THE MAN WHO SKIED DOWN EVEREST

by Yuichiro with Eric Perlman Miura ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 1978

Now a national hero of Japan, Miura was already 37 when he set out to ski down Everest but in many ways he still seems an arrested adolescent--but a happy kid. . . of 37 His object was to hit the fastest skiing speed ever achieved (he'd already gone downhill at over 107 mph during speed races in Italy and down Mount Futi), and also to test a drag parachute for its help in maneuvering. At his speeds there's just no way to steer, avoid rocks and other horrors, or stop; he needs a straight-arrow path. We should say right now that he does not ski from the top of Everest, but he does set a ski altitude record of 26,516 feet. Ah, but first Miura finds that he has blimped in weight to 160 pounds and is grossly short of breath. He's not 30 anymore! And the most amusing part of his saga is his dieting and continuing problem with energy. But on the great day, he feels in the second prime of life. At 26,000 feet he finds the highest garbage dump in the world, jumbled useless equipment left behind by earlier expeditions. Then, in his radio-helmet, oxygen mask, and parachute, he sets off down the 45-degree slope of rocklike ice. The parachute doesn't work! Suddenly a rock looms ahead--his skis are gone, he's moving like a cannonball and. . . Well, he lived to win an Academy Award for the film of what happened. Crystal pictures, lively text.

Pub Date: Oct. 4, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION