The Kangchenjunga Adventure – Frank Smythe (1930) (1st ed)

S$58.00

The Kangchenjunga Adventure – Frank Smythe (1930) (1st ed)

S$58.00

Title: The Kangchenjunga Adventure

Author: Frank Smythe

Publisher: Victor Gollancz, 1930. First edition.

Condition: Hardcover, cloth, no dust jacket. Good. Spine badly sunned, covers slightly faded. Inscription to ffep. Foxing to edges, and slight foxing to pages. Binding tight, text unmarked. With numerous black-and-white photographic plates. 464pp., app 9″ by 6″.

SKU: kangchenjunga Categories: , , Tag:

A fascinating account of one of the earliest serious attempts to climb Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world, which lies in the Himalayas between Nepal and India. In the book, prolific writer and mountaineer Frank Smythe describes in detail the journey to the base of Kangchenjunga as well as the climb, which he participates in as part of the 1930 international expedition led by Günter Dyhrenfurth. Members of the expedition also included the German Uli Wieland and the Austrian Erwin Schneider. Despite being experienced mountaineers, they failed due to extreme weather conditions. The first ascent of Kangchenjunga took place only in 1955.

Smythe’s account is fascinating not only because of his detailed description of the climb, but also of the landscapes and people surrounding the mountain. He begins his journey from Agra and makes his way to North-Eastern India – the area of Darjeeling – and onwards to Sikkim and Nepal. The book is illustrated with lovely black-and-white photographs of the scenery, the people he encounters, and of course, the mountain itself.