Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9559 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
The real mountaineer's story behind the fatal Everest climbs of Into Thin Air. In May 1996 a number of expeditions attempted to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route. Crowded conditions slowed their progress and late in the day 23 men and women, including the expedition leaders, were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Disorientated and out of oxygen, climbers struggled to find their way to safety. Alone and climbing blind, Anatoli Boukreev rescued a number of climbers from certain death. This honest and gripping account includes the transcript of the Mountain Madness debriefing, recorded five days after the tragedy, as well as G. Weston de Walt's response to Jon Krakauer.

Customer Reviews

Another side of the story
Having read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, I read The Climb thinking that it would complete the picture and give me a balanced view of what happened on Everest in 1996, when storms hit a number of commercial expeditions resulting in the deaths of eight climbers. It did so to a degree, and the account by Boukreev the climb and of his rescue of three members of his expedition is certainly gripping, but there were aspects of this book that spoiled it a little for me. The most interesting part of the book is the first part, which describes the expedition and Boukreev's heroic rescue of three of his fellow climbers. The Mountain Madness debriefing transcript at the end is almost as interesting, but in a different way. In between these is sandwiched a lot of argument about Jon Krakauer's account and his criticisms of Boukreev. I found this irritating, distracting, unnecessary and undignified. The Climb is tilting at windmills here. After all, Krakauer is not unreservedly critical of Boukreev. He describes Boukreev's rescue efforts and gives him credit for them. He does also question the wisdom and motives of some of Boukreev's actions, but I think this fair enough; he wrote his account very soon after the events, and admits to the incompleteness of his knowledge. He is also critical of the Everest 'industry' in general, and most of all of himself.

The Climb is not such an engaging read as Into Thin Air. Perhaps this is because Boukreev was not a writer himself and his command of English was poor, so he had to collaborate with someone who could write, but who was not an eyewitness to the events. Krakauer has the advantage of being both a participant, an eyewitness and a good writer, so his account, while it may have gaps and inaccuracies, is much more compelling. It certainly gives one a greater feel for the atmosphere and the characters involved. If you want to read just one account of the events described in this book, then I would recommend Into Thin Air. You may then feel compelled to read The Climb for the sake of balance. This review seems rather more negative than I intended it to be, so let me finish on a positive note. The Climb tells a gripping story of true life drama, tragedy and heroism. You will want to know how it ends. Boukreev, although he describes himself as a 'difficult' person, comes across with great humanity, honesty and heroism.

A gripping read
Having read most accounts of the 1996 Everest disaster, I find this to be the most compelling and the most believeable. I could not put the book down until it was finished. Even the transcripts at the end made good reading.

Boukreev Vindicated
This is the TRUE story of what happened on Everest on 10th May 1996, and gives the lie to Krakeurs spurious, self-absolving account - not worthy of mention here - where Krakeur - 'exhausted' - stayed in his tent when Boukreev asked for help to go and search for the lost climbers. Boukreev was demonstrably one of the greatest climbers of his generation, and his name will adorn the golden halls of Everest's history long after Krakeur has spent the last of his 30 pieces of silver. The Climb is a beautifully written, well organised and very moving story - particularly when, at the end, we learn of Boukreev's ultimate fate amongst the mountains he worshipped.