When the polar rises in the high mountains

As if the very high mountain wasn’t already dangerous enough, with its rarefied oxygen, its violent winds and its avalanches, here is a sinister serial killer raging there. This is at least the subject of a new thriller, Asphyxiaby Amy McCulloch, which takes place on Manaslu, an 8163 meter peak located in the Himalayas, Nepal.

Luckily, during the off-season, we have time to read and mountain literature allows us to dream and plan adventures. Asphyxia is no exception. The dream may sound like a nightmare, but the story, precise and detailed, allows you to understand what an expedition to a high Himalayan peak is all about.

It’s hardly surprising: Amy McCulloch, a Canadian now living in London, climbed Manaslu herself in 2019.

She did not have a huge experience in mountaineering: she had reached the summit of Mount Toubkal, in Morocco, at the very beginning of 2018, then that of Aconcagua, in Argentina. The leader of this last expedition, Nirmal Purja, a former Nepali-British soldier, was still unknown, but he had a big dream: to climb 14 peaks over 8000 meters in record time. He invited Amy McCulloch to join his team for Manaslu.

“It’s an opportunity that I had to seize, whether I made the summit or not,” she says in an interview from London. But that rushed my introduction to peaks over 8000 meters. »

M^me McCullough, author of children’s novels, thought she would make a novel out of this experience, perhaps a kind of autobiographical essay like Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

During such an expedition, there are a lot of downtime and monotonous periods, as you follow the same paths over and over again to perfect your acclimatization. “So there’s plenty of time to think…” And plenty of time to observe expedition partners and polish a plot.

One of the characters in the novel is an experienced Quebec mountaineer, influencer, always well made up, Élise Gauthier. Amy McCulloch acknowledges that she took as a model the first Quebecer to climb K2, Marie-Pier Desharnais, but also the Andorran Stefi Troguet, who climbed the 8000 meters without oxygen, but with lipstick, and the Finnish Lotta Hintsa, a former model who insists on wearing all of her gear. “Élise Gauthier is a composite,” emphasizes the author.

Asphyxia follows the rise of Cecily Wong, a young freelance journalist who accompanies the great mountaineer Charles McVeigh. This one hopes to conclude in Manaslu the ascent of the 14 summits of 8000 meters without assistance and without oxygen. He promised Cecily an exclusive interview…only if she too made it to the top.

But now, fatal accidents occur and the journalist begins to suspect the presence of a serial killer. But who ? And what are his motives? Is Cecily in danger too?

The reader identifies several suspects, while gleaning valuable information that can help him during his future high mountain expeditions. Without a bloodthirsty assassin, one must hope.

Another suggested reading

Another woman has just made her contribution to mountain literature, a genre traditionally dominated by male authors. In the shadow of the mountainsby Peruvian mountaineer Silvia Vásquez-Lavado, recounts her ascent of Mount Everest in May 2016. There is not a race for achievement or glory, but an attempt to overcome a trauma that dates back to the ‘childhood.

Silvia Vásquez-Lavado founded Courageous Girls, an organization aimed at helping women victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking discover their inner strength. It was in this context that she guided a small group of Americans and Nepalese to Everest base camp, before joining a reputable agency to undertake the actual ascent. His story alternates between Everest, his difficult past in Lima and his self-destructive behavior in San Francisco. This is an introspective book that gives a good idea of ​​the difficulties of climbing Everest.

Asphyxia

Amy McCulloch

Michael Lafon

462 pages

In the shadow of the mountains

Silvia Vasquez-Lavado

Michael Lafon

430 pages