This fascinating biography of Elizabeth Hawley, a Kathmandu-based American woman, is an absolutely riveting read.
Elizabeth Hawley was an avowed non-climber who was, nevertheless, the ultimate authority and arbiter on all things Himalayan climbing and mountaineering. For decades she interviewed climbers as they passed though Kathmandu, grilling them in detail about their experiences on the mountain, and kept careful notes. Her years of research and cross-referencing culminated in “The Himalayan Database”, her magnum opus which was the final word on climbs.
If Miss Hawley, after interviewing you and peppering you with questions, decided that you hadn’t actually sumitted a peak, then it would not be included in her database, and that was that.
I have heard and read about this formidable lady in the decade I have become involved in mountaineering, so found the book fascinating. But I’m convinced it would be just as fascinating to a non-climber – after all, the protagonist was a non-climber herself.
Elizabeth Harley’s life in Kathmandu, mixing with royalty, befriending the world’s top mountaineers, reads like a novel. She commanded respect and trepidation in equal measures, went travelling with a king, and partied with some of the most risk-prone people going.
Containing a wealth of detail and photographs, this is a finely written autobiography. The author paints an affectionate but never cloying picture of an exceptional woman who chronicled exceptional deeds.
Highly recommended.
If you’d like to buy the book – and it is a great read – here you go, a link to Amazon.