Snow in the Kingdom: My Storm Years on Everest

Rating:
Summary: A Book Worthy of Mount Everest
Review: There have been many books written about Mount Everest in recent years. Ed Webster's "Snow In the Kingdom" is head and shoulders above the rest, just like Mount Everest itself. The story is about Webster's three expeditions to the mountain between 1985 to 1988. And while his narrative exquisitely describes each expedition and the Sherpa and Tibetan cultures, Webster is also recounting his personal redemption and growth after the tragic death of his girlfriend in a climbing accident. The book culminates with the successful first ascent of a new route on Everest's remote east side, the Kangshung Face. This expedition in 1988 was one of the greatest acheivements in Himalayan climbing, as it was only a four-man team which used no Sherpas, oxygen, or radios on the climb. They relied solely on their own personal skills and judgement, and unyeilding trust of each other. The team manages to put one climber on the summit, but their real success is surviving the descent, about which Webster writes with suspense and honesty. Webster also conveys his admiration for the Sherpa people, the legendary climbers who have been such a fundamental part of Himilayan mountaineering. He has even documented a revelation about Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who summited Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. Webster's research is meticulous, his photography(there are hundreds of color and black and white pictures) is stunning, and the quality of the paper and binding is first rate. This is a book truly worthy of the highest peak on earth.

Rating:
Summary: A Book Worthy of Mount Everest
Review: There have been many books written about Mount Everest in recent years. Ed Webster's "Snow In the Kingdom" is head and shoulders above the rest, just like Mount Everest itself. The story is about Webster's three expeditions to the mountain between 1985 to 1988. And while his narrative exquisitely describes each expedition and the Sherpa and Tibetan cultures, Webster is also recounting his personal redemption and growth after the tragic death of his girlfriend in a climbing accident. The book culminates with the successful first ascent of a new route on Everest's remote east side, the Kangshung Face. This expedition in 1988 was one of the greatest acheivements in Himalayan climbing, as it was only a four-man team which used no Sherpas, oxygen, or radios on the climb. They relied solely on their own personal skills and judgement, and unyeilding trust of each other. The team manages to put one climber on the summit, but their real success is surviving the descent, about which Webster writes with suspense and honesty. Webster also conveys his admiration for the Sherpa people, the legendary climbers who have been such a fundamental part of Himilayan mountaineering. He has even documented a revelation about Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who summited Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953. Webster's research is meticulous, his photography(there are hundreds of color and black and white pictures) is stunning, and the quality of the paper and binding is first rate. This is a book truly worthy of the highest peak on earth.

Rating:
Summary: Adventure Photographer Ace Kvale
Review: This book is an instant classic in Mountaineering literature and photography.It is gripping, passionate and full of the sublime beauty that keeps me and so many others continually returning to the mountains and somehow in simple language conveys the sense of wonder and excitement of high places and being on the edge. When being close to death we are closer to living life to it's fullest. It spurs the imagination and has inspired me to not onlty put together another trip but to enjoy every day and honor the people we love. Ed Webster is truly one of my heros.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome photos, moving story
Review: Webster's Snow in the Kingdom is different than, and better than, the many Everest books that have come out in recent years. The stunning photography--literally hundreds of photos, many in color and many appropriately in black and white--come at a great price for Webster and are worthy of a more expensive coffee table book themselves. Add to that a fascinating, moving text that goes far beyond the usual "we climbed, we almost died, we made it out" adventure saga. Webster talks about excursions and experiences that made him the person who wanted to climb a new route up Everest. He humanizes Himalayan moutaineering in a way that not even Krakauer does. It's an exciting story, but it's much more than an adventure yarn. This is one of the best text-photo combination books on any subject I have seen.

Rating:
Summary: Gets more powerful as it goes on
Review: Webster's writing is not especially evocative, but it gathers power as the book goes on, rather like a Kangshung avalanche. This story of three Everest expeditions, the last one involving a new East Face route, is also a story about someone pushing himself to his physical and emotional limits and paying for it. The book left me feeling as if I had read a tragedy, not a triumph. The photos, as other reviewers have mentioned, are gorgeous, though unfortunately all were not reproduced in color.