| Description |
351 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 342-344) and index. |
| Form |
"Issued also in electronic format"--Title page verso. |
| Summary |
"Freedom Climbers tells the story of a group of extraordinary Polish adventurers who emerged from under the blanket of oppression following the Second World War to become the world's leading Himalayan climbers. Although they lived in a dreary, war-ravaged landscape, with seemingly no hope of creating a meaningful life, these curious, motivated and skilled mountaineers created their own free-market economy under the very noses of their Communist bosses and climbed their way to liberation. At a time when Polish citizens were locked behind the Iron Curtain, these intrepid explorers found a way to travel the world in search of extreme adventure - to Alaska, South America and Europe, but mostly to the highest and most inspiring mountains of the world. To this end, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Nepal became their second homes as they evolved into the toughest group of Himalayan climbers the world has ever known."--Jacket. |
| Awards |
Boardman Tasker Prize, 2011 ; Munday Award, 2011 |
| Contents |
Crutches to crampons -- Climbing politics -- Climbers without borders -- The knuckle -- Hat trick on Everest -- Solidarity to martial law -- Together or alone -- The third man -- The art of suffering -- Mountain of misery -- Forged in steel -- Himalayan rosary -- Fallen giant -- Caravan of dreams -- Last climb -- The loneliest crown -- Appendix : chronology of major Polish Himalayan climbs. |
| Subject |
Mountaineers -- Poland -- Biography.
|
|
Mountaineering -- Himalaya Mountains -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Mountaineering. (OCoLC)fst01028334
|
|
Mountaineers. (OCoLC)fst01028364
|
|
Himalaya Mountains. (OCoLC)fst01242048
|
|
Poland. (OCoLC)fst01206891
|
| Chronological Term |
1900-1999
|
| Genre/Form |
Nonfiction.
|
|
Biographies. (OCoLC)fst01919896
|
|
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
|
| Other Form: |
Online version: McDonald, Bernadette, 1951- Freedom climbers. Victoria ; Vancouver ; Calgary : Rocky Mountain Books, 2011 1926855612 9781926855615 (OCoLC)718182321 |
| ISBN |
9781926855608 |
|
1926855604 |
|
9781927330128 (pbk.) |
|
1927330122 (pbk.) |
|
