Concerning altitude sickness and psychiatry in the 1900s–30s, the following were especially useful: High Life: A History of High-Altitude Physiology and Medicine (J. West, New York: OUP 1998); High Altitude, Illness and Wellness: the Prevention of a Killer (C.S. Houston, Connecticut 1998); Psychology and Psychotherapy (W. Brown, 1934, London); Instinct and the Unconscious (W.H. Rivers, London, 1922).
I’m also very grateful to Jan Faull and Rob Turnock for staging the British Film Institute’s ‘Extreme Summits’ season at the National Film Theatre in autumn 2013. It was an immense stroke of luck to be able to watch the original films of those early Himalayan expeditions on the big screen, particularly: John Noel’s 1922 and 1924 films of the Everest climbs, Frank Smythe’s 1931 film of his ascent of Kamet; Wings over Everest (1934) directed by Ivor Montagu and Geoffery Barkas; and Charles Evans’ footage of the 1955 ascent, which was given its first ever public screening at the NFT.
Finally, I want to thank a few people. First, Nawang Ldorba Leh of World Expeditions (India). Nawang was the Chief Guide on my trek to Dzongri. He has over twenty years’ experience of trekking and climbing in Sikkim, Himachal, Ladakh and elsewhere, and I’m truly grateful for his expertise, his good humour and patience with my endless questions, and his kindness in taking me to that sacred lake. My thanks also to Om Bhadhur Chattri (‘Jatha’), who has over the years made that Yuksom to Dzongri trek over two hundred and fifty times, and who was tireless on our trek in showing us the plants and wildlife of this very special region.
I also want to thank Jon Wood, Publisher, Orion Publishing Group, for his boundless enthusiasm for this project and his insightful editorial comments; as well as Jemima Forrester, Senior Commissioning Editor, and Bethan Jones, Assistant Editor, for their helpful and imaginative suggestions during the editing. Finally, my thanks as always to my wonderful agent Peter Cox, for his unfailing support for this story, from its very first glimmerings in the winter of 2012.
MICHELLE PAVER,
London 2015
Also by Michelle Paver
Dark Matter
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
Wolf Brother
Spirit Walker
Soul Eater
Outcast
Oath Breaker
Ghost Hunter
Other Novels
Without Charity
A Place in the Hills
The Shadow Catcher
Fever Hill
The Serpent’s Tooth
AN ORION EBOOK
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Orion Books.
This ebook first published in 2016 by Orion Books.
Copyright © Michelle Paver 2016
The right of Michelle Paver to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All the characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 4091 6337 4
Orion Books
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
An Hachette UK Company
www.orionbooks.co.uk
Thin Air Page 18
