My Everest Odyssey

Description

More than 50 years ago, New Hampshire native Russ Staples was a 22-year old Peace Corps volunteer in southern India. With only a pair of sneakers, a borrowed backpack, and $200 in his pocket he set out for the 27-day, 400-mile journey by foot. Unlike Everest adventures of today, Staples’ 1967 hike was unsupported – the robust Everest tourism industry hadn’t yet arrived in Nepal. There were no planes, no hospitals, and certainly no rescues. Instead, he relied on the generosity and kindness of rural Nepali farmers and his own grit and determination. His journey took him by ancient Buddhist monasteries, through neatly terraced fields and pristine Himalayan wilderness as he walked in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary and the 1963 American expedition. Staples’ memoir will be available for purchase and signing following the presentation.