Everest Surgeon: Michael Ward and the Exploration of High Asia

This is the first biography of Michael Ward (1925-2005): mountaineer, surgeon, scientist, explorer and writer.Amongst his many accomplishments, it describes - from his unique perspective - the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, when he was expedition doctor.Before this, he instigated the 1951 Reconnaissance Expedition, which discovered the route climbers would take to Everest’s summit after poring over forgotten maps and aerial photographs. During the ground-breaking 1960-61 Himalayan Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition, he led the first ascent of the iconic Ama Dablam, notably during winter, a climb considered years ahead of its time.As an explorer, he was one of the first Europeans to travel through, and map, the remote northern regions of Bhutan, while conducting a medical survey of its inhabitants.He went on to write the first textbook on mountain medicine, which remains in print today. In 1981, just as China was opening up following its turbulent Cultural Revolution, Ward