W. E. Bowman’s ‘The Ascent of Rum Doodle’ resides in that strange category of books
The Ascent of Rum Doodle
which could be described as literature you’ve never heard of but which instantly becomes one of your favourite reads. It’s a comedy, as you might gather from the title and a satirical one at that. The story revolves around a mid-20th century expedition to climb the highest mountain on earth – the eponymous Rum Doodle.
I first encountered a copy of this book in Nepal about ten or so years ago and that’s no surprise really; the trekking and mountain climbing tourists which populate Kathmandu and Pokhara are well familiar with this book and it’s sold and passed on in numerous hotels and guest houses in the region. The surprise that most people express when reading it revolves around how funny it is, how old it is (1956) and why have they never head of it.
It’s a superbly well observed diary of an enormously complex plan to enable two members of the party to reach the 40,000 and a half foot peak of Rum Doodle. Each character in the party is hilarious in his own way – the navigator who constantly gets lost, the cultural expert who consistently enrages the local porters with his useless translations, the constantly ill doctor and the team leader who fails to see the enmity with which each member of the team views each other.
There is not one age of this book which is not funny and out of many memorable moments, my personal favourite involves the team leader and narrator trying to overcome altitude sickness by incorrectly taking one step then waiting ten minutes in that position to acclimatise, leading him to……
“…..fall over sideways; then I got cramp in the calf; then my nose started to itch; then my foot started to vibrate and had to be held down with both hands. This was very tiring and when I crouched to hold my foot I was lower than I had been before making the step, which caused me to wonder whether I was gaining height or losing it….”
For fans of this of this genre, whatever that is, and comedy fans of all types, The Ascent of Rum Doodle should not be missed.