The Ascent of Nanda Devi : I believe we so far forgot ourselves as to shake hands on it

In 1934, after fifty years of trying, mountaineers finally gained access to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary in the Garhwal Himalaya.

Two years later an expedition led by H.W. Tilman reached the summit of Nanda Devi. At over 25,000 feet, it was the highest mountain to be climbed until 1950.

The Ascent of Nanda Devi, Tilman's account of the climb, has been widely hailed as a classic. Keenly observed, well informed and at times hilariously funny, it is as close to a 'conventional' mountaineering account as Tilman could manage. Beginning with the history of the mountain ('there was none') and the expedition's arrival in India, Tilman recounts the build-up and approach to the climb.

Writing in his characteristic dry style, he tells how Sherpas are hired, provisions are gathered (including 'a mouth-blistering sauce containing 100 per cent chillies') and the climbers head into the hills, towards Nanda Devi. Superbly parodied in The Ascent of Rum Doodle by W.E. Bowman, The Ascent of Nanda Devi was among the earliest accounts of a climbing expedition to be published. Much imitated but rarely matched, it remains one of the best.

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The Ascent of Nanda Devi : I believe we so far forgot ourselves as to shake hands on it

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Mischief among the Penguins : Hand (man) wanted for long voyage in small boat. No pay, no prospects, not much pleasure.

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When Men & Mountains Meet : Like the desire for drink or drugs, the craving for mountains is not easily overcome

H.W. Tilman

Mischief in Greenland : Only a man in the devil of a hurry would wish to fly to his mountains

H.W. Tilman

Mount Everest 1938 : Whether these mountains are climbed or not, smaller expeditions are a step in the right direction

H.W. Tilman

Mostly Mischief : Including the first ascent of a mountain to start below sea level

H.W. Tilman

Two Mountains and a River : I made a resolve not to begin climbing until assured by a plague of flies that summer had really come

H.W. Tilman

Mischief goes South : Every herring should hang by its own tail

H.W. Tilman

China to Chitral : Mountains are the beginning and end of all scenery

H.W. Tilman

In Mischief's Wake : In the joy of the actors lies the sense of any action. That is the explanation, that the excuse.

H.W. Tilman