Eternal Alpinist: A bottom-to-top climbing memoir

After a cancer diagnosis disrupts his recovery, a mountaineer plans and reclaims mountain fitness toward remote unclimbed peaks. ‘There is something very special about finding a spectacular objective, looking forward to it for a long time and then achieving exactly what one has set out to do.’ Newly retired and immersed in the logistical and bureaucratic maze of planning an expedition to Chombu – an unclimbed Himalayan peak in the Indian state of Sikkim – Mick Fowler’s life is turned upside down by a cancer diagnosis. In Eternal Alpinist, his fourth volume of climbing memoirs following Vertical Pleasure, On Thin Ice and No Easy Way, Mick describes – with his trademark dry wit – his determined and at times frustrating attempts to regain ‘mountain fitness’ and return to the places he loves most. Reaching Chombu with his climbing partner Victor Saunders becomes a constant focus during treatment and recovery. Known for seeking out mountaineering challenges that are remote, eye catching and unclimbed, Mick continues to pursue objectives far from the ordinary.