Rating: 
Summary: gripping account -- better than I expected
Review: I'm starting to feel like an Everest junkie after reading Into Thin Air and watching the IMAX account of that climb. I was skeptical that this book would add anything, so I guess it pleasantly surprised me. Because Dickinsin is not an "expert" climber, I enjoyed his open and honest perspective into climbing. As the scrappy guy, he surprises everyone by actually gaining strength and being able to attain the summit. This book has even more blow by blow detail than Into Thin Air. If you are interested in just how hard it is to make every step towards the top, this book will take you there. It's the closest many of us will get to any task of this magnitude. Plus, this book offers a new and interesting perspective: the NORTH face of the mountain, a tougher climb in many respects. As such, it serves as an excellent companion to Into Thin Air for its complimentary perspective. I enjoyed the vivid details of this book from the extraordinary sherpas to the feisty yak herders to the accounts of bowel evacuation on a high mountain. There are also some interesting personal insights. In short, an excellent read, well written and very detailed. I feel out of oxygen from the last 40 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Storytelling!
Review: I've read several books on the 1996 disaster on Everest, and I'm still enthralled by all of the stories. I found this book, and Matt Dickinson, to be the one that completely sucked me in and took my breath away. Both Into Thin Air and The Climb were riveting books, but Dickinson weaves so much personal information into his story that it is scarey and enthralling all at the same time! And, I'm not a climber, alpinsit, or a moutaineer, so my arm-chair obsession was well fed with this tale from Dickinson, who is not a climber by trade, that was wonderful. If you love books about Everest, this one is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Another one for the Everest library
Review: Like many who started with Krakauer's Into Thin Air, I've now read a number of Everest stories, including more than one eye-witness account of the 1996 storm. Dickinson's story includes another description of the 1996 storm, but from the North rather than the South side of the mountain. Because of the different approach, Dickinson is not able to add detail or first-hand opinions on the disaster that played out on the South Col. However, Dickinson's account is well worth adding to the library for several reasons: it is well-written and humorous, it provides interesting information on the North route (the one attempted by Mallory and Irvine), and, more than any of the other Everest books I have read, it describes the conditions on Everest in such a way that a non-climber, like me, can almost imagine what it must be like to be so high, with so little air, in such cold. As he is quick to admit, Dickinson is not a high-altitude climber. He came to Everest to direct a documentary film about climbing the mountain, but initially did not intend to attempt the summit himself. Because he was a novice at high-altitude, Dickinson is able to describe the surprising sensations of oxygenless and extreme cold more convincingly than others, such as Boukreev, who almost assumes familiarity with such matters. At least for this armchair climber, these details are at least as fascinating and exciting as the dramatic story playing out on the South Col. And of course, because Dickinson did summit Everest and did return to tell the story, there is plenty of human drama and climbing excitement. I highly recommend this account.
Rating:
Summary: Another one for the Everest library
Review: Like many who started with Krakauer's Into Thin Air, I've now read a number of Everest stories, including more than one eye-witness account of the 1996 storm. Dickinson's story includes another description of the 1996 storm, but from the North rather than the South side of the mountain. Because of the different approach, Dickinson is not able to add detail or first-hand opinions on the disaster that played out on the South Col. However, Dickinson's account is well worth adding to the library for several reasons: it is well-written and humorous, it provides interesting information on the North route (the one attempted by Mallory and Irvine), and, more than any of the other Everest books I have read, it describes the conditions on Everest in such a way that a non-climber, like me, can almost imagine what it must be like to be so high, with so little air, in such cold. As he is quick to admit, Dickinson is not a high-altitude climber. He came to Everest to direct a documentary film about climbing the mountain, but initially did not intend to attempt the summit himself. Because he was a novice at high-altitude, Dickinson is able to describe the surprising sensations of oxygenless and extreme cold more convincingly than others, such as Boukreev, who almost assumes familiarity with such matters. At least for this armchair climber, these details are at least as fascinating and exciting as the dramatic story playing out on the South Col. And of course, because Dickinson did summit Everest and did return to tell the story, there is plenty of human drama and climbing excitement. I highly recommend this account.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story.. I felt like I was there.
Review: Like most other reviewers, I have read most of the accounts of Everest, May 1996. Matt DIckinson's story is great because it gives you perspective on the events on the North Face, which were almost as dire as those faced by the climbers on the Southern Side. I enjoyed Matt's description of the state that most camps are in. The fact that Everest has become, amongst other things, a graveyard and rubbish dump is not overlooked in this honest account. Well done
Rating:
Summary: one of the best climbing books I have read
Review: Like so many I'm an avid armchair traveler/ climber. Love to read about it; never could do it. I thought this book was the most intesne - especially the final accent - that I've read. I was amazed @ the detail he wrote about - I really felt I was there. He is humble and honest -I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Different View of the 1996 Tragedies
Review: Matt Dickinson has written an enjoyable and easy read of conquering the North Face of Everest during the tragic 1996 season. Dickinson looks at May's killer storm from a different perspective, both figuratively and literally. While the ill-fated Fischer and Hall expeditions were climbing into catastrophe on the south side, Dickinson and his team were struggling their way up the north side of the mountain, facing a different set of challenges - and fatalities. Dickinson sees the entire climbing adventure through the eyes of a non-expert. By his own admission he isn't a mountain climber in the truest sense of the word. This brings a fresh approach to Everest books, non-technical, gritty, and easier to relate to. He also has no axe to grind with regard to the controversies surrounding the 1996 deaths. While some have criticized his detailed descriptions the physical demands the climb puts on a body, I think anyone who has climbed too high, hiked too far, or biked too long, can relate to the pain and exhaustion he writes about. The Other Side of Everest doesn't have the drama of Into Thin Air, but it is a worthwhile read and nicely fills in your Everest library. A must for anyone still interested in the events of the 1996 climbing season.
Rating:
Summary: A Different View of the 1996 Tragedies
Review: Matt Dickinson has written an enjoyable and easy read of conquering the North Face of Everest during the tragic 1996 season. Dickinson looks at May's killer storm from a different perspective, both figuratively and literally. While the ill-fated Fischer and Hall expeditions were climbing into catastrophe on the south side, Dickinson and his team were struggling their way up the north side of the mountain, facing a different set of challenges - and fatalities. Dickinson sees the entire climbing adventure through the eyes of a non-expert. By his own admission he isn't a mountain climber in the truest sense of the word. This brings a fresh approach to Everest books, non-technical, gritty, and easier to relate to. He also has no axe to grind with regard to the controversies surrounding the 1996 deaths. While some have criticized his detailed descriptions the physical demands the climb puts on a body, I think anyone who has climbed too high, hiked too far, or biked too long, can relate to the pain and exhaustion he writes about. The Other Side of Everest doesn't have the drama of Into Thin Air, but it is a worthwhile read and nicely fills in your Everest library. A must for anyone still interested in the events of the 1996 climbing season.
Rating: 
Summary: Mountaineering for Dummies: Misprints and Bad Decisions.
Review: Matt Dickinson may not be as good a writer (or climber) as Jon Krakauer, but he tells a good story with some interesting insights. I appreciated his account of the more mundane and biological details of a long climb. His perspective (a successful summit with no serious injuries on his team) enable him to give a lighter account of his experience.
Rating:
Summary: Another view of May 10 Storm
Review: Matt Dickinson may not be as good a writer (or climber) as Jon Krakauer, but he tells a good story with some interesting insights. I appreciated his account of the more mundane and biological details of a long climb. His perspective (a successful summit with no serious injuries on his team) enable him to give a lighter account of his experience.
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