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5th out of 110 books
—
45 voters
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest
As the climbers of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster vanished into thin air, one man had the courage to bring them down alive...
On May 10, 1996, two commercial expeditions headed by expert leaders attempted to scale the world's largest peak. But things went terribly wrong. Crowded conditions, bad judgement, and a bitter storm stopped many climbers in their tracks. Others were...more
On May 10, 1996, two commercial expeditions headed by expert leaders attempted to scale the world's largest peak. But things went terribly wrong. Crowded conditions, bad judgement, and a bitter storm stopped many climbers in their tracks. Others were...more
Paperback, 297 pages
Published
July 15th 1998
by St. Martin's Press
(first published 1997)
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Dec 19, 2007
Myke
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lovers of the mountain
Shelves:
nonfiction,
sport
Anatoli is the man..., or was I should say.
I've read a lot of comments others have written about this book, and how many people say that Krakauer's book is so much more entertaining and blah blah blah.... I look for validity in non-fiction. I happen to believe a man who's been climbing since he was a teenager and has the resume that Bourkreev has, he also seems to be a man of more action than words. Lets not forget that Krakauer is a writer and has to sell books.
Anatoli deserves more credit th...more
I've read a lot of comments others have written about this book, and how many people say that Krakauer's book is so much more entertaining and blah blah blah.... I look for validity in non-fiction. I happen to believe a man who's been climbing since he was a teenager and has the resume that Bourkreev has, he also seems to be a man of more action than words. Lets not forget that Krakauer is a writer and has to sell books.
Anatoli deserves more credit th...more
9 likes · like · see review
I read this one after Into Thin Air because I knew there was some controversy created by Krakauer's version of events. This book was definitely interesting as a way to fill in the gaps, and also as an example of a different approach to telling the story of the 1996 Everest disaster.
This book is often described as more "technical," but really it's just a lot more focused on describing the sequence of events. Where Krakauer's book inhabits a middle ground between talking about a transformative per...more
This book is often described as more "technical," but really it's just a lot more focused on describing the sequence of events. Where Krakauer's book inhabits a middle ground between talking about a transformative per...more
May 15, 2008
Rhys
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in Everest
Shelves:
true-stories
2.5 stars:
This is another personal account of the disasterous 1996 season on Everest which John Krakauer wrote about in "Into Thin Air". A lot of people died and there was a lot of controversy surrounding some of the statements made in Krakauer's book and statements made by others about the actions of guides on the mtn and the way events unfurled. Anatoli Boukreev is a professional climber and guide who was in the thick of it and while he is very informative and insightful, the book is slow goin...more
This is another personal account of the disasterous 1996 season on Everest which John Krakauer wrote about in "Into Thin Air". A lot of people died and there was a lot of controversy surrounding some of the statements made in Krakauer's book and statements made by others about the actions of guides on the mtn and the way events unfurled. Anatoli Boukreev is a professional climber and guide who was in the thick of it and while he is very informative and insightful, the book is slow goin...more
Jul 03, 2010
Bryan
added it
The other side of a well-known story: Every story has two sides. In this book, readers of Jon Krakauer's best selling Into Thin Air can hear the other side of that particular tale. It's my opinion that no one ought to read one without also reading the other.
On May 10, 1996, a winter storm decided to attack the world's highest mountain in spring. Caught in the well-named Death Zone, so high above sea level that the bodies of climbers who linger there literally start to die, the members of two co...more
On May 10, 1996, a winter storm decided to attack the world's highest mountain in spring. Caught in the well-named Death Zone, so high above sea level that the bodies of climbers who linger there literally start to die, the members of two co...more
The1996 Mount Everest climbing season ended in tragedy for several individuals, including Mountain Madness founder and guide, Scott Fischer and New Zealand guide, Rob Hall.
There was a time when only a handful of the world’s best climbers could ever hope for an opportunity to make an attempt to summit Everest. But by 1996, two organizations, including Mountain Madness, began offering opportunities to individuals who could finance their way to the top of the world. Thus began the era of commercia...more
A different take on events during 1996 May 10-11 on Everest - you're bound to stumble upon mention of them sooner or later (and repeatedly) if you're using internet these days... The most famous book describing these is, of course Into Thin Air - told by a journalist participating in the other commercial expedition during the climb - not the one Boukreev is hired as a guide for.
Leaving the 'he said-he said' and the draw of looking at disaster aside (although both books provide plenty of those) -...more
Leaving the 'he said-he said' and the draw of looking at disaster aside (although both books provide plenty of those) -...more
Apparently prosciutto without fat is like a kiss without a cuddle. I reckon reading ‘Into Thin Air’ without ‘The Climb’, would be like watching a David Attenborough documentary without the volume turned up. Sure you get the images and you can sort of figure out that something important is happening to the sleeping newt as it’s been on screen for thirty minutes. But you miss out on Attenborough’s docile tones giving rich insights into why it’s so important that the newt just flicked its tail. Is...more
This book by G. Weston DeWalt and Anatoly Boukreev is an excellent description of the facts surrounding the Fischer and Hall expeditions to Everest in May 1996. De Walt does an excellent job of chronicling events and clearing up discrepancies caused by other authors.
Anatoly Boukreev is a hero who saved several people's lives that day. He was unfairly and unjustly criticized by other authors seeking to find a villian that day.
The villians were the weather, consisting of a storm that blew up from...more
Anatoly Boukreev is a hero who saved several people's lives that day. He was unfairly and unjustly criticized by other authors seeking to find a villian that day.
The villians were the weather, consisting of a storm that blew up from...more
People mostly associate the '96 Everest tragedy with Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air, which boldly touts Anatoli Boukreev as selfish and neglectful so it is no surprise that Boukreev wanted to clear his name with his own view of the incident. In essence, this book is a detailed rebuttal to Into Thin Air. I don't blame anyone for wanting to dispute his/her own smear campaign and there is a lot of fascinating grit to the story, unlike Beck Weathers' weak Left for Dead. The details are amazing, e...more
This is another account of the 1996 Everest expedition and ensuing disaster. The writer, Anatoli Boukreev was one of the guides on the Mountain Madness expedition without Jon Krakauer, and it gives more detailed information about this other group of very interesting people. Another way that it differs from Jon Krak's book is that it gives detailed stories about the months before the Everest climb when the guides had to go early and set things up with the Sherpas. It gives an account of the climb...more
After having read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, I had an impression of this particular Everest expedition that, as I have found out, is completely erroneous. Mr. Krakauer unjustly and inexcusably defamed Anatoli Boukreev by painting a false picture of an event that took the lives of five individuals and left many others ravaged and haunted. This book, The Climb, presents information as gathered by the Everest team itself and Mr. Boukreev’s account of this expedition.
Not only was Anatoli Boukre...more
Not only was Anatoli Boukre...more
4 likes · like · see review
I am glad that Boukreev had a chance to share his perspective on the 1996 Everest tragedy before he died. Many reviewers on goodreads commented on the more tedious style of this book compared to Into Thin Air. I thoroughly enjoyed it, reading it in 2 sittings. Boukreev's climbing and summiting experience make this a fascinating look at many details of an Everest climb. Although Bookreev does not share his personal life directly, the reader learns much about him through his conversations, decisio...more
Interesting to see the counter-story, but without a doubt, Krakauer's has far more factual backing and truthfully presented research. This book was self-serving to a point of failing factually (and that is DeWalt's fault, not Boukreev's)...
Since many people reviewing this book are using the space to argue Boukreevs skill and character, incorrectly assuming that this validates his account, I wanted to address some of those ideas.
Some reviewers are failing to realize a few very important things,...more
Since many people reviewing this book are using the space to argue Boukreevs skill and character, incorrectly assuming that this validates his account, I wanted to address some of those ideas.
Some reviewers are failing to realize a few very important things,...more
5 likes · like · see review
I like extreme sports. Or rather, I like ‘watching’ extreme sports. But I have never had the desire to climb anything higher than oxygen. The people who do this are friggin nuts. Yet, if I were to go, I would want someone like Boukreev at my side.
There is a substantial difference in opinion from Krakauers account (Into Thin Air), which, of course, garnered all the acclaim, and Boukreev resolutely disagrees with the more prosaic account. Well, it should have been prosaic—Krakauer was sent on the...more
There is a substantial difference in opinion from Krakauers account (Into Thin Air), which, of course, garnered all the acclaim, and Boukreev resolutely disagrees with the more prosaic account. Well, it should have been prosaic—Krakauer was sent on the...more
Probably a 3 1/2 star book if that were an option.
I found the account fascinating. I have just read Krakauer's account "Into Thin Air" and liked reading both sides of the story and having some gaps filled in by reading both accounts.
Krakauer's account is easier to read and more entertaining. I also felt that Boukreev's account is more defensive (which maybe it ought to be in response to Krakauer's).
However, I respect Boukreev as a client but don't feel he made the best guide. Some of his "heroic...more
I found the account fascinating. I have just read Krakauer's account "Into Thin Air" and liked reading both sides of the story and having some gaps filled in by reading both accounts.
Krakauer's account is easier to read and more entertaining. I also felt that Boukreev's account is more defensive (which maybe it ought to be in response to Krakauer's).
However, I respect Boukreev as a client but don't feel he made the best guide. Some of his "heroic...more
If you read and loved Into Thin Air, you must read The Climb! This book is Anatoli Boukreev's response to Krakauer's criticisms of him in his novel. After reading Into Thin Air, you're left thinking Boukreev is an eccentric daredevil who took unnecessary risks while on Everest. Boukreev's response, while not angry/whiny or otherwise unnecessarily defensive, paints a different story. A great book to read, especially if you've already read Into Thin Air!
I was told to read this book after I finished "Into Thin Air"-and I am glad I did. It has been said by some reviewers that Boukreev was written as a sort of villain by Krakauer. A man who was supposed to be guiding a group of amateur climbers to the summit of Everest. According to Krakauer, he decided to leave his climbers at or near the summit and descend toward camp-thereby not giving his charges the particular guidance they may have needed to avoid disaster. This book tells Boukreev's side of...more
Although a bit slow at the start, I found myself reading the book throughout the whole weekend, engulfed with the dramatic events, till I finished it. Having red and seen "the other side" of the story by Jon Krakauer, I was glad I picked this book. It helped me understand more clearly what had actually happened on the summit in 1996. I was able to feel the personality of this great man (Anatoly), feel the great sorrow he was carrying in the aftermath, for not being able to help more...
Honestly,...more
Honestly,...more
This is what really happened up there. For real. Because Jon Krakauer is such a good writer, nearly everyone overlooks the part at the beginning where Krakauer says "this is JUST my point of view," and instead takes it as reality.
I conclude, after reading all the books written about May 1996, that Krakauer being there was a MAJOR cause of the disaster. He represents the push-it-to-the-edge ethos of Outside Magazine, whom he was representing.
Krakauer, in Into Thin Air, pretty much blames Boukre...more
I conclude, after reading all the books written about May 1996, that Krakauer being there was a MAJOR cause of the disaster. He represents the push-it-to-the-edge ethos of Outside Magazine, whom he was representing.
Krakauer, in Into Thin Air, pretty much blames Boukre...more
I haven't quite finished this yet; I got to the end of the actual book, although there is still a thick section of what I understand is mostly additional afterwords and some of that fun mud-flinging between Jon Krakauer and Weston DeWalt that they seem so fond of, and which I will finish some other time. Between "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb", it was interesting to get both of the perspectives from Krakauer and Boukreev, although a more complete and less distorted picture would probably have em...more
An intense account of the 1996 Everest climb based on the testimonies of Anatoli Boukreev, the leading guide of one of the expeditions and of some of the climbers he accompanied. Those who read Krakauer’s Into thin air about the same climb, should read this book too to get a different view of what happened. The book is very involving, reporting the direct words of Boukreev and of several climbers who took part in the expedition, and that all together recreate the atmosphere, the excitement and f...more
This was my 2nd time reading this book. Before that, I read "Into Thin Air" for the 5 th time. Boukreev's book is a bit of a rebuttal to Krakauer's tough criticism of Boukreev in his book regarding the ill fated 1996 climb on Everest.
I enjoyed reading a different view of what happened on the mountain that day. But....Boukreev
was ill suited to being a guide for the ill equipped Americans and without meaning to, I feel he indicted himself to some degree.
He expected too much from "the clients" and...more
I enjoyed reading a different view of what happened on the mountain that day. But....Boukreev
was ill suited to being a guide for the ill equipped Americans and without meaning to, I feel he indicted himself to some degree.
He expected too much from "the clients" and...more
I read a recent edition which included the full tape transcript of the debriefing by the Mountain Madness team. It makes interesting reading.
I loved the book itself. I was expecting the usual style of these double-authored books where you assume the primary author has told the tale and the 'proper' author has put it into stylish text. In fact, it's split between DeWalt and Boukreev and the two styles work very well together. It's a compelling read. Not surprising given the story it has to tell o...more
I loved the book itself. I was expecting the usual style of these double-authored books where you assume the primary author has told the tale and the 'proper' author has put it into stylish text. In fact, it's split between DeWalt and Boukreev and the two styles work very well together. It's a compelling read. Not surprising given the story it has to tell o...more
Overall a good account of what happened on the 1996 Fischer (Mountain Madness) Everest expedition - statements seem to be corroborated and backed up with other sources. I find it ironic that the Fischer expedition group, where one person died, got all the attention in this and other books, while the Hall expedition group, where three people died, got little to no attention. The fact that Anatoli's biggest detractor was Krakauer certainly seems to suggest that Krakauer is trying to focus attentio...more
A fascinating account of what happened on Mount Everest in May of 1996. Written in response to Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" Anatoli Booukreev defends his climbing without oxygen and going on ahead of his team to reach the summit. His best reply, I thought, was his answer to Krakauer's criticism about not using oxygen. When the stragglers did not show up at base camp, Boukreev describes how he went back out into the white out and saved several people, while Krakauer simply went to sleep in his...more
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Horribly written by someone (DeWalt) who wanted to make money off of a tragedy. The book itself switches from first to third person sometimes in the same paragraph. I had to reread a few pages to understand what DeWalt was trying to convey. The majority of the book reads like someone defending their actions. The parts that explain what happened and decisions that were made are well done though. I have no doubt that Boukreev was a hero on the mountain. More than likely he had a strong personality...more
The 1996 Everest disaster made famous by 'Into thin air' by Jon Krakauer has its share of biases and wrong depiction of events, including the role of Anatoly Boukareev who was shown in poor light in the book as relinquishing responsibility and as not one who risked self to save others. However, the accounts of others on the climb that very day and interviews of other team members throw a different picture, that of a helpful Boukareev who not only risked his life but also saw that he aids people...more
Nearly finished this audio book. I may have to re-read Jon Krakauer's 'Into Thin Air', as it appears that one of the reasons for the writing of this book is to clear the good name of the co-author. It seems that Krakauers initial magazine article and subsequent book call into question the actions of Anatoli Boukreev.
No matter; this has been a great story. I have long been fascinated with Everest stories, and this one tells of the tragic events of May 10, 1996, when five climbers in two groups b...more
No matter; this has been a great story. I have long been fascinated with Everest stories, and this one tells of the tragic events of May 10, 1996, when five climbers in two groups b...more
A very interesting read on the tragic events on Everest in May of 1996 by one of the guides who was there and survived.
I would strongly recommend reading this book if you have already read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Reading these two together does a number of things: 1) gives a balance to the stories coming off of the mountain 2) demonstrates how 2 people in the same place witnessing the same event can have such different takes on it, and 3)really demonstrates how much altitude can affect yo...more
I would strongly recommend reading this book if you have already read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Reading these two together does a number of things: 1) gives a balance to the stories coming off of the mountain 2) demonstrates how 2 people in the same place witnessing the same event can have such different takes on it, and 3)really demonstrates how much altitude can affect yo...more
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“Mountains have the power to call us into their realms and there, left forever, are our friends whose great souls were longing for the heights. Do not forget the mountaineers who have not returned from the summits.”
—
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