Table of Contents
Introduction: Ascending into Turmoil 13
The Meaning of Life 15
Tibet 18
Summit Day 25
Never a Dull Moment 38
The Paths We Choose 47
Tyneside to Argentina 58
High Rollers 64
Kathmandu 71
The Mountain Airstrip at Lukla 77
Everest Base Camp 94
Through the Khumbu Icefall 102
Into the Western Cwm 109
The Upward Move 119
Stepping Beyond the Line of Better Judgement 126
Picking Up the Pieces 132
Evacuation 148
Homeward Bound 151
One Sentence, Two Lines of Print 160
Twice to the Summit of Everest 163
An Escape into History 183
The Turning Point 195
The Search Begins 201
A Lifeline 208
Walls of Silence 218
An All Too Brief Contact 223
The Widening Search 226
Lhotse, 2006 229
The Meteorologist in His Garden 242
A Need for a Greater Understanding 246
The UK Meteorological Office 257
Time to Go Fishing 260
Confirmation from Within 266
Assistance from Denmark 268
Southward Bound 277
May 1996: Sequence of Events 281
The Wind of Change 287
Omission is the Greatest Lie 293
The Final Analysis 316
Bibliography 323
Index 325