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My brother in law, Ned Kelly, was on this expedition so my personal interest in it is perhaps as great as the courageous mountaineers who challenge themselves with this adventurous and arduous work. Ned died in 2014 having lived the life he wanted.

Classic Bonnington.
I read this, and all of Bennington's other books, 40 years ago. I found them very inspirational in my youth and decided to revisit them in the leisurely hours of retirement.
As with all his books, 'Everest The Hard Way' is very readable, providing an excellent amount of detail of both the planning and the climbing; yet it never drags.
Clearly, one of Bonnington's assets is his ability to assess the varying personalities and abilities of his climbers and ensure that the varying rolls required by the expedition are filled by the most suitable climber. Leadership in the true sense of the word.

Very sad story but I enjoyed it very much. Felt like I was there with Mr. Bonington.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Adrian Gordon who was a member of the climbing party and after a brief discussion with him decided to purchase this book and read the entire adventure this group of climbers experienced. The book gives a great description of the adventure although occurred many years ago its still a very enjoyable book to read. Highly recommend it.

A fabulous read.

This is a mountaineering classic only understood by people who have climbed big. A must read for anybody who wants to do major climb in himalayas

After Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mt. Everest in 1953, Hillary thought no one would care to climb it again. But thousands have climbed Everest since then. The most serious climbers directed their attention toward more difficult routes to the summit. In 1960, a Chinese expedition claimed to have reached the summit via the Northeast Ridge (some have challenged their claim, but some leading climbers have accepted it—two questions are involved: Did they succeed? and Did they succeed in the manner they have described?). In 1963, an American team climbed to the top via the West Ridge. Serious efforts to climb the Southwest Face began in 1970. In the following years, there were three Japanese expeditions, an international expedition, and Bonington’s 1972 expedition. Impeded by pursuing multiple objectives, adverse weather, and failure to discover a route through the rock band, none of these expeditions mastered the Southwest Face.

After his unsuccessful 1972 attempt, Bonington had said that it might be “impossible” to climb the Southwest Face in post-monsoon period, during which winds could reach 100 miles per hour and temperatures could fall to -40 degrees Centigrade. Consequently, he wanted to climb in the spring. But, in 1975, as in 1972, cancellation of another expedition created a fall opening for Bonington. His 1975 expedition drew lessons from the experiences of previous expeditions, especially the need to climb earlier in the season (in the narrow window between the monsoon rains and the winter winds and cold), to find a better route, and to construct stronger tents.

The physical strength needed to climb the mountain is self-evident. But the organizational challenge of this two-month expedition is suggested by considering the 20 tons of equipment, clothing and food required, not only by the 18 climbers, but also the 38 high altitude porters, the 30 ice fall porters, and other expedition personnel. All the supplies had to be obtained, sorted, packed and transported to Nepal in advance of the expedition itself. Bonington describes himself as “a frustrated Field Marshall”; he was keenly aware that success “requires meticulous planning.” But he did not think “the old military style of leadership can possibly work.” The book reflects his manner of dealing with these conflicting imperatives.

Everest: The Hard Way may live up to its billing as “The Adventure Story of the Decade,” but, like some of Bonington’s other books-- Annapurna South Face: The Classic Account of Survival (Adrenaline) and Everest South West Face--it can also be viewed as a manual on how to organize a major Himalayan expedition, since it covers such organizational details as selecting climbers and porters, procuring and shipping supplies, assigning duties, and determining the route. Indeed, much of the narrative reflects Bonington’s concern with logistical matters—the location of camp sites, provisioning of individual camps, movements of climbers from one camp to another, and the tasks assigned to particular climbers. Fortunately, extensive accounts by individual climbers convey the drama and suspense of their work, describing progress up the mountain, breaking trails, fixing rope, setting up and supplying camp sites, and bridging a 30-foot crevasse. From these accounts readers can begin to understand the challenges they had to overcome. This is especially true of Nick Estcourt’s and Tut Braithwaite’s description of fixing the trail through the left hand gully, and Dougal Haston’s and Douglas Scott’s accounts of how they reached the summit, but were then forced to bivouac at 28,700 feet in temperatures reaching -30 degrees Centigrade, without sleeping bags, oxygen, or food.

This book includes a 188-page narrative, 145 pages of appendices; 32 pages of color photographs, various diagrams & photos showing routes and camp sites of the 1975 climb and previous efforts, and a 3-page index. As with other Bonington books, Everest: The Hard Way devotes many pages to organizational matters. The 11 appendices occupy 41 per cent of the volume. Among the appendices, Appendix 1 (15 pages) provides capsule biographies of the principal climbers, a list of the porters and their home villages, and a chronology of events. Appendix 2 (30 pages) describes logistical arrangements including supplies; porter payloads; schedules; rest periods; allowances for injuries, illnesses, weather; illustrated with various tables and charts. It explains how a computer was used to test plans. Appendix 5 (47 pages) discusses equipment (clothing, sleeping bags, footwear, gloves, goggles, harnesses, crampons, axes, ropes, pitons, tents, cooking equipment); and contains tables that show the quantities and distribution of individual items. Other appendices cover administrative requirements, customs clearances, transportation, oxygen equipment, food, communication (both on the mountain and with the outside world), and still and motion picture photography. Appendix 11 is a glossary of terms relating to climbing and local features of Mt. Everest. The 3-page index achieves its brevity by omitting nearly everything except personal and place names.

If you are a mountaineer, or even if you just appreciate the complexity of such a grand adventure you will like this book. Chris writes well and he certainly is one of the most accomplished climbers ever. The first few chapters on the organization and the approach to the base of the mountain were a bit slow but necessary to appreciate the enormous complexity and dynamics of such an event. The action that follows is some of the greatest stories in the sport. Life itself hangs in the balance.