Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I had seen this book before but wasn't sure if it was a gripping tale of climbing Everest. And then I met Goran Kropp. I recently attended a lecture and slideshow presented by Goran of his life and his summit of Everest. I had a blast - sure, he is a bit crazy, but he was also funny, intelligent and highly entertaining. And he was not smug or egotistical in the least. He actually seemed quite humble. I had a chance to chat with him afterwards and he was a very friendly guy. Anyway, I bought the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, it's true that it didn't go into a lot of detail. But if it did people would complain that it was too long. Yes, he "rehashed" a lot of the details of what happened in 1996 but so much has been made of the deaths that season that it's only natural that he would want to tell his side of the story. I think this is a great book to read if you don't know too much about Everest and climbing yet and just want to read a story about a very determined individual that had a next to impossible goal and accomplished it despite everyone's criticisms. This is not the book to read if you want detailed descriptions of how to climb Everest.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW
Review: I just have that this was the most insprational and amazing book I have ever read. It is well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: A Refreshing Breath of Realism
Review: I reviewed this book for The Denver Post book section. Love him or leave him, Kropp is a brutally honest climber and storyteller who admits his flaws up front and then asks you to judge him by what he does, not by what he says. Some fans of the outdoors seem angry that Kropp has written forthrightly about climbing scams, political backbiting in camp, poor treatment of Sherpas and altitude's terrible toll on bodily functions. What these critics miss is that by telling the truth, Kropp does not diminish climbing but lifts it back into glory by showing exactly how hard it is to responsibly climb the world's highest peaks. The writing may be wooden at times, but Kropp's amazing story shines through the flaws.
Rating:
Summary: I have one question.
Review: I want to know if he hooked up with the reporter chick that challenged him in the begining. It was an excellent book with regards to the bicycle portion of his journey. Not wanting to diminish the efforts and tragedy of those on Everest that year, I am nearly sick of hearing everyones angle on it. One or two veiws are fine, but more than that gets old. I agree with one other reviewer in that I would like to have heard more detail on his climb, and on the return trip.
Rating: 
Summary: Coldly Honest
Review: Kropp & Lagercrantz's book Ultimate High is the latest in my Everest obsession which began with my reading Into Thin Air. This book has a proper index (I hate books that do not have a proper index), though it has no table of contents(?)and at the conclusion of the 'story' are excellent lists: Kropp's "Ultimate Mountain List" (I had wanted to read a list like this since reading Into Thin Air), Kropp's packing list (hmmmm), and the Special Summiteer List (very helpful & informative). The book was well-crafted and reveals Kropp's thoughts, feelings and actions on his trek. The authors do a good job of letting the reader see what Kropp saw! I liked the book and the story, but at the conclusion, though I admired what Kropp did and how he did it, I didn't like Kropp very much. I was left with the impression of a cold, very self-absorbed, somewhat shallow, ecologically-minded tough-guy. I do recommend buying this book, however; it is worth the purchase price just for the lists!
Rating:
Summary: Coldly Honest
Review: Kropp & Lagercrantz's book Ultimate High is the latest in my Everest obsession which began with my reading Into Thin Air. This book has a proper index (I hate books that do not have a proper index), though it has no table of contents(?)and at the conclusion of the 'story' are excellent lists: Kropp's "Ultimate Mountain List" (I had wanted to read a list like this since reading Into Thin Air), Kropp's packing list (hmmmm), and the Special Summiteer List (very helpful & informative). The book was well-crafted and reveals Kropp's thoughts, feelings and actions on his trek. The authors do a good job of letting the reader see what Kropp saw! I liked the book and the story, but at the conclusion, though I admired what Kropp did and how he did it, I didn't like Kropp very much. I was left with the impression of a cold, very self-absorbed, somewhat shallow, ecologically-minded tough-guy. I do recommend buying this book, however; it is worth the purchase price just for the lists!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting story, but too much rehash
Review: Kropp's attempt to reach Everest under his own power, carrying all his own gear, was wildly idealistic, and to forge his own path through the Icefall and, to some extent, remain independent on the upper mountain was admirable. It's too bad that so little of the book concerns his actual climbing. Instead, we get rehashed bits from the bloated "Everest 1996" oeuvre, interspersed with historical factoids which either needed chapters of their own or to be edited out entirely. I suspect the latter are the work of the co-author. Kropp sounds like an interesting person, a true "lily of the field"-type climbing bum, but we hear too little about him. I'd still recommend this book, but readers may find themselves skimming parts of it.
Rating:
Summary: See his live talk!
Review: My wife and I saw Kropp at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and we were so enthralled that we decided to see his lecture a second time! He is a very enjoyable, congenial, and has an attractive personality. I read the editorial reviews of his book, which were overall slightly disparaging of his elitism and the "ham-handed" story. I can't disagree more. If the reviewers heard him speak I bet they would change their tone. Kropp is a humble and likeable figure who deserves our admiration. I will follow his career as it progresses. Hats off to Kropp, a man who understands the importance of our natural environment. P.S. The book is great too. Too bad you can't have Kropp there to read it to you!
Rating:
Summary: See his live talk!
Review: My wife and I saw Kropp at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and we were so enthralled that we decided to see his lecture a second time! He is a very enjoyable, congenial, and has an attractive personality. I read the editorial reviews of his book, which were overall slightly disparaging of his elitism and the "ham-handed" story. I can't disagree more. If the reviewers heard him speak I bet they would change their tone. Kropp is a humble and likeable figure who deserves our admiration. I will follow his career as it progresses. Hats off to Kropp, a man who understands the importance of our natural environment. P.S. The book is great too. Too bad you can't have Kropp there to read it to you!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping adventures of a madman
Review: no disrespect, but somebody who rides his bike all the way there and back, plus climbs everest with no supplemental oxygen, has to be somewhat of a nutter. And his adventures make for fascinating reading.
The first 80 pages or so are about the trip there. the return bikeride is barely mentioned, but it seems he could have written about many more things that happened on the way. Not surprisingly, the book's focus is on that ill-fated may 1996 on the mountain. If you are new to the story of that particular spring, you might be better served with krakauer's book, but this one here certainly gives lucid supplemental stories. i especially liked the candidness, and he seems to be calling them as he saw them. highly recommended for the armchair adventurer.
| 
