Cho Oyu; by Favor of the Gods, by Herbert Tichy. Translated from the German by Basil Creighton. Foreword by Sir John Hunt. London: Methuen & Co., 1957. 196 pages; ills.; maps. Price 25s.

In the evergrowing shelves of mountaineering books there is a small select group of volumes that will never exceed fourteen in number. These are books written about the first ascents of the 8000-meter peaks. Dr. Tichy has written a book with the same high standards that he used in conducting his expedition. The party was small; three Austrians and eleven Sherpas. At fourteen men this is by far the smallest party to be successful on an 8000-meter peak. Although the climb was short (four camps above base) and of mild technical difficulty, the story does not lack excitement. With Tichy’s hands frozen and the wind blowing tents apart, along comes another expedition to compete for the summit, and a first-class melodrama results.

The first third of the book deals with preparations and a light account of the journey from Katmandu to Base Camp above Namche Bazar. Then they come to grips with Cho Oyu. There is little to come to grips with, however, for in a few days they are high up the mountain beyond the ice wall which stopped Eric Shipton’s party in 1952. In an incredibly short time Tichy and three Sherpas establish Camp IV at 22,900 feet, within reach of the summit. Then a violent storm strikes, and if the reader overlooks that losing gloves is a rather elementary error, and that good tents don’t come apart in 80-mph winds, it’s pretty exciting. With the assault party in full retreat, along comes the Swiss expedition wanting the Austrians to get on with the climb or get off of the mountain. This tense moment is saved when Pasang Dawa Lama (who is the real hero of the story) gets the word in Namche Bazar and heads for the summit under forced draft. He joins the others at Camp III on the morning of the second day, and with Tichy and Jochler stands on the summit of Cho Oyu less than 36 hours after leaving Namche Bazar. After such a climb there is little left to do but go home, and Tichy fills out his book with the story of Pasang’s wedding (his second), a drunken affair that leaves the reader wondering where all the chang came from. Certainly this is one of the better books on 8000-meter ascents to be published. Both the writing and photographs are excellent.

Richard K. Irvin