Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Combination of Soap Opera and High Adventure
Review: This terrific climbing book combines the larger stories of a struggle to climb the "world's hardest mountain," K2, with a smaller soap opera about a very diverse group of people trying to acheive a goal without driving each other crazy.From a distance, one might see a cohesive group of climbers, pulling together through the interminable months-long task of hauling supplies and tents up through a series of ever-higher camps, one step up, and then two steps down. But closer up, Ridgeway describes in fascinating detail, how the expedition dissolved into competing cliques, and how selfishness and teamwork collided. There's even an extra-marital love triangle. While this book is not as much of a page-turner as Into Thin Air, it is one of the finest mountaineering books out there; a must read in this genre.
Rating:
Summary: High drama in the mountains
Review: This vivid account of the 1978 climb of K2 via the west ridge is an exciting follow up to the failed 1976 attempt up the east ridge. The Last Step is thus a follow up to galen Rowell's wonderful book about that attempt called "In the Throneroom of the Mountain Gods". Ridgeway vividly describes the climbing, the horrendous bivoac at 27,000 feet and the hazardous descent, all without supplimental oxygen. He also pulls no punches in describing the infighting and jealousy that upset the group, and while it was nothing like the brutal infighting that marred the 1976 climb, it had a power effect on the overall climb. While Jon Krakauer has raised the bar on these books to a level that Ridgeway could not have known in 1978, "The Last Step" is a good and exciting read, especially when combined with Rowell's classic. Ridgeway is a good climbing writer with a sharp eye.
Rating:
Summary: High drama in the mountains
Review: This vivid account of the 1978 climb of K2 via the west ridge is an exciting follow up to the failed 1976 attempt up the east ridge. The Last Step is thus a follow up to galen Rowell's wonderful book about that attempt called "In the Throneroom of the Mountain Gods". Ridgeway vividly describes the climbing, the horrendous bivoac at 27,000 feet and the hazardous descent, all without supplimental oxygen. He also pulls no punches in describing the infighting and jealousy that upset the group, and while it was nothing like the brutal infighting that marred the 1976 climb, it had a power effect on the overall climb. While Jon Krakauer has raised the bar on these books to a level that Ridgeway could not have known in 1978, "The Last Step" is a good and exciting read, especially when combined with Rowell's classic. Ridgeway is a good climbing writer with a sharp eye.
Rating: 
Summary: not just facts about K2, its also a GREAT story!
Review: This was the first mountaineering book I had ever read, and it is still one of the best. First of all, it is just a great book if you enjoy mountaineering and adventure. This book has something that most mountaineering books don't... a storyline on top of all the info on climbing and K2. As we read we start feeling the strains and upsets that fellow climbers in the expedition have caused (by taking rest days on perfect weather, not listening to the leader.. ect...) As you read you start to feel like you are there, and what a great feeling that is! The story ends with sucess (hence the title) and an impressive feat by Jim Wickwire, when he comes within inches of death! I recommend this book for anyone who likes adventure, you will surely enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: not just facts about K2, its also a GREAT story!
Review: This was the first mountaineering book I had ever read, and it is still one of the best. First of all, it is just a great book if you enjoy mountaineering and adventure. This book has something that most mountaineering books don't... a storyline on top of all the info on climbing and K2. As we read we start feeling the strains and upsets that fellow climbers in the expedition have caused (by taking rest days on perfect weather, not listening to the leader.. ect...) As you read you start to feel like you are there, and what a great feeling that is! The story ends with sucess (hence the title) and an impressive feat by Jim Wickwire, when he comes within inches of death! I recommend this book for anyone who likes adventure, you will surely enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: THE LAST STEP...MORE LIKE THE LAST STRAW!
Review: Without a doubt, this is one of the most riveting mountaineering books around. Not for the climbing, which is in and of itself gripping, but for the slice of human drama found in the deterioration of relationships amongst various members of the expedition. At times, one is mesmerized by the bad behavior displayed at such high altitudes! One would think that these expeditioners were on Melrose Place, rather than fighting for their place in mountaineering history on K2, one of the most perilous mountains in the world to ascend. Central to all the squabbling, was the love trangle which developed on the expedition, which was perceived by some of the expeditioners to be an extra marital affair in progress. Though this later proved to be true, at the time it was the source of much denial and hard feelings. It further split the team, which was already divided over who would be chosen to summit, and eroded already existing friendships, while preventing new ones which might have otherwise developed. On top of all this, add in poor weather which caused them to spend about sixty seven days on the mountain, mostly at altitudes over eighteen thousand feet, and you have a recipe for disaster. These expeditioners, however, managed to become the first Americans to ascend K2. Their success in achieving their objective, despite the trials and tribulations which they endured, is testament to their fortitude in putting aside petty, mean spirited concerns and inter-personal conflicts. This painstaking account of the first time summit of K2 by Americans is a must read for all climbing enthusiasts and readers of this genre.
Rating:
Summary: THE LAST STEP...MORE LIKE THE LAST STRAW!
Review: Without a doubt, this is one of the most riveting mountaineering books around. Not for the climbing, which is in and of itself gripping, but for the slice of human drama found in the deterioration of relationships amongst various members of the expedition. At times, one is mesmerized by the bad behavior displayed at such high altitudes! One would think that these expeditioners were on Melrose Place, rather than fighting for their place in mountaineering history on K2, one of the most perilous mountains in the world to ascend. Central to all the squabbling, was the love trangle which developed on the expedition, which was perceived by some of the expeditioners to be an extra marital affair in progress. Though this later proved to be true, at the time it was the source of much denial and hard feelings. It further split the team, which was already divided over who would be chosen to summit, and eroded already existing friendships, while preventing new ones which might have otherwise developed. On top of all this, add in poor weather which caused them to spend about sixty seven days on the mountain, mostly at altitudes over eighteen thousand feet, and you have a recipe for disaster. These expeditioners, however, managed to become the first Americans to ascend K2. Their success in achieving their objective, despite the trials and tribulations which they endured, is testament to their fortitude in putting aside petty, mean spirited concerns and inter-personal conflicts. This painstaking account of the first time summit of K2 by Americans is a must read for all climbing enthusiasts and readers of this genre.
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