Doctor On Everest

by Peter Steele, Pat Morrow (Introduction)

Peter Steele had already spent several years trekking and working in the Himalayas when he reluctantly took the position of medical officer on the 1971 International Everest Expedition. He expected it to be a hard climb; what he didn’t expect were the series of disasters that included a near-epidemic, a walk-out, and the death of a team member. Struggling against bad weather, hostile news reports, and violent infighting, the members still attempted to climb Everest via the treacherous, never-before-attempted southwest face. As much an exposé of Steele’s colorful climbing companions — foreign and Sherpa — as a chronology of the perilous day-to-day challenges of attempting a difficult new route on the world’s highest mountain, Doctor on Everest is a white-knuckle ride into an extreme environment and a compelling look at the limits of human endurance.

Genres: Nonfiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

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Reviews

[Melisa]

I found the book interesting, but very slow paced. I didn't know a lot about this expedition and found the information good to know.

[Bill Leach]

Steele tells the story of the 1971 International Everest Expedition on which he served as one of the doctors. The expedition encountered unusually poor weather, and many of the climbers became sick including an outbreak of glandular sickness which spread to many of the teams. In the end the climbing leaders, Dougal Haston and Don Whillans, found that they could not make it due to insufficient provisioning of the higher camps and the approaching monsoon.

The author provides interesting studies of the expedition participants. Descriptions of the medical issues provide a perspective not found in most climbing books. At the time the book was written (1972), the use of oxygen was still controversial, it being unclear whether the advantage of more oxygen exceeded the effort required to carry it. At that time, no-one had yet climbed Everest without oxygen.

[Becky Brinkley]

No collection of mountaineering books would be complete without this grueling true tale written from a medical doctor's perspective. Not only is the story riveting but the black and white photos are worth the price of the book alone. What drives people to climb Everest? Some insights are found in Doctor on Everest.
Review by Becky Brinkley, author of Whatever Happened to Lil' Bobby Burton?: A True Adventure

[Nadirah]

An interesting look into what happened in the ill-fated expedition to Everest. Loved the insights from a medical perspective.