The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Companion to Into Thin Air
Review: After reading this book, I was struck by the contrasts between Jon Krakauer and Anatoli Boukreev. Boukreev was a professional climber, while Krakauer is a serious hobbyist at climbing. On the other hand, Krakauer is an excellent writer, while Boukreev didn't have that ability. Yet, the two of them are inextricably intertwined because of their experiences on Everest in May of 1996. And the link between them continues because of the presence of these two books.

The Climb is not as well written as Into Thin Air. The language used in it is clumsy, perhaps a reflection of the fact that English was a second language for Boukreev. But what it lacks in style, it makes up for in technical knowledge. The description of the thought processes that Boukreev went through in deciding to go back up Everest in the storm feels authentic. In fact, most of the actual descriptions of the events feel authentic. It is this authenticity that helps convince the reader that Boukreev was justified in taking the actions that he took on Everest that night.

It's ironic that two men who shared the same experience would create books that would stand as opposites to each other. While I never believed that the "bad guy" of Into Thin Air was Boukreev (I thought Krakauer was much harder on Hall and Fischer), there is no doubt that The Climb is a rebuttal to Into Thin Air. Yet, while seemingly at opposite ends of the spectrum, the books make wonderful companions for the purpose of telling the whole story of what went on that day. If you are (or have) read Into Thin Air, you have to read The Climb.

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Summary: Revenge in a cold climate
Review: I enjoyed this book because it adds further knowledge to the tantalising mystery on what happened on the tragic Everest expeditions lead by Rob Hall and Scott Fisher in May '96. Personally I feel Boukreev's cause would have been better served had he chosen to remain silent or at least found a writer who was not so obviously motivated by the need to cast him in such a heroic light. Into Thin Air was for me a superior book -not only for the quality of the writing but also because Krakauer has tried to be as even-handed as possible in his description of the events surrounding the climb. His memory of events may be flawed (unsurprsing given what all the climbers went through)and perhaps some of his opinions are not supported by others but one senses that he has tried to the best of his ability to recreate the unfolding tragedy. Dewalts book on the other hand seems to be motivated largely by a perceived need to clear Boukreev's name (and as an adjunct to that to perhaps also cast a few aspersions in Jon Krakauer's direction). This to me is a serious flaw which runs through the entire work and makes Dewalt a less credible mouthpiece for Boukreev - a shame as no-one can deny what an outstanding climber he undoubtedly was. I also felt after reading this book that a lot of the blame for what went wrong in Fisher's expedition must belong with Fisher. He comes across as a charismatic figure and also a courageous and amicable person but not the best person to be making the decisions needed in planning a guided expedition for paying clients. Finally, one minor annoyance which I found with Dewalt's book is his penchant for foot-notes. The book teems with them and the information they offer often seems irrelevant or could simply have been included in the body of the text.

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Summary: The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest
Review: From the moment i picked up this book i could not put it down. In 4 hours of non stop reading i had completed a story of untold courage and bravery by a man who was wrongly condemed for so long by his accuser.A must read if you seek the truth of the tragedy and the legacy of of the greatest rescue effort by an individual on Everest."

Rating:
Summary: Compelling, a great companion volume to "Into Thin Air"
Review: I discovered The Climb just recently, over a year after reading Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. I feel like the two books together give the best picture of what happened on Mount Everest in May 1996. The Climb was not as eloquently written as Krakauer's book, but it gave an entire other dimension to the events that occurred on the mountain. I enjoyed going back and forth between the two books when the accounts conflicted. I came away from The Climb with a great deal of respect for Boukreev. I also found the book to provide insight into how people's judgment and perception is impaired in high altitude situations. I believe a lot of the discrepancies between the two accounts stem from the effect of the altitude and exhaustion upon all of the people involved. Overall, I found this to be a fascinating book, not beautifully-written, but clear and straight forward. And, of course, completely and utterly tragic.

Rating:
Summary: Good rebuttal to Krakauer's "Into Thin Air"
Review: Anatoli Boukreev, one of the guides on Scott Fischer's ill-fated 1996 Mountain Madness Everest expedition, feeling much maligned by Jon Krakauer's article, and subsequent best-seller, "Into Thin Air" (ITA), sets out to set the record straight in "The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest" (TC).

While ITA is a first-person account, TC is written from a third person POV, with long passages of Boukreev recounting the events and his impressions of the events of May 1996 (translated from Russian). What comes through most is Boukreev's wish to clear his name. Having read both books, I believe that Mr. Boukreev has accomplished his goal. He did save several clients of Fischer's expedition and assisted several of the climbers from Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants expedition. Although he was not able to rescue Scott Fischer, neither were Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa or Ed Viesturs and Todd Burleson. It seems clear that Fischer succumbed to high-altitude cerebral edema.

What is most amazing is how lucky the Mountain Madness expedition was. The early sections recounts the logistical problems the team faced, including problems obtaining adequate supplies of oxygen, and the toll they must have taken on Fischer. However, the only casualty of the Mountain Madness expedition was Fischer himself. In contrast, Adventure Consultants lost their leader, Hall, guide Andy Harris, and clients Doug Hansen and Yasuko Namba.

In terms of readability, I believe ITA's first-person view makes it a more gripping account. Boukreev's book is too obvious an attempt to refute Krakauer. (The article Krakauer initially wrote for "Outside" must have been more critical than the book because I don't recall the latter particularly assigning blame to Boukreev.) As I said earlier, I believe Boukreev did everything within his power to prevent the disaster, and to assist other climbers, but through the book he comes across as more detached; less involved than Krakauer, who makes it clear at the end of ITA that he has unanswered questions about his own role in the events of May 1996.

I did enjoy learning about Boukreev himself. He is an interesting man, and an amazingly accomplished climber. I was particularly impressed by his efforts to bury the remains of Fischer and Namba, who he felt responsible for since he was unable to save them. I would have enjoyed more biographical material about him.

Rating:
Summary: UNCONVINCING
Review: This book seems to be an attempt to defend the indefensible. Boukreev is an incredible mountaineer but an incompetent guide. He obviously had no concept of what Scott Fisher meant by being a responsible guide, and had Fisher lived, I'm sure Boukreev would never have been asked to work for him again, particularly considering the enormous sum of money he was paid to be a guide. Having neglected his duties repeatedly, and ensured he was in safe quarters while others were in danger of dying on the mountain, this book is an attempt to explain away his lack of understanding of what a guide is supposed to do when on a commercial expedition. Despite his supposed ability to operate without supplemental oxygen, he doesn't explain why he didn't co-ordinate rescue attempts with the doctor who was on Hall's team when he had been told where the people who were in trouble were located. The doctor was clearly hypoxic, but so was Boukreev; that's the only reasonable excuse which can be offered for this failure. A certain arrogance comes through in the book, which is probably his personality anyway and I'm sure why some clients just didn't trust Boukreev. The book is a well written novel and worth reading, but don't take him too seriously.

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Summary: Rashomon part dieux
Review: I have just started reading all the books written on the 1996 Everest tragedy. I started with Into Thin Air and have just finished The Climb. [Neither book has an index; ...

The Climb is an excellent book. Kracauer tells the story from the Rob Hall expedition point of view, and is somewhat more extensive in scope (mentioning and detailing, however briefly, the other expeditions on the mountain, etc), while Boukreev and deWalt tell the story from the Scott Fisher expedition point of view. Much background on Boukreev is given, on the status of Russian climbers after the breakup of the Soviet Union, etc. Fascinating. Each book complements the other, both should be read.

... He never tries for the poetic flights of Kracauer, but then, why should he. What he says he says well. He writes, he intersperses bits of Boukreev's journal, [in a different font so it is easily identifiable], it's all seamless. When quoting from such climbers as Kraschische and Gammelgard he does not clean up their grammar and so what they say is at times incomprehensible, but that isn't his fault. ... DeWalt mentions Kracauer on pgs 134, 137 (and disputes Kracauer's comments about the extra ropes the Sherpas are carrying), 147, 155, 163, 188 (in which he states Boukreev couldn't get any Rob Hall clients to help him rescue anyone - but no names of who refused to help, as opposed to those who weren't in any condition to help, are mentioned), and pages 213-224 which reproduces Boukreev's letters to Outside magazine in which he protests Kracauer's portrayal of him, and Outside refuses to print his letter in its entirety.

In reading both Kracauer and deWalt, one really wonders about the state of Everest climbing, and leading unqualified people up the mountain. One wonders about climbers not being provided with radios so if they are abandoned by their faster 'teammates' they can radio someone to come help them if they get lost. The hubris of men and women who will not even admit to themselves that they must turn back to survive, and the lack of congratulation to those who DO realize that they must turn back and have the courage to do so.

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Summary: Egos Clash At 8000 meters
Review: I found The Climb to be a good companion to Krakauer's Into Thin Air. While I don't believe Krakauer singled out Boukreev (he cast a pretty wide net including himself), I can understand the defensive posture taken in The Climb. After all, Boukreev didn't make his living by pointing fingers. Guiding was his livelyhood.

I think that in the final analysis, Boukreev didn't leave the summit too early; everyone but Krakauer left too late. Had he known the clients were gonna dilly-dally on their way to the summit, perhaps he would've used supplemental oxygen. Since he didn't and they did, I suspect he had little choice but to go down 'early.'

I'm glad Boukreev took the time to defend himself. I found many of the details he provides fascinating. I found him fascinating. I'm sorry that he's gone, and I'm sorry he felt it necessary to co-author this book.

Rating:
Summary: It jumps right up and grabs you by the throat
Review: Marvellous, gripping, breathtaking, dramatic, suspenseful, and above all very well written. The kind of book that you read in one single breath without putting it down before reaching the very last page.

Whether one is sympathetic to Boukreev's or Krakauer's claims is less relevant. It is a superb book on one of the most dramatic events in high-altitude mountaineering.

Rating:
Summary: Read this First
Review: I purposefully chose to read The Climb first - as Into Thin Air appeared to be so commercially processed and accepted-as-fact in the public's eye - I felt the underdog perhaps could use some support and I wanted to give Boukreev my attention. It is human nature that "first impressions" last, or are stronger in our minds ... getting a second viewpoint (reading another's story of the events) hopefully aids in weighing the two men's recollections. However, one cannot help but be a bit biased towards their first read.

The book is excellent. I consider myself a slow reader, and yet for my pace, I did very well and finished in 4 days. I couldn't put it down for too long. It reads like a diary, includes much narrative, and a transcript. It isn't ripe with lengthy, descriptive scenes or elegant prose ... but it is straight up, to the point.