Everest Canada: The Climb for Hope

Glynn A. Leyshon is a professor of physical education at the University
of Western Ontario, a former weekly columnist for the London Free Press
and author of 18 Sporting Stories.

This account of an attempt to climb Mount Everest—written by the
leader of the Canadian expedition—does not, as do others from the same
genre, follow a daily log-book sequence, complete with dates, times, and
many full colons. Austen instead simply narrates the tale, emphasizing
the interesting bits and minimizing the inevitable everyday drudgery
that such an undertaking entails. It makes for fascinating, if short,
reading.

The story comes across as slightly Monty Pythonesque, thanks to
Austen’s peculiar sense of humor, which was shared by his team
members. Their sense of humor enabled them to survive not only three
months on the mountain, but, equally importantly, several years raising
funds, obtaining permissions, and dealing with bureaucracies: the
expedition, years in the making, was the first to climb the mountain for
charitable purposes.

The rigors and dangers of mountaineering are splendidly understated in
this book, but become more real and poignant for that very reason.
Austen’s descriptions of scenery, food, small luxuries, Sherpas, the
agonies of frostbite, and altitude sickness are straightforward and
vivid as only an experienced climber could make them.

The expedition fell short of its goal, but if worth can be judged by
effort, then the attempt—like this description of it—was a success.