Geologist and climber reveals new truths on highest peaks

Releases memoir timed for 100th anniversary of first Mt. Everest expedition

Timed for the 100th anniversary since the first climbers ascended Mount Everest comes the new real-life adventure memoir, The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain’s Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again by Jim Davidson, a critically-acclaimed mountain climber and environmental geologist who was on the mountain’s Camp One in 2015 when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake slammed into the Himalayas—killing 18 people on the mountain and nearly 9,000 others across Nepal and in neighboring countries. According to Davidson, The Next Everest reveals controversial and never-before-shared facts, including:

• Future Earthquake Risk: Davidson’s geologic background and in-person evaluation of the earthquake conditions led him to conclude that it is not a matter of if, but when another bigger earthquake will hit Nepal. Davidson lays out compelling evidence for this claim, and states with certainty that the next earthquake on Everest could be more dangerous, more damaging and more deadly than the 2015 earthquake;

• Understanding the 2015 Earthquake and Avalanches: Davidson provides firsthand observations and a scientific evaluation of the damage and fatalities resulting from the perfect storm of the 2015 earthquake and avalanches on Everest—which happened while he was camped in the dangerously exposed Camp One;

• Trash on Everest: Davidson sets the record straight that it is NOT true that Everest is covered in garbage—a common misconception. Though residual problems exist from past decades, those are being addressed and garbage is now managed on the mountain. Using his 20 years of environmental cleanup expertise, Davidson details Everest’s trash management rules and the reality of litter on the peak;

• Overcrowding and Death on Everest: Despite the common misperception, Davidson reveals how overcrowding was not an issue on his climb to the summit. He provides a common-sense explanation of why overcrowding is a limited issue. He also shares the facts about death on Everest, why the mountain is getting safer (not more dangerous) and why bodies are often left on the mountain;

• Helicopters at 20,000 Feet: Davidson provides a rare first-person glimpse into the unprecedented and treacherous helicopter rescue conducted at Camp One on April 27, 2015, to evacuate climbers after several days of being stranded at Camp One following the earthquake;

• Human Waste on Everest: Davidson tackles the issue of human waste on Mount Everest head-on, not only explaining how human waste is managed on the mountain but also bringing his scientific skills to task by creating what he calls his spreadshit, an exact calculation of how much of Mount Everest is covered in poop—less than one ten-thousandth of the mountain.

• Climbing Everest Made Jim Fatter: During his 66-day expedition in 2017, Jim lost 22 pounds, and yet he returned home fatter than when he started. The vicious living conditions at high-altitude had burned off just two pounds of fat and stripped away 20 pounds of hard-earned muscle. His body fat rose from a lean 13 percent up to 18 percent.