The challenge
In the summer of 2018, Tac Caine’s best buddy implored the 61-year-old to go on an expedition to climb Mt. Everest. But, at that moment, his friend’s timing couldn’t have been worse. Tac was recovering from knee replacement and shoulder surgeries, experienced a worst-case scenario with his investment companies, and was overwhelmed in business and legal entanglements. He didn’t need any other challenges. Yet, in hindsight, a big goal to create focus and purpose was exactly what he needed.
The 2019 Mt. Everest climbing season was riveted with notoriety and received extensive media coverage due to the high number of deaths (11) and reports of climber traffic jams on the Everest summit ridge. The same day Tac and his party summited, The New York Times ran a front-page article entitled “On Everest, Traffic Isn’t Just Inconvenient. It Can Be Deadly.”
But to Tac and his climbing party, this wasn’t just another newspaper adventure story — they were living it.
The inspirational book
In “One Day Beyond the Top of the World,” Tac Caine chronicles his exhaustive months of preparation and the arduous seven-week journey to the top of Mt. Everest in a way never before experienced in other climbing books. He details the decision-making process of taking on such a monumental exploit and the challenges of training a 61-year-old body from the perspective of an ordinary climber looking to tackle the world’s highest peak.
Step by precarious step, Tac takes you along a journey trekking through the Khumbu Valley, where you’ll experience the warmth and culture of the Nepalese people, the acclimatization process, and breathtaking training climbs.
Encounter everyday life at the 17,000-foot Everest Base Camp, climb through the harrowing Khumbu Icefall and deadly crevasses, and follow difficult decisions during the ascent among the towering Himalayan peaks. Then tighten up your crampons as the group moves higher on Mt. Everest culminating with a 16-hour summit day. Feel the drama and altitude increase with each passing marker as Tac describes overcoming doubts and concern for safety. He details the wide range of emotions, including the unsettling sensations from observing dead bodies on the trail to the ultimate elation of finally reaching the summit.
REMEMBERING NAMGYA
Through the course of my seven weeks in April and May 2019 spent in Nepal, I developed a special relationship with Namgya Sherpa who organized and led our team’s Mt. Everest expedition. It may sound awkward or extreme to learn that I developed a unique warmth and love for Namgya that I knew would be carried in my soul for the rest of my life. That’s how I felt in Nepal and how I feel today. READ MORE >
Full-color photography
“One Day Beyond the Top of the World” is more than just inspirational reading. The book features bountiful, expansive, full-color photography that helps tell the story through Tac’s eyes. Stunning pictures complement descriptions in a manner that places you in the midst of an Everest expedition.
For those that have never been to Nepal — let alone the top of Mt. Everest — this may be as close as you can get to fulfilling the sense of adventure generated by going to the top of the world.
