Chapter I Preparations and Chapter II The Himalaya Summary and Analysis

The first chapter opens in the spring of 1950 in Paris. The final preparations are being made for an expedition by the French Alpine Club to explore and possibly climb one of the major peaks of the Himalayan Mountains in the region of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna in Nepal. A committee has been formed, led by the club president Lucien Devies, and a team has been assembled under the leadership of the author, Maurice Herzog.

The team members include Jean Couzy, Marcel Schatz, Louis Lachenal, Gaston Rebuffat, and Lionel Terray. They are all experienced mountaineers who have been chosen from among the best climbers. The team will also take along a photographer, Marcel Ichac and a doctor, Jacques Oudot. All of these men have been hand-picked by Herzog, and...