiever' is a book that includes detail and extracts on Chris Bonington from his mother's diaries and journals, it refers to family matters, and it quotes banter and criticism from companions. Jim Curran corrects widespread prejudice that Chris Bonington, with his public school accent and Sandhurst training, came from a privileged background. There are explanations on Chris Bonington having to put up with jealousy from his peers, but there is support for his shrewdness when picking partners and expedition members. `High Achiever' describes a shy and insecure Bonington yet without inhibitions about approaching strangers and asking to climb with them, it compares Bonington behaviour off the mountains as opposed to on mountains, and it contrasts a Bonington of self doubt and indecision with a high achiever displaying passion and drive to overcome many challenges. Jim Curran presents a penetrating analysis of a complex man.

`High Achiever' includes a record of Chris Bonington's climbing activities from 1951 to 1998. Though far from complete, for practical purposes there is sufficient evidence to identify Chris Bonington as a high achiever. The Foreword by Reinhold Messner evaluates Chris Bonington stating: "he has never been a grade fetishist, nor a pontificator. He has never been out for records. His personality is not measured by comparison with others. It is the sum total of knowledge, suffering, character. Bonington has stature. He has earned his title".

Like many others I have witnessed Chris Bonington become the public face of mountaineering in this country and beyond. I met him recently [June 2008] coming down from a Lakeland crag and he assured me was still enjoying `classic' routes. Sir Christian is a great ambassador for climbing and mountaineering, and in his book `High Achiever' I believe Jim Curran truly does him justice.

I knew little of chris bonington before I selected this book, I am now in awe of him from the very frank and personal account of his life which briefly but informatively touched on his early years and his rather interesting parenting. Then on to his early aspirations as a climber but the meat of this book concentrates on chris's career as high altitude mountaineer and expedition leader, which as a budding mountaneer hoping for higher things, makes this an outstanding read, but I would also recommend this book to any one who would like to read about a man who is leading an incredible life and has more than a few story's to tell.