An account of the 1953 British Everest Expedition, which culminated with the first successful ascent of the world highest mountain by Hillary and Tenzing, written by John Hunt, leader of the expedition. It is an inspiring tale of human endurance in the face of potentially lethal conditions ( as is shown by the high level of fatlities on subsequent attempts to climb Everest ) . Not the least interesting aspect of the book is the copious appendices which deal with the technical and physiological difficulties associated with very high altitude climbing