Daren
Earl Denman is an unusual character. He is quite comfortable by himself, and also in the company of the various African's who assisted him in his climbing of all eight peaks in the Virunga mountains, which sit between Rwanda, Congo DR and Uganda. In all likelihood he was the first to climb all eight of these mountains, five from Belgian Congo territory (which included Rwanda at that time) and the final three from Uganda. He undertook this in 1946, in preparation for his (illegal) attempt at Everest in 1947.
The climbing of these peaks takes the first hundred pages of this book, and, while slightly repetitive (climbing 8 mountains in a row in a similar setting with a similar but everchanging group of people can't really avoid being repetitive) it is well described and interesting.
While Denman says he had nor real interest in tourist traps and Mt Kilimanjaro, he couldn't resist climbing it quickly and without fanfare - he dedicated a grand total of five sentences on the topic... I can't really resist quoting them here.
P120
Here I was in easy reach of Moshi and Mount Kilimanjaro, which has seen too many people on it to hold any appeal to me. However, it is the highest mountain in Africa, and with the thought of Everest uppermost I went along to see what could be done about a quick ascent.
I did not greatly enjoy the climb, which in places was no more than an easy saunter. I actually ran the half-mile along the level plain before the scree slope leading to the 19,455 ft. summit.
From this point on, as he noted, Everest was foremost in his thoughts. He takes a ship to India and makes his way to Darjeeling, where he sets about to find guides prepared to accompany him without sanction from Tibet to cross from Sikkum into Tibet, hike to Everest and attempt a climb all without permission. In fact he must sign a contract to enter Sikkum, stating he will not approach the border of
Tibet, Nepal or Bhutan - which he convinces himself is not something he should feel guilty about.
Denman is incredibly lucky to engage Tenzing Norgay as Sherpa, and Ang Dowa (now I can't be sure but I am sure I have read about Ang Dowa before (although it might be a common Sherpa name), but obviously Tenzing was to accompany the 1953 British Mt Everest Expedition, and successfully summit with Sir Ed Hillary).
Tenzing and Ang Dowa both proved to be excellent companions and while (for example) the 1953expedition departed with 395 men all up (including porters), they were just a team of three. It is not spoiler to say that the attempt failed, but it is still a quite remarkable story.
The travel through Tibet is fascinating, as they were illegal, but also under great hardship staying in very undeveloped villages where it was tough to obtain much food and the accommodation was rudimentary and very cold.
I won't spell it all out, but after a long journey (albeit compete quite quickly compared to a huge group of people) the weather was not helpful, and they were very exposed to cold and wind. Their equipment was low quality and minimal, and they made the decision to turn back at a t time where they probably took the last opportunity to save their lives.
In the last chapter of book describing the journey back to Darjeeling Denman waffled on with some sort of strange philosophy, trying the justify all sorts of things to himself. He really ties himself all up in knots and the vast majority made little sense (to me, anyway). This was the only real letdown in the writing, but lasted only a few pages. The actual last chapter briefly described the 1953 British Mt Everest expedition and its success - as this occurred before Denman published his book.
I saw on the internet that Denman emigrated to New Zealand in 1982, and died here in 1994 - but I had not heard of him or his background before this book.
This was an enjoyable read. 4.5 stars.
Earl Denman is an unusual character. He is quite comfortable by himself, and also in the company of the various African's who assisted him in his climbing of all eight peaks in the Virunga mountains, which sit between Rwanda, Congo DR and Uganda. In all likelihood he was the first to climb all eight of these mountains, five from Belgian Congo territory (which included Rwanda at that time) and the final three from Uganda. He undertook this in 1946, in preparation for his (illegal) attempt at Everest in 1947.
The climbing of these peaks takes the first hundred pages of this book, and, while slightly repetitive (climbing 8 mountains in a row in a similar setting with a similar but everchanging group of people can't really avoid being repetitive) it is well described and interesting.
While Denman says he had nor real interest in tourist traps and Mt Kilimanjaro, he couldn't resist climbing it quickly and without fanfare - he dedicated a grand total of five sentences on the topic... I can't really resist quoting them here.
P120
Here I was in easy reach of Moshi and Mount Kilimanjaro, which has seen too many people on it to hold any appeal to me. However, it is the highest mountain in Africa, and with the thought of Everest uppermost I went along to see what could be done about a quick ascent.
I did not greatly enjoy the climb, which in places was no more than an easy saunter. I actually ran the half-mile along the level plain before the scree slope leading to the 19,455 ft. summit.
From this point on, as he noted, Everest was foremost in his thoughts. He takes a ship to India and makes his way to Darjeeling, where he sets about to find guides prepared to accompany him without sanction from Tibet to cross from Sikkum into Tibet, hike to Everest and attempt a climb all without permission. In fact he must sign a contract to enter Sikkum, stating he will not approach the border of
Tibet, Nepal or Bhutan - which he convinces himself is not something he should feel guilty about.
Denman is incredibly lucky to engage Tenzing Norgay as Sherpa, and Ang Dowa (now I can't be sure but I am sure I have read about Ang Dowa before (although it might be a common Sherpa name), but obviously Tenzing was to accompany the 1953 British Mt Everest Expedition, and successfully summit with Sir Ed Hillary).
Tenzing and Ang Dowa both proved to be excellent companions and while (for example) the 1953expedition departed with 395 men all up (including porters), they were just a team of three. It is not spoiler to say that the attempt failed, but it is still a quite remarkable story.
The travel through Tibet is fascinating, as they were illegal, but also under great hardship staying in very undeveloped villages where it was tough to obtain much food and the accommodation was rudimentary and very cold.
I won't spell it all out, but after a long journey (albeit compete quite quickly compared to a huge group of people) the weather was not helpful, and they were very exposed to cold and wind. Their equipment was low quality and minimal, and they made the decision to turn back at a t time where they probably took the last opportunity to save their lives.
In the last chapter of book describing the journey back to Darjeeling Denman waffled on with some sort of strange philosophy, trying the justify all sorts of things to himself. He really ties himself all up in knots and the vast majority made little sense (to me, anyway). This was the only real letdown in the writing, but lasted only a few pages. The actual last chapter briefly described the 1953 British Mt Everest expedition and its success - as this occurred before Denman published his book.
I saw on the internet that Denman emigrated to New Zealand in 1982, and died here in 1994 - but I had not heard of him or his background before this book.
This was an enjoyable read. 4.5 stars.