 "good transaction - slow delivery" | 2009-10-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1Q141MV6Z7OOK |
| Good transactions, yet I expected to receive the product in less than 14 days. Most likely not an issue with the merchant, but moreso with the Post Office. |
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| "Compelling, chilling, and a bit one-sided (3.5 stars)" | 2009-10-07 |
| - Reviewed By jsg16 |
In May 1996 a number of climbers and guides found themselves caught near the summit of Mt Everest during an afternoon blizzard. Five of them died in the worst disaster in Everest climbing history. Krakauer, a writer who was one of the climbers who managed to summit the mountain early, tells the events of the ill-fated expeditions and the people involved. Additionally, he gives a bit of history on climbing Everest and discusses - in chilling detail - the effects such high altitude has on the human body.
I came upon this book in a vacation beach house we rented some years ago. After I finished the book I had brought I picked this one up - and couldn't put it down! From the details of altitude sickness to the account of the tragedy itself, this book is gripping and a real page-turner. In his book Krakauer comes across as objective and believable in his telling of the events as he places much of the blame on too many people on the mountain and on Scott Fisher, the main guide of another expedition group, for not turning around early enough (Rob Hall, the lead guide of Krakauer's group, also perished).
However, I later found Left for Dead by Beck Weathers, another member of Krakauer's expedition, who was left for dead by Krakauer and another climber when they decided he wouldn't make it and would only endanger their lives if they helped further. Weathers eventually wandered into camp on his own and later lost his nose and parts of his arms and feet to severe frostbite. His account, while perhaps not as compelling, was somewhat critical toward Krakauer's book (as are several others). So, while I recommend this book as an exciting read, I wish to emphasize that there is a fair amount of controversy surrounding the tragedy and Krakauer probably shouldn't be taken as the definitive authority or history. |
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 "My personal favourite mountaineering book of all time - a chilling and harrowing story of the tragedies on Everest in May 1996" | 2009-09-18 |
| - Reviewed By User: AN4TJXMH8QVEV |
My personal favourite mountaineering book of all time. Krakauer provides a day-by-day journal to tell the chilling, harrowing and controversial story about the 1996 Everest season when 12 climbers were killed. He describes the trek to Everest Base Camp, the acclimatization climbs to Camps One, Two and Three, the final climb by 34 climbers towards the Everest Summit, the descent to the South Col, the killer storm, the rescues and failed rescues, and the descent off the mountain. The Illustrated Edition contains almost 250 b/w photos to bring the story to visual life. The photos are by Jon Krakauer, Neil Beidleman, Klev Schoening, Scott Fisher and others.
"In March 1996, Outside magazine sent [Jon Krakauer] to participate in, and write about a guided ascent of Mount Everest", on Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants expedition. In addition to Hall's eight clients, Scott Fisher's Mountain Madness guided expedition also had eight clients. Scott Fisher: "We've got the big E figured out ... we've built a yellow brick road to the summit." Krakauer did reach the Everest summit on May 10, 1996 at 13:10. Worrying about his dwindling oxygen, he left the summit after just five minutes, finally making it back to his tent on the South Col at about 18:45, "more exhausted than I'd ever been in my life." "The storm abruptly metastasized into a full-blown hurricane, and the visibility dropped to less than twenty feet ... nineteen men and women were stranded up on the mountain by the storm, caught in a desperate struggle for their lives."
Two guides, two Sherpas, and seven clients had reached the South Col, but "staggered blindly around in the storm, growing ever more exhausted and hypothermic." In a small break in the storm, Camp Four was slightly visible. "Pittman, Fox, Weathers, and Namba were too feeble to walk", so Neil Beidleman, Klev Schoening, Lene Gammelgard, the two Sherpas, and Mike Groom stumbled off into the storm, making it back to the tents on May 11 at 00:45. Fisher's guide Anatoli Boukreev had descended to Camp Four in advance of his clients, and was the only strong climber left. Boukreev courageously single-handedly attempted to brave the storm to rescue the missing climbers, but had to return to the tents. But Boukreev didn't give up. He went out again by himself and was able to find the climbers, and brought back first Charlotte Fox and then Sandy Pittman and Tim Madsen. Yasuko Namba was dead and Beck was a lost cause.
Rob Hall waited for Doug Hansen to reach the summit at around 16:00, but Hansen turned into a "zombie" on the descent. Andy Harris picked up oxygen from the South Summit and walked back up towards Hall and Hansen. "at 4:43 on the morning of May 11 ... [Hall] had descended to the South Summit. And at that point neither Hansen nor Harris was with him." The continuing storm on May 11 stopped the Sherpa's rescue attempt. Rob's pregnant wife in New Zealand was patched through to speak to Rob late on May 11, " 'I love you. Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don't worry too much.' These would be the last words anyone would her him speak."
Scott Fisher was not very strong on summit day, and reached the summit late at 15:40. Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa was able to help Fisher descend, but he collapsed just below the Balcony about 400m above the South Col. Anatoli Boukreev reached Fisher late on the evening of May 11. "Down suit is unzipped, pulled off his shoulder, one arm is outside clothing. There is nothing I can do. Scott is dead."
Amongst the tragedy, there was a ray of joy. Beck Weathers collapsed on the South Col late on May 10 and was left for dead. Miraculously he regained consciousness on May 11 and stumbled back to Camp Four at 16:35 with his "bare right hand, naked to the frigid wind and grotesquely frostbitten ... outstretched ... [looking like] a mummy in a low-budget horror film." Beck miraculously survived the night and the IMAX team with David Breashears and Ed Viesturs helped him descend to Camp Two the next day. Lt. Colonel Madan Khatri Chhetri rescued Beck from Camp Two in his helicopter on May 13.
Krakauer's writing is excellent, providing enough information, but keeping the story tight and to the point. He provides his inner thoughts and comments candidly on his own performance and mistakes, and the other clients and guides. Rob Hall's last minutes speaking to his wife are almost too heartbreaking to read. The photos are absolutely excellent. Although Krakauer is critical of Anatoli Boukreev's guiding practices, he fully acknowledges Toli's extraordinary performance in single handedly rescuing three clients during the storm. For a rebuttal from Anatoli Boukreev, read The Climb. |
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| "Into Thin Air vs The Climb" | 2009-06-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3I166NAC7NWZS |
I've read all the accounts of the 1996 season, not just these two.
I've also climbed three mountains including Mt. Kilimanjaro to 19,340 feet.
At no time in any of my mountain experiences were my guides ever out of my sight if not roped directly to me.
Fisher's attitude was, "we have Big E wired" and it fueled Boukreev's oxygenless scamper to the summit and back. But Boukreev's "freshness" at the South Col couldn't save Fisher or the others. He later saved several lives but it didn't help Fisher.
I'm with Jon and others, guides should be with their clients and breathing O2. |
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| "First-person account of Mt. Everest tragedy" | 2009-06-08 |
| - Reviewed By mpotts@computron.net |
| Jon Krakauer was asked to go along on a climb of Mt. Everest as a journalist who could report some problems which were arising as a result of too many inexperienced climbers being guided up the mountain by greedy companies who coveted the large fees paid by their clients. Instead he found himself in a life-and-death experience when a terrible storm struck shortly after he had reached the summit. Krakauer reports the dark side of Mt. Everest climbs such as the ecological damage which results from too many climbers, to the serious health threats which are posed by climbing above 25,000 feet. He writes of the greed of the host countries, as well as the companies which guide the expeditions. The book is like a climb up Everest, with the excitement and anticipation of the climb up, contrasted to the disappointment and disillusionment when things go terribly wrong and the participants are face with the disheartening climb down. The survivors of the expedition, including the author, are left with depression and survivor guilt which might lead one to question the wisdom of continuing the Mt. Everest climbs. Whether the expeditions should be stopped or more closely regulated is a good subject for debate, but Krakauer clearly illustrates the tremendous physical and mental risks which all climbers face. This is a close-up and suspenseful look at one of the most risky adventures that anyone could participate in on the planet. |
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| "read this book if you want to gain or break an Everest obsession" | 2009-05-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A195NQ6TM56Y5T |
| A cannot put it down real life tale. BUY THIS BOOK. You will never regret it. You will never forget it either. |
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