By Rob Miller | Portfolio Manager at NAOS Asset Management

An autobiography of the high altitude mountaineer Andrew Lock, arguably the greatest ever from Australia.

A human being has very limited capacity to survive, let alone function, above the altitude of 8000m. Known as the ‘death zone’ above 8000m the human body starts to degenerate very quickly. If you add to this the impact of Mother Nature, statistically, climbing an 8000m peak is near impossible to achieve.

Andrew is the only Australian to achieve the feat of summitting all fourteen mountains over 8000m, something only very few have managed to do. In addition to this, he has climbed Mount Everest twice. Most people use oxygen to assist when climbing, what makes Andrew’s achievements even more astounding is that he doesn’t use bottled oxygen.

For every one of Andrew’s successful summits, there are also many unsuccessful attempts to summit which the autobiography delves into. Some attempts fall agonisingly short, others descend into disaster. Looking back over a long career, the level of detail in which Andrew recounts his climbs gives the 99.9% of people who will never summit an 8000m mountain an excellent understanding of what is required to achieve such success. Commitment, strength, tolerance, perseverance and luck are just a few resonating messages from the book. In my view, many of these themes can be applied to the world of investing. An enthralling read.

Link to book