Everest: The Hard Way by Chris Bonington (1976) (SIGNED)

The first ascent of the South West Face.

This book describes the 1975 British expedition to Everest. Led by Chris Bonington, this group included many of Britain's strongest climbers, including Hamish MacInnes, Dougal Haston, Peter Boardman, Paul Braithwaite, and Doug Scott, amongst others. This was one of the good-ol-days national expeditions - they sieged the face into submission and scored a victory for Her Majesty the Queen of England.

Despite the now-outdated style, this was nonetheless an impressive achievement on the highest mountain in the world. A Slovak team repeated the route alpine-style in 1988, and put Josef Just on the summit, but tragically, all four members of the team were lost on the descent.

Hardcover book, 219 pages, with a mix of color and b&w photos throughout, and maps and diagrams to illustrate the text. This is a first-edition UK copy from Hodder & Stoughton, flat-signed by Chris Bonington and Doug Scott on the title page. The corners have some bumping, there is sun-fading to the spine of the dust jacket, and some foxing on the back of the dust jacket (front of jacket looks great). Somer damp/old smell but no physical signs of mold or water damage. I just replaced the brodart with a brand-new one.