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The true story of the 1957 climbing expedition on Mount Haramosh in Pakistan. Four young climbers are swept hundreds of feet down the mountain by an avalanche. Against the odds, they survive this, but their efforts to return to safety are hampered by injury, exhaustion and loss of vital equipment. For fans of "Touching The Void".
About the author
Ralph Barker was born in Middlesex in 1917. He joined the editorial staff of
Sporting Life in 1934 and later went into banking. He had some early success as a writer, and several of his sketches were performed at the Windmill Theatre.
In 1940 he joined the RAF as a wireless operator and air gunner. After completing his training, he served with torpedo bomber squadrons, taking part in dangerous missions to attack ships bringing supplies to German forces. He left the RAF in 1946 to return to banking, but rejoined two years later. He went on to broadcast with the British Forces Network and work for the Air Ministry.
Barker began to establish himself as a serious author on RAF subjects and his first book,
Down in the Drink, was published in 1955. This was followed in 1957 by
The Ship-Busters, inspired by his wartime experiences. He was subsequently invited to write
The Last Blue Mountain, which was first published in 1959. He retired as a flight lieutenant in 1961 and became a full-time writer.
Cricket was Barker's lifelong passion, and he played for the RAF and various Surrey clubs. His first cricket book,
Ten Great Innings, was published in 1964, followed in 1967 by
Ten Great Bowlers.
Barker continued to write non-fiction titles on mainly aviation, survival and cricketing themes, including a compendium of England-Australia Test matches and authoritative histories of the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. His final book,
Men of the Bombers, was published in 2005. He died in 2011.
Summary
The Last Blue Mountain is the heart-rending true story of the 1957 expedition to Mount Haramosh in the Karakoram range in Pakistan. An avalanche leaves four young climbers stranded in a snow basin, desperately endeavouring to avoid an icy grave. Ralph Barker's book is a mountaineering classic about friendship and fortitude in the face of tragedy.
