Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
That Herzog's tale turns out not to be the whole truth of Annapurna in no way un-
dercuts the fundamental heroism of its protagonists. The more we learn, from all the
warring viewpoints, about what happened on that brilliant and tragic expedition, the
more the loyalty and self-sacrifice of Terray and Rébuffat shine forth. Terray, in par-
ticular, played an extraordinary role: the strongest climber, he twice gave up his chance
for the summit, and after only a brief hesitation he traded boots with Lachenal, risking
frostbite to enable his best friend to stagger down the mountain.
When all is said and done, moreover, is there any deed in all of mountaineering
history more noble than Lachenal's? For as he pushed on toward the elusive summit
that bitter day in June, he knew quite clearly that he was sacrificing his feet to save his
comrade's life.
With all the laconic eloquence of his writing at its best, he closes his “Commen-
taires” with a condensed statement of his truth. If there can never be a definitive last
word on the complex and ambiguous saga that was Annapurna 1950, still, Lachenal's
two sentences stand as its epigraph: “That march to the summit was not a matter of
national glory. It was
une affaire de cordée.”