Table of Contents

Translator's introduction
Introduction to the 1998 edition
About the author
In the mountains of North Tyrol
'They'll never make a climber of me'
A lesson from death
End of an Alpine apprenticeship
Grade VI - in the limestone cliffs
Three routes on the Schusselkar
The dying mountain - the north wall of the Praxmarerkarspitze
Head-first to life
The extreme edge of the abyss - the Mauk west wall
Straight on up - the Laliderer wall
Change of occupation - the ski-racer
Avalanches, plaster casts and a hint of spring
The Dolomite fairyland
Smuggler's journey into Fairyland
Once in a lifetime - Goldkappel south wall
The north-east wall of the Furchetta
A climb on probation
Ice-glazed rock, waterfalls and stones
The Royal Wall of the Civetta
Winter training
In the hell of a blizzard - Schusselkar wall
Twenty-five summits in thirty-three hours
The cold arete
In the ice of the Western Alps
The wall of ice and grit
The north wall of the Triolet
Only eight hours - but productive!
Christmas on the precipices
Climbing on steeples
Turned down by the Jorasses
Dreams come true
Thunder on the Aiguille Noire
A storm on the Monarch
The south-west wall of the Marmolada, in winter
Down a crevasse and an Alpine wager
The buttress of the Grandes Jorasses
Fifteen peaks at one bite
The Matterhorn and a flagon of wine
Gymnastics on rock - the north wall of the Western Zinne
A climber went a-wooing
We had to bivouac after all - on the Tofana buttress
Badile - north-east wall
Preparation for a great objective
The mountain crucible - Eiger north wall
The daily round intervenes
Alone on a winter's night - east wall of the Watzmann
Nanga Parbat
Below 26,000 feet
Above 26,000 feet
Epilogue - A year later.

About the Author

For many, Hermann Buhl is one of the greatest climbers of all time. Born in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1924, he was a frail child and not encouraged to climb but, driven by enthusiasm and determination, he did so anyway. He became one of the best rock climbers in Austria, and then one of the best mountaineers, before serving in the Second World War where he was captured while stationed with the alpine troops. Following the war, he turned his attention to the Western Alps with impressive results, making a series of remarkable climbs, often solo and frequently in appalling conditions. As his experiences and abilities grew - Buhl was to qualify as a mountain guide - it was inevitable that he would turn to the greater ranges. In 1953, on his first expedition, Buhl made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest mountain in the world. Climbing alone and without supplementary oxygen, he made a highly committing dash for the summit. When, in 1957, he made the first ascent of Broad Peak, again without oxygen or support from porters, he became the first man to make two first ascents of 8,000-metre peaks. Buhl was killed only a few weeks later while descending from an attempt on nearby Chogolisa.