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MESSNER,REINHOLD: : THE CRYSTAL HORIZON: Everest - The First Solo Ascent

UK.MARLBOROUGH,WILTS.THE CROWOOD PRESS,1989.

ISBN 1852232501.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Originally published Munich,Germany,1982 under title of 'Der Glasserne Horizont'.This 1st English edn translated by Jill Neate and Audrey Salkeld.] NFINE/VG+.Neat,red ink previous owner's name+date to recto of title-page,no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, clean,glossy laminated,wrap-around mountain scenic colour photographic illustrated dw/dj with author's colour photograph portrait superimposed towards it's lower edge; with white lettering,with minimal shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners.Top corners,head of spine/ backstrip all with some minimal,miniscule bumping/rubbing and light chipping - no major loss and dw/dj has inevitable lifetime/age-accumulated,light scoring/ indentations.Both the top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight, solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners.Bright,generally clean,sharp-cornered,plain,black paper-covered bds with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip,colour mountain scenic photographic illustrated eps,front pastedown having an in-production vertical crease/wrinkle about 1" in from spine/ backstrip's gutter's edge.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj, 1st edn,6-322pp [paginated] includes author intro/preface,7 chapters,profuse b/w+colour contemporary photographs+illus interspersed throughout the text and the book,colour plate/photographs in 2 separate sections,between pp9-15 and pp275-302 respectively,some b/w route maps by Helmut Hoffmann and Anina Westphalen, the last chapter comprising Mount Everest chronicle and biblio.Plus [unpaginated], double-page b/w mountain scenic photographic title-page,and contents list/ table. On 20 August 1980 Reinhold Messner reached the summit of Everest - alone and without the use of oxygen.His vivid account of this extraordinary achievement forms the core of 'The Crystal Horizon' but it is not merely an adventure story. Messner describes with clarity and passion his journey through Tibet,his emotional reactions to this mysterious country of snow peaks,ruined monastries and yak caravans. He indentifies with the legendary mountaineers who have been before him and Mallory,Irvine and Wilson come to life as he makes his ascent to the 'roof of the world'. The glittering light and oxygen-starved air lead Messner to profound reflection and a mountaineering adventure becomes the vehicle for an exploration of self and of the world. The crystal horizon - a symbol of the outermost frontier of the world and the innermost frontier of the ego.This book is not only the record of Messner's expedition into the Tibetan highlands and his solo ascent of Everest.It is the fascinating description of a year in the life of this exceptional man; the story of a man who surpassed himself; the story of a gambler who was lucky; the story of a 'conqueror' who never carried a flag either in his heart or in his rucksack; the story of an adventurer in ice and snow. Born in 1944 in the South Tyrol,Reinhold Messner did most of his early climbing in the Dolomites and the Western Alps.By the age of twenty he had climbed most of the hardest routes,including a notable solo ascent of Philipp-Flamm,on the Civetta.In 1969 he took part in his firt expedition to the Andes,where he reached the 21,758ft summit of Yerupaja.In 1970 he made his first ascent of a Himalayan summit,Nanga Parbat.The next sixteen years saw his conquest of all fourteen 8,000m peaks (his 'All 14 Eight-Thousanders is also available from this same publisher, The Crowood Press),of which his climb of Everest in 1980 is the subject of this book. Messner has also climbed mountains in North America,Kenya,New Guinea and Antarctica.He has written many books about his mountaineering adventures. Since April 2013 and again in March 2015, and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices,weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too! So,please contact seller,because of the weight and value of this item for correct, insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.

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