Short description
In 2006 Selebelo Selamolela joined the team of the American-led Everest Peace Project, consisting, among others, of two Israelis, a Palestinian, a Hindu, an American woman, and himself.
Long description
In 2006 Selebelo Selamolela joined the team of the American-led Everest Peace Project, consisting, among others, of two Israelis, a Palestinian, a Hindu, an American woman, and himself. His description of their attempt to get to the top of the world covers conflicts within the team, long and tedious periods of waiting, brutal and hazardous conditions, the desperate need to keep going, and his own near escape from death. He tells also of how he, a black South African, came to be passionately interested in the ‘white’ sport of mountaineering. The title is divided into three parts: in Part I the author describes two other mountain treks that he undertook (Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Huyana Potosi in Bolivia) as a prelude to Everest and gives an insight into his youth and childhood in Soweto; in Part II he tells of the preparations for the Everest climb and the ascent, as well as his no less dramatic descent; in Part III he reflects on the extraordinary experience of climbing Everest and the challenges of mountaineering.