Mountaineer Lydia Bradey was the first woman to conquer Mt Everest without oxygen, and the first New Zealand woman to successfully make the climb.
At the time of her ascent in 1988 she was also, at 27, the youngest Kiwi ever to have summited.
In this account of her climbing career, written with novelist Laurence Fearnley, a close friend, Bradey recalls that first ascent (she’s summited twice since), which was called into question by her climbing partners Rob Hall and Gary Ball and became the subject of media controversy.
Bradey emerges as an inspirational and complex character.
Words by Eleanor Black
Photos by Thinkstock Images and Supplied
