Everest – impossible victory – The remarkable story of the conquest of Everest –

“On 29 May 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest and it was thought to be the crowning victory of mountaineering history. Then on 8 May 1978 Peter Habeler and Reinhold Messner, two experienced mountaineering partners, performed the unparalleled feat of climbing to the main summit of Everest relying entirely upon their own bodily resources. They had reached their goal without the aid of artificial oxygen, something which the medical world thought to be impossible!

In this compelling narrative, Peter Habeler describes in his own words the excitement and endurance which went into this dramatic ascent. Setting out with the first Austrian team to climb Mount Everest, Habeler was certain that by reducing equipment to a minimum, precious time could be gained in order to cover the final metres through the ‘death zone’, the area reached at 8500 metres where the oxygen level is sufficient only for breathing and standing still. The first attempt at crossing this zone was defeated by a raging storm with winds of 130 kilometres per hour and Habeler had to return to base. However, as weather conditions improved Habeler set off a second time – and succeeded in breaking all mountaineering records.”