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September 2025: Around the World
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Above the Clouds: The Diaries of a High-Altitude Mountaineer by Anatoli Boukreev, Galen Rowell (Foreword), Linda Wylie (Editor), 5 stars
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Wonderful review. Cloaked with honesty, with your own life experience. I, too, had to meet my life head-on after years of physical strain (due to years of sports and then massive weight gain during a pregnancy and then a genetic encounter with a very nasty arthritis). Nothing like PTSD, but still a devastating effect on my mind when I learned I had to have 1/2 of my back replaced. A Pain Therapist, I still see, literally saved my life by stressing lifelong mild PT and healthy eating,As for Anatoli: I have read more than half of the books on Everest, his among them. I avoided becoming "team him or him" when so much blame was placed on the experienced climbers for the disaster. He and others are so right about the rich and privileged having no business being on the mountains just because they could afford it.
Jen, I am so glad to hear that you are beating that nasty cancer down! I told you in the beginning that you were a strong woman and that you could fight back. Cheers!
Joanne wrote: "Wonderful review. Cloaked with honesty, with your own life experience. I, too, had to meet my life head-on after years of physical strain (due to years of sports and then massive weight gain during..."Let's see what the ultrasound and biopsy say about my new lumps next week before I start counting chickens.
His own letters and diaries bring a new depth to how devastated he was by Fisher's death and how hard it was for him to choose to save the clients rather than go for Fisher. Anatoli blamed himself for not being strong enough to save Fisher or Yasuko Namba (not even his client or team) after he had rescued the other 3. He shows nothing but respect for Fisher and Hall and explains how much guiding took out of him vs just climbing himself. Anatoli saved many lives over the years, even aborting his own plans to do so. His concerns re commercial guiding seem to be justified year after year. He was conflicted about making a living guiding when he knew many of the clients had no business being in the death zone.
I credit Anatoli with my sorting myself out because of reading "The Climb" and learning about samochuvstvie. If I hadn't read that book at that time, I would not have realised how much my mental health (PTSD) was impacting my physical health and would not have come out of survival mode in time to find my cancer before it spread (hopefully, not 100% in the clear yet, but I have a chance). I never met Anatoli or went near an 8000 metre peak but I still think he accidentally saved me too and I'm grateful to him. His views of listening to our bodies and looking after them can be applied to all of us better in the modern world. His loyalty to country, friends and family we could also learn from. His honesty we can learn from.
A phenomenal climber and a phenomenal human who did his best to survive in a world which changed rapidly. His confessed limited English made people misunderstand his intentions but he kept trying.