A Fatal Obsession: The Women at Cho Oyu – A Reporting Saga

This is a revised and expanded edition of Harper’s original work, ‘Lady Killer Peak’, which tells the story of Claude Kogan’s tragic 1959 all-women’s expedition to Cho Oyu (26,750’). Kogan was an exceptional climber having set a women’s altitude record with the first ascent of Nun Kun (23,410’ 1953) and then increased that record when she reached 25,496’ on her first attempt on Cho Oyu, sixth highest mountain in the world, in 1954. It was following the latter expedition, during which expedition leader Raymond Lambert made the decision to abandon the summit attempt over Kogan’s protests, that Kogan vowed to return with an all-women’s expedition. Tragically, her impatience to reach the summit during a break of fine weather before the end of monsoon storms led to her death along with three others. The expedition was contracted to give Harper, a Daily Express reporter, full and exclusive access to their story. This is based on diaries, interviews, reminiscences, and letters and notes sent to him in Kathmandu. Harper’s original book, ‘Lady Killer Peak’, is quite hard to find.