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K2: The Story Of The Savage Mountain
K2 is the world's second highest mountain, but its savage reputation is second to none. The loss of Alison Hargreaves and six companions in 1995 was a grim echo of the multiple deaths in 1986 and of earlier disasters which have become part of climbing legend. K2 has always attracted the greatest names in mountaineering. Wiessner, Houston, Bonatti, Diemberger and Bonington are among those whose lives have been permanently scarred by their experiences on it. At the same time some inspiring new routes have been achieved on the world's most difficult 8000-metre peak.
Jim Curran, himself a survivor of 1986, has traced the history of the mountain from the nineteenth-century pioneer explorers down to the present, and sees a repeating pattern of naked ambition, rivalry, misjudgement and recrimination. He has also found selfless heroism and impressive route-making on the mountain that top climbers will always covet as the ultimate prize.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 6, 1995
17 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Jim Curran
14 books10 followers Jim Curran has been around on the British climbing scene for over forty years. Over that time he has sought, and succeeded, to express himself creatively through a broad range of work. As a cameraman he has filmed 15 mountain-based documentaries, ranging in subject from Everest to the remote Scottish islands of St Kilda and Hoy, via the Andes, Caucasus and Atlas mountains.
He also filmed, scripted and narrated the documentary, Rock Queen with Catherine Destivelle, the French climbing superstar, which won him an Emmy Award for outstanding electronic camerawork.
As an award-winning biographer, his work has covered similar ground. Trango, The Nameless Tower, K2 - Triumph and Tragedy, Suspended Sentences, and K2 - The Story of the Savage Mountain, are all important reads in the field of mountain literature. He has also written the authorised biography of Sir Chris Bonington: High Achiever - The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington.
More recently, he has returned to his early passion – painting – as his chosen means of expression. He has had two one-man exhibitions of his paintings and drawings: at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, and most recently at the Alpine Club in 2004. He is now painting full-time.
He lives in Sheffield where his painting is constantly interrupted by the attractions of the Peak District in general, and the attractions of climbing on gritstone outcrops in particular.
His films and books have won many awards world-wide, and he has been short-listed four times for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.
He also filmed, scripted and narrated the documentary, Rock Queen with Catherine Destivelle, the French climbing superstar, which won him an Emmy Award for outstanding electronic camerawork.
As an award-winning biographer, his work has covered similar ground. Trango, The Nameless Tower, K2 - Triumph and Tragedy, Suspended Sentences, and K2 - The Story of the Savage Mountain, are all important reads in the field of mountain literature. He has also written the authorised biography of Sir Chris Bonington: High Achiever - The Life and Climbs of Chris Bonington.
More recently, he has returned to his early passion – painting – as his chosen means of expression. He has had two one-man exhibitions of his paintings and drawings: at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, and most recently at the Alpine Club in 2004. He is now painting full-time.
He lives in Sheffield where his painting is constantly interrupted by the attractions of the Peak District in general, and the attractions of climbing on gritstone outcrops in particular.
His films and books have won many awards world-wide, and he has been short-listed four times for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 16, 2021
I really found this book interesting this time around, though I can see why back in 2019 I didn't enjoy it as much. Having read a number of mountaineering books since, their are names in here that I've read about elsewhere, showing that the climbing 'elite' from varous era's were really quite a close knit community - or rather there weren't *that* many of them and if they did something impressive they gained some repute.
I found the history of K2 to be a lot more interesting this time around, the number of attempts it took to even get close to the summit when compared to other peaks, the fascination that people had with being the first to do *something* on K2, the ramifications of changing politics...
I find it interesting that previously I said this book was written in an impersonal way, that the author was too matter of fact about events, because this time around you could tell there was some feeling there. I think because this author wasn't actually present at many of these events (or if they were they were present at a distance) you lack the initial emotional punch you get with some of the other books, but that isn't to say you don't feel the heartbreak of some of those involved when certain decisions are made, or the disdain for others when lives are put at risk.
I do think I need to read more books about K2... and probably some of the other major peaks around the world. The more I read the more I understand and so the information I get back when I re-read these books as well.
I found the history of K2 to be a lot more interesting this time around, the number of attempts it took to even get close to the summit when compared to other peaks, the fascination that people had with being the first to do *something* on K2, the ramifications of changing politics...
I find it interesting that previously I said this book was written in an impersonal way, that the author was too matter of fact about events, because this time around you could tell there was some feeling there. I think because this author wasn't actually present at many of these events (or if they were they were present at a distance) you lack the initial emotional punch you get with some of the other books, but that isn't to say you don't feel the heartbreak of some of those involved when certain decisions are made, or the disdain for others when lives are put at risk.
I do think I need to read more books about K2... and probably some of the other major peaks around the world. The more I read the more I understand and so the information I get back when I re-read these books as well.
December 10, 2019
I purchased this on a whim, though I believe either this book or a similar one is on my To Read list. Though the choice to read it now was pure chance, I wanted to read something 'real' which was still outside the norm so a book about climbing K2 kinda fit.
As with most non-fiction that deals with deaths of actual people, I find it odd to say I enjoyed reading it due to the macabre nature, but I did enjoy this. Unlike the other mountaineering book I've read (Into Thin Air) this book deals with the entire history of the mountain and covers most remarkable events, rather than focusing on one. Granted a large focus does fall around the 1986 climbing period when a larger than usual number of people lost their lives, but still.
Having read Into Thin Air first I noticed some potential similarities between the '86 K2 deaths and the '95 Everst deaths, yet another example of history repeating... I also ended up recognising some names of climbers across the two mountains. In the case of Schoening it was interesting to read of The Belay in such a matter of fact way, whilst Into Thin Air almost heroicised it if that makes sense. The afterword here was also poignant given what it mentions and the year it was published.
Although well written I did find this to be almost too matter of fact at times, with the struggles people faced reduced to actions and reactions.
That aside I'd certainly read this again in the future.
As with most non-fiction that deals with deaths of actual people, I find it odd to say I enjoyed reading it due to the macabre nature, but I did enjoy this. Unlike the other mountaineering book I've read (Into Thin Air) this book deals with the entire history of the mountain and covers most remarkable events, rather than focusing on one. Granted a large focus does fall around the 1986 climbing period when a larger than usual number of people lost their lives, but still.
Having read Into Thin Air first I noticed some potential similarities between the '86 K2 deaths and the '95 Everst deaths, yet another example of history repeating... I also ended up recognising some names of climbers across the two mountains. In the case of Schoening it was interesting to read of The Belay in such a matter of fact way, whilst Into Thin Air almost heroicised it if that makes sense. The afterword here was also poignant given what it mentions and the year it was published.
Although well written I did find this to be almost too matter of fact at times, with the struggles people faced reduced to actions and reactions.
That aside I'd certainly read this again in the future.
May 17, 2022
I'm probably being a little generous with the four stars because the book does start to drag after the first half, but Curran is a good writer, and gives a really thorough history of K2 through 1995, making a lot of dry material very readable. Some of his predictions do prove correct: commercial guided expeditions came to K2 and someone did ski down it (very successfully I might add). It's also a bit eerie in that he praises some climbers who then go on to die in the Everest disaster of 1996, but that's what you get when you read climbing literature.
August 12, 2023
A fantastic account of K2 accents up to 1995. Epic stories and a thoughtful perspective on mountaineering. Even if you have no desire to climb such peaks this is an incredible collection of stories that illustrate the success and dangers of pushing ones self to the limits.
November 12, 2008
Some people like these stories and others do not. These climbers are a breed unto themselves
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews