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PREFACE

This book is a snapshot of my personal 18-year quest to climb all 14 of the 8000m peaks and tells the story of my ascents of the highest mountains in the world. There were many other expeditions and climbs during that period, but only the Himalayan and Karakoram giants are documented in this book.

Initially I did not plan to tackle them all. I just wanted to climb some of the highest most challenging mountains out there. Over the years it gradually became an odyssey and a test of my resilience, stamina and determination and once I had knocked eight of them off I decided to go for the final six. I made 27 attempts before I succeeded in standing on all 14 summits; some I climbed on my first try, others took three attempts as I often decided to retreat rather than risk everything in a do-or-die assault. Over that 18-year period I would be away every year on at least one and usually two or more expeditions. It was a huge commitment, but it was where I wanted to be.

Many people have pestered me over the years to write a book about climbing the 8000ers, but there was never enough superglue to keep me stuck to a chair in front of a computer to get it done. I was always more interested in going out to play, climbing and being in the hills and I kept putting it off. Sorting out the thousands of photographs and writing the copy was a huge and detailed task, but it was a labour of love, bringing back great memories of friends, climbing mates, epics, gnarly adventures and summits. I took almost every shot myself, often with a self-timer. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to do it in a pre-digital age, carrying many rolls of film and fiddling with manual cameras in bitter cold conditions at extreme altitude.

Now the book is finished, I can go back out to play and enjoy myself in the hills, or perhaps start writing another...

Jay and Mia, my two grandchildren, are the future. I hope they will appreciate the photos and climbing stories in their grandad's book.

K2: Setting off from the Shoulder at 8000m in the early morning. Looking up towards the Bottleneck – a narrowing couloir topped by a band of huge threatening seracs. These massive ice cliffs look like the White Cliffs of Dover but are rather less friendly. The route, up and left beneath them, is very dangerous as huge sections can – and do – collapse, wiping out anyone below.