Synopsis
The year 2000 is the 50th anniversary of the climbing of the first 8,000m peak. In the decade which followed that first climb all bar one of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000m were climbed: the Golden Age of high altitude climbing. The single exception was Shishapangma. The height, 8,000m is entirely arbitrary. Very roughly it corresponds to the start of the 'death zone', the height above which a human being, kept warm and well fed, would die in a time varying from a few hours to a few days simply because the limited oxygen in the air means that the body cannot function properly and gradually closes down. For this reason, many of the 8,000m peaks, particularly the highest ones, were first climbed with supplementary oxygen. Today all except Everest are routinely climbed without, their ascent therefore making them a hazard for the climbers. Reinhold Messner, who became the first person to climb them all, took 16 years to climb all 14 mountains. Though modern equipment and travel mean that it is now possible to climb several peaks in one season, since Messner's completion of the list in 1986, only four more names have been added to it.
One of the 8,000m peaks continue to be the pinnacle of a mountaineers career and in some cases the end -- Everest. This book brings together the stories behind the conquest of every peak, plus the description of how they have been conquered since then. It is also a description of modern man's conquest of previously unscaled peaks, using advances in technology. As a description of heroic activity it has no equal.
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