The authors describe their attempt to reach the peak of Sepu Kangri, a daunting mountain deep in central Tibet Although it's difficult to imagine that a mountain just a bit shorter than Everest could be a "secret," that's exactly what Bonington (England's top climber) and Clarke (a neurologist specializing in high altitude medicine) found during a plane ride in 1982. Looking out their window, they saw a range of peaks on the Tibetan Plateau that did not appear on their maps. Several years later, with the aid of some USAF photos, they set out to conquer the 22,800-foot peak that is known to Tibetans as "The Great White Snow God." This is the story of their two attempts, in 1997 and 1998. In an age where rich people can buy their way to the top of Mount Everest, this story of a mysterious, inaccessible mountain takes readers on a mesmerizing journey via prose from another, more exciting time. Recommended for libraries serving readers passionate about encounters between men and mountains (A documentary on the climb is scheduled to air on the Discovery Channel in February.)--Joseph L. Carlson, Lompoc, CA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. ``Picture two happy men walking up a glorious valley'' deep in central Tibet, 20,000-footers rising here and there. Mountaineers Bonington and Clarke try for an unclimbed summit, but it is the road that delights more than the topmost point. Bonington has made his name by climbing the great Himalayan peaks, though these days he is happiest, like his climbing companion Clarke, glomming about the backcountry, going remote in high-elevation landscapes. Clarke's warm voice alternates with Bonington's clipped tones in chapters describing their journey to Tibet's Sepu Kangri, known to the locals as the White Snow God, a glorious and daunting mountain away in the back of beyond. A combination of hellacious weather and unstable conditions prevents the duo from reaching the summit, yet their high spirits buoy the story. Now in their 60s, both men stop to smell the wildflowers, enjoy the area's residents, and take delays in stride. Even Bonington, heretofore a bit of a taskmaster, trades military precision for serendipity, and displays a certain grim pleasure in the logistical snafus: ``He told us that we had come at a very bad timeit always seemed a bad time.'' Clarke is more consistently relaxed and expansive, stopping to note that ``we surprised two ruddy shelducks from a little moraine pool,'' commenting on the fooddelicious dumplings stuffed with meat and onions and hunks of lamb roasted in the embersor passing along the good news about the outhouse situation: ``The stench was indescribable. I gagged and retched.'' Bonington and Clarke each write polished landscape pastels and successfully capture the jittery atmosphere in Lhasa, where they duel with the Chinese bureaucracy over permits. A mellower Bonington, now more enchanted with place than technique, is as compatible with Clarke in the dangerous terrain of writing as on an ice-armored cornice. (90 color photos) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Chris Bonington has taken part in 19 Himalayan expeditions and combined a career as a mountaineer with the writing of fifteen books, four of which were about Everest Everest South West Face, Everest The Hard Way, Everest The Unclimbed Ridge and The Everest Years. Sir Chris was knighted in 1992 for services to mountaineering. He is heading the RGS/Alpine Clubs Everest Celebrations Committee.