About the Book

VOLUME TWO of MARK’S WALKABOUT

MY SEVEN SUMMITS: A stroke is Upon Me. There are countless stories inside My Seven Summits. Each mountain carries its own theme, its own rhythm, its own culture. These are tales of relationships forged on the highest, most dangerous, and most iconic peaks on Earth—and of how falling in love with the Seven Summits can become a kind of salvation.
Sharing the romance of climbing feels good. Finding the right partner becomes sublime—especially when that partner helps you survive a stroke.

This memoir unfolds chronologically, beginning with my first climb: Mt. Everest, 1983. I was there when Dick Bass made his first attempt on the summit. What I learned then is simple: no normal climber gets do overs. Beyond grit, all it takes to reach the top is time and money. Dick Bass had both. I didn’t. My quest stretched over seventeen years.

After Everest came Denali, then Aconcagua, Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn, Mt. Cook, Kilimanjaro, and finally… Vinson Massif? No. Instead, a massive stroke struck me down. I was left crippled, fighting for my life.

“A memoir of survival and resilience that saves lives while measuring one’s grit.”