Part I: The Versailles -- Feet first -- Immersion -- Freedom tinged with terror -- Tibet calls -- Part II: Vastness -- The land of truth -- Dreaming under the plume -- A Himalayan rave -- Part III: Returning -- Breathe in slowly: one, two, three, four -- Climb high, sleep low -- Labor & delivery -- Part IV: To surrender -- Team members of the Everest '88 Kangshung face expedition -- The launch -- The yaks are right behind you -- How to ride an avalanche -- Kangshung life -- Nothing out of the ordinary -- Lost in the sky -- Mind over mountain.