Camp Six

Frank Smythe's Camp Six is one of the greatest Everest accounts ever written. It is the story of the 1933 Everest Expedition, in which Smythe, climbing alone after his partner Eric Shipton had turned back ill, reached a point perhaps higher than any man had done before – and some twenty years before the eventual first ascent. Rope-less, oxygen free and in terrible snow conditions, his climb was one of the greatest endeavours in the history of Everest.

Camp Six is a compelling read: a gripping adventure on the highest mountain in the world and a fascinating window into early mountaineering and Himalayan exploration – including an illuminating colonial view of early travels in Tibet. It is essential reading for all those interested in Everest and in the danger and drama of those early expeditions.

Frank Smythe was one of the leading mountaineers of the twentieth century, an outstanding climber who, in his short life – he died aged forty-nine – was at the centre of high-altitude mountaineering development in its early years. Author of twenty-seven immensely popular books, he was an early example of the climber as celebrity.