While I have done some mountaineering I spent most of my time rock climbing, with a preference for very tall steep things.

My co-chair was astronaut John Grunsfeld who is a mountaineer. This event led me and others to many subsequent adventures.Īmong our speakers and attendees where a number of mountaineers including Ed Viesturs (whom Scott and I met at Everest) and David Roberts. This experience with very personal risk assessments led me to propose and then co-chair a NASA event called “ Risk and Exploration” in 2004. One of my frustrations has always been that NASA and the space community often perceive and respond to risk in a way that is oddly different to the way that people engaged in risky endeavors – often involving explorations of a different sort. Moreover, this book is about bouncing back from tragedy to exceed one’s capabilities to do the impossible – while risks continue to surround you every step of the way.ĭavidson arrived in Nepal ready to attain a life’s dream only to have an earthquake shatter that dream and those of all around him while others nearby paid the ultimate price, Yet he made I back to Nepal and to the top of Everest a year later.

This engaging book is about what one has to do to survive when everything suddenly goes very wrong. “The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain’s Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again”, by Jim Davidson provides a gripping insight into what it is like to prepare for an ascent of Everest.

Those of you who are familiar with my writing about space know that I spend a lot of time on exploration and the risks that accompany it.

Jim davidson the next everest