The true story of the thrill-seekers map-makers soldiers occultists artists and porters who
paved the way for modern mountaineering. WINNER OF THE 2025 NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD FOR
HISTORY BIOGRAPHY 'A beautifully written and sure-footed history of mountaineering "before
Everest" full of wonderful stories and spanning continents and centuries. A splendid debut.'
Sir Ranulph Fiennes author of Shackleton Beautiful remote and dangerous - for generations
we have looked to the mountains in awe. Yet for most that is where the fascination ends. For
a rare few however the allure of the peaks proved irresistible. There are the devout Incan
priests who scaling the Andes' icy slopes to pay tribute to each mountain's 'Great Lord'
travelled higher than any European would for centuries. The Gurkha riflemen who joined their
commanders in canvassing the Karakoram admiring the distant summits of Broad Peak and K2 with
gleeful anticipation. The tweed-clad mountaineers who made the first serious assaults on
Everest hauling yards upon yards of battered rope through the cold. Tracing the world
altitude record from the ashy slopes of the sacred volcano Llullaillaco to the icy crags and
crevasses of the Karakoram Daniel Light takes a panoramic journey through the storied history
of mountaineering before Everest. Joining a cast of colourful characters The White Ladder
offers an ode to mountains' capacity to enthral and the fundamental human drive to climb
higher and higher. *** 'Thrilling... Daniel Light delivers stories that are poetic
spiritual and astonishing in their courage and drive.' Sonia Purnell author of A Woman of No
Importance 'Daniel Light guides the reader through a mountain-scape that stretches from the
Alps to the Himalaya... with the sure footing of a serious student of climbing history and the
élan of a skilled storyteller. This is a book to curl up with on a cold dark night in a
comfortable armchair before a bright fire.' Maurice Isserman co-author of Fallen Giants
'Wonderful... a massive story with an enormous cast of characters among them some of the most
compelling figures of mountaineering history.' Wade Davis author of Into the Silence
