became frostbitten. Lachenal’s feet too became severely frostbitten. As they both barely make it back to camp V, Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat helped them to ease but the rough weather obstructed all their plans to descend the slope safely. The team wandered helplessly on the exposed slopes before finding a crevasse to spend the night. As they emerge out of it next morning, they get caught in an avalanche. The raw but expert medical treatment and care they both received right from camp II in the open to the plains, by the expedition doctor, was truly exceptional.
After descending from the sanctuary, the end part of the book deals with multiple amputations of the two infected climbers and village life as the author is carried on the back of a porter or on a stretcher through hills and jungles on their way back to civilisation of the plains. The book is a gripping account of the heroic climb and is definitely one of the best I have ever come across. Herzog’s masterful narrative makes it to be one of the greatest mountain-adventure stories of all time. The latest edition of the book in English featuring a foreword by the legendary Conrad Anker is averagely priced at Rs 900 at Amazon and Flipkart. I totally recommend this book to someone who is a keen enthusiast of the Himalayas and especially mountaineering.