Clouds from Both Sides : the story of the first British woman to climb an 8, 000-metre peak

'If I could choose a place to die, it would be in the mountains.' Clouds from Both Sides is the autobiography of Julie Tullis, the first British woman to climb an 8,000-metre peak – Broad Peak – and the first to reach the summit of K2, the world's second-highest mountain. A truly remarkable woman, Julie describes her early days in a London disrupted by World War II; her family life, climbing, teaching and living by the sandstone outcrops of High Rocks and Harrison's Rocks in Tunbridge Wells, Kent; and her experience as a high-level mountaineer and filmmaker. Tullis demonstrates her determination and self-discipline through training to black-belt standard in both judo and aikido, and never allows financial concerns to keep her away from the high mountains – a place where she felt at peace. Filled with vivid accounts of frostbite, avalanches, snow blindness and exhilaration alongside her climbing partner Kurt Diemberger, Clouds from Both Sides takes us to Yosemite, Nanga Parbat, Everest and K2. First published in 1986 before her death, and with an additional chapter written by Peter Gillman documenting Tullis's final, fated expedition to K2, this story is as relevant and awe inspiring today as it ever was. Tullis's achievements are timeless and her attitudes and opinions far ahead of their time. Clouds from Both Sides is a tribute to the memory of an inspirational woman determined to strive for her dreams, an extraordinary account of her adventures and an exhilarating testament to her courage. INTRODUCTION: `I've looked at clouds from both sides now' CHAPTER 1: First Steps CHAPTER 2: `From win and lose and still somehow ... ' CHAPTER 3: World's End to a New Horizon CHAPTER 4: Harrison's and Handicaps CHAPTER 5: A Question of Fate CHAPTER 6: Legless in Peru CHAPTER 7: Graduation by Bicycle and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik CHAPTER 8: Sun Dance in Yosemite CHAPTER 9: French Lessons - Bewitched by Nanga Parbat CHAPTER 10: The Correct Exposure CHAPTER 11: Ciao to China - Explorations in Sinkiang CHAPTER 12: K2: The Mountain of Mountains CHAPTER 13: Why? CHAPTER 14: Both Sides of the Avalanche - K2 and a Summit CHAPTER 15: Keeping Fit CHAPTER 16: Everest from Five Directions CHAPTER 17: Nanga Parbat - To Be or Not To Be? CHAPTER 18: The Final Summit COMPARATIVE CLIMBING GRADES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. __'If I could choose a place to die, it would be in the mountains.'__ A truly remarkable woman, Julie describes her early days in a London disrupted by World War II; her family life, climbing, teaching and living by the sandstone outcrops of **High Rocks** and **Harrison's Rocks** in Tunbridge Wells, Kent; and her experience as a high-level mountaineer and filmmaker. Tullis demonstrates her determination and self-discipline through training to black-belt standard in both judo and aikido, and never allows financial concerns to keep her away from the high mountains – a place where she felt at peace. Filled with vivid accounts of frostbite, avalanches, snow blindness and exhilaration alongside her... Clouds from Both Sides is the autobiography of Julie Tullis, the first British woman to climb an 8,000-metre peak, Broad Peak, and the first to reach the summit of K2. First published in 1986 before her death, and with an additional chapter by Peter Gillman documenting her final expedition to K2, this story is as awe inspiring today as it ever was.