Structured Chaos: The Unusual Life of a Climber

Saunders’ follow-up to his 1990 Boardman-Tasker Award winning book, Elusive Summits, reflects on his early childhood in Malaya and his first experiences of climbing as a student, and describes his progression from scaling canal-side walls in Camden to expeditions in the Himalaya and Karakoram. Following climbs on K2 and Nanga Parbat, he leaves his career as an architect and moves to Chamonix to become a mountain guide. He later makes the first ascent of Chamshen in the Saser Kangri massif, and reunites with old friend Mick Fowler to climb the north face of Sersank (6050m).

This is not just a tale of mountaineering triumphs, but also an account of rescues, tragedies and failures. Telling his story with humour and warmth, Saunders spans the decades from youthful awkwardness to concerns about age-related forgetfulness, ranging from 'Where did I put my keys?' to 'Is this the right mountain?'

This is a testament to the value of friendship and the things that really matter in life: being in the right place at the right time with the right people, and making the most of the view.

This special, signed edition has a different binding from the unsigned, hardcover trade edition and contains an additional signature page with the limitation number and Victor’s signature.

Winner 2021 Banff Mountain Book Festival Mountain Literature (Non-Fiction) Award.