Tibets Secret Mountain Ascent Of Sepu Kangri

In the last decade of the 20th century, it is almost unbelievable that a mountain range of length comparable to the entire Nepal Himalaya should still remain a vague notion to geographers and exploratory mountaineers. Yet such was the mountain range in Tibet that Chris Bonington and Dr. Charles Clarke 1st explored in 1997 and again in 1998 (its highest peak, Sepu Kangri, is 22,802 feet). The valley of the Diru, with its rich flora and flourishing farms and monasteries seemed like a Shangri-La, and the climbers were welcomed by its inhabitants. Set against this other-worldly backdrop is the poignancy of the 62-year-old Bonington feeling his age and the camaraderie and tension among the expedition's team, especially as they come within 200 meters of the summit of Sepu Kangri. Tibet's Secret Mountain is more than a climbing book, however; neurologist Charles Clarke has written chapters on mountain and Tibetan medicine, the history of travel through Tibet, and his medical encounters with the people of the region -- all of which add to the fascination of this remarkable account.