Land der Namenlosen Berge

Publication Year: 1956.

Land der Namenlosen Berge, by Dr. Herbert Tichy. 221 pages, 33 photographs, including 4 in color, 4 sketch maps. Vienna: Ullstein and Company, 1954.

Motivated more by a desire for exploration and its wider variety of adventure than for climbing peaks per se, Tichy shows himself amply capable for solitary travel through the nameless peaks of western Nepal. From Kathmandu, he follows (in the autumn of 1953) Tilman’s 1950 route to the headwaters of the Marsyandi, but soon enters a region previously unvisited by European explorers. Accompanied by three Sherpa companions, Adjiba, Gyalsen, and the experienced Sirdar Pasang, he visits the Sisne, Saipal, and Mustangbhot ranges, near the border of Tibet. They climb a number of peaks over 5,000 meters, and turn back on a few more without excuses or misgivings.

Tichy presents a colorful, intimate interview with the people of Nepal who are observed by his understanding eyes. He writes simply, with humor and warmth: a very pleasant, though rare combination. Like Tilman, Tichy is the solitary wanderer who travels with a light commissary, but with a strong stomach. Mountaineering literature is richer because of this man.

Allen Steck