Thin Air: Encounters in the Himalayas

* This classic established Child as one of the great mountaineering writers of our time
* Describes Child’s apprenticeship to such climbing legends as Doug Scott, Don Whillans, and Alan Rouse
* Written with a keen eye for detail, a firm sense of drama and, of course, wit

Climbing a Himalayan peak was the stuff of Greg Child’s wildest dreams. Then in the late 1970s came a surprise berth on an expedition that was to define his career as a high-altitude mountaineer and transform him personally. A chronicle of his apprenticeship, Thin Air established Child as one of the great mountaineering writers of our time.

Thin Air is about the intensity of climbing on the edge day after day. It is about friendships and tragedies and the memories that linger for decades. Filled with humor, irony, and pathos, Thin Air touches us with the beauty of the Baltoro Glacier’s landscape and encounters with the local people. It also paints portraits of legendary mountaineers Doug Scott, Don Whillans, Alan Rouse, and others.