Nanda Devi

the long version

In 1976, John Roskelley joined an expedition to climb Nanda Devi, a 26,645-foot peak in India's remote northwest frontier. What unfolded during this climb was a story of strong emotion, conflicting ambitions, death and victory, desire and regret. This is the story of Will Unsoeld, the expedition leader who supported the participation of his young daughter, who was named after the mountain they were climbing, and Nanda Devi Unsoeld, the idealistic, free-spirited woman determined to scale the mountain with her father. It is also the story of John Roskelley, who was instrumental in the success of putting three people on the top of Nanda Devi. Roskelley is outspoken and honest about an expedition that unraveled in the face of adversity, pulled itself together under torturous circumstances to fulfill its ambitions and goals, yet ended tragically high on the mountain.