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Icefall: Adventures at the Wild Edges of Our Dangerous, Changing Planet
John All has survived encounters with black mamba snakes, run-ins with wild jungle animals, and a brush with death in an icy tomb. No one knows the outer limits of our changing planet quite like him.
In May 2014, the mountaineer and scientist John All plunged into a crevasse in the Himalayas, a fall that all but killed him. He recorded a series of dramatic videos as he struggled to climb seven stories back up to the surface with a severely dislocated shoulder, internal bleeding, a battered face covered in blood, and fifteen broken bones--including six cracked vertebrae. The videos became a viral sensation, an urgent and gripping dispatch from one of the least-known extremes of the planet.
Yet this climb for his life is only the latest of John All's adventures in some of Earth's most hostile climates. He has also been chased by a wild hyena, scaled Everest, and narrowly missed being hit by an avalanche, all in pursuit of his true the study of how we can master the challenge of our world's changing climate. Icefall is a thrilling adventure story and a report from the extremes of the planet, taking you to collapsing Andean glaciers, hidden jungles in Honduras, and the highest points on Earth. In this gripping account, our changing climate is not a matter of politics; it's a matter of life and death and the human will to survive and thrive in the face of it.
In May 2014, the mountaineer and scientist John All plunged into a crevasse in the Himalayas, a fall that all but killed him. He recorded a series of dramatic videos as he struggled to climb seven stories back up to the surface with a severely dislocated shoulder, internal bleeding, a battered face covered in blood, and fifteen broken bones--including six cracked vertebrae. The videos became a viral sensation, an urgent and gripping dispatch from one of the least-known extremes of the planet.
Yet this climb for his life is only the latest of John All's adventures in some of Earth's most hostile climates. He has also been chased by a wild hyena, scaled Everest, and narrowly missed being hit by an avalanche, all in pursuit of his true the study of how we can master the challenge of our world's changing climate. Icefall is a thrilling adventure story and a report from the extremes of the planet, taking you to collapsing Andean glaciers, hidden jungles in Honduras, and the highest points on Earth. In this gripping account, our changing climate is not a matter of politics; it's a matter of life and death and the human will to survive and thrive in the face of it.
248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
13 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 16, 2017
Some scary adventures and misadventures, and the truth about global warming.
Mountain environmental science Professor John All’s hair-raising adventures are only part of the story. (Personally I’m amazed that he’s still around.) But what he is really focused on is sounding the alarm about what is happening to the planet. Global warming is real and John All is one of the men who have gone to the far corners of the planet to document the impending disaster.
As usual with Public Affairs books this one is very well written, meticulously edited and timely. Mountaineers will take especial interest in “Icefall” and identify with All’s extreme adventures. For this reader, the more I read, the more I am glad that I am an old man who is going to stay at home. If I were younger I might be tempted to take up mountain climbing. No, wait. No way!
I was amused at some of the misadventures in the book. One in particular happened to me in a similar manner. All and his girlfriend Sara Dalton are on a field trip in the Colorado River Delta, basically seeing how the damming of the Colorado River has radically changed the landscape and the flora and fauna. The car gets stuck in the sand. No problem. He has a shovel in the truck and a jack. Whoops! No shovel and the jack doesn’t work. Okay check our location with GPS laser rangefinder and let’s hike back to the road and gets some help. They trek three miles. He decides to check his GPS so it’s clear in his mind how to get back to the car when he discovers he forgot to carry it with him.
Back they go to the car. They decide to try again to get it going with a tarp and pieces carpet from the trunk and lo and behold they are out of the sand trap! Later they get into another sand/mud trap and try to push out with the handbrake on!
Oh, boy. I had to smile since some years ago going to Las Vegas with my wife I turned off the main road to explore a little and our car got stuck in in the sand. Wheels turning but nothing for the tires to grip. Fortunately I had a blanket in the trunk so we were able to dig out and lay down some traction.
What was doubly interesting about John and Sara on the sand that day was that she bent down on her knees and asked him to marry her! His answer?
I won’t tell. But you can read the book, which I highly recommend.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
Mountain environmental science Professor John All’s hair-raising adventures are only part of the story. (Personally I’m amazed that he’s still around.) But what he is really focused on is sounding the alarm about what is happening to the planet. Global warming is real and John All is one of the men who have gone to the far corners of the planet to document the impending disaster.
As usual with Public Affairs books this one is very well written, meticulously edited and timely. Mountaineers will take especial interest in “Icefall” and identify with All’s extreme adventures. For this reader, the more I read, the more I am glad that I am an old man who is going to stay at home. If I were younger I might be tempted to take up mountain climbing. No, wait. No way!
I was amused at some of the misadventures in the book. One in particular happened to me in a similar manner. All and his girlfriend Sara Dalton are on a field trip in the Colorado River Delta, basically seeing how the damming of the Colorado River has radically changed the landscape and the flora and fauna. The car gets stuck in the sand. No problem. He has a shovel in the truck and a jack. Whoops! No shovel and the jack doesn’t work. Okay check our location with GPS laser rangefinder and let’s hike back to the road and gets some help. They trek three miles. He decides to check his GPS so it’s clear in his mind how to get back to the car when he discovers he forgot to carry it with him.
Back they go to the car. They decide to try again to get it going with a tarp and pieces carpet from the trunk and lo and behold they are out of the sand trap! Later they get into another sand/mud trap and try to push out with the handbrake on!
Oh, boy. I had to smile since some years ago going to Las Vegas with my wife I turned off the main road to explore a little and our car got stuck in in the sand. Wheels turning but nothing for the tires to grip. Fortunately I had a blanket in the trunk so we were able to dig out and lay down some traction.
What was doubly interesting about John and Sara on the sand that day was that she bent down on her knees and asked him to marry her! His answer?
I won’t tell. But you can read the book, which I highly recommend.
--Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”
August 2, 2017
This was an entertaining read, but was curiously slow for me. Outdoor, mountaineering and survival adventures are some of my favorite nonfiction books. Perhaps it won't be one of my favorites because it seems to have a "split" personality. I admire All for combining environmental science with his love of outdoor adventures, but I'm already aware that the world's glaciers are melting alarmingly, so even with his first hand observations he offers nothing new, and with such a short book his "soft" science just slows down what is otherwise vivid storytelling. I also skipped a couple chapters of his adventures in Africa and Central America, wishing he could have included more about climbing in the high Andes. His amazing survival of a fall into a crevasse is the highlight of the book, but Touching the Void will forever be my classic of survival. Somehow, ensuring that your I-phone is busy taking video and selfies while you figure out through crippling pain how to get yourself out of the mess just doesn't compare, and I honestly think that if he hadn't even mentioned how tech dependent he is, it would have made me love the book a little more.
July 2, 2019
Some really interesting information but it was overshadowed by the authors ego.
April 27, 2023
The book is essentially about how John All survives a fall into a crevasse while hiking in Nepal. In doing so he leads to that point by giving a history of his life and activities. His adventures are extensive and varied and make for interesting reading. But, while he mentions throughout the book that he takes adventures in the wild for scientific and environmental purpose, for some reason I got the feeling he was a self absorbed individual focused on himself and his desires versus others and a certain cause. Nevertheless, a very interesting read and a testament to his skills and determination used to survive a situation that would have killed most people.
September 18, 2020
Purchase Icefall here for just $12!
John All is a daredevil, one of those people who outdoes even the most serious adrenaline junkies. Furthermore, his documenting of global warming around the world is unparalleled. Come along for the ride as John's adventures will scare you, delight you and make you think.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
John All is a daredevil, one of those people who outdoes even the most serious adrenaline junkies. Furthermore, his documenting of global warming around the world is unparalleled. Come along for the ride as John's adventures will scare you, delight you and make you think.
Elisa - The Book Grocer
July 17, 2018
I’ve learned so much.
I would’ve never read so much about climate change, without the backdrop of John’s Himlung survival story as the primer to pick up this book.
Only thing I would add to this book, is a “what can you do” section to prevent global warming. John’s recommendations.
I would’ve never read so much about climate change, without the backdrop of John’s Himlung survival story as the primer to pick up this book.
Only thing I would add to this book, is a “what can you do” section to prevent global warming. John’s recommendations.
February 23, 2020
What an amazing book!!!! Great explanation on life/effort that goes being a environmental scientist/mountaineer/climber. Also very shocked to learn how climate change is taking place and what high altitude mountains have to say about this fact.
A must read for anyone interested in learning about climate change and mountaineering.
A must read for anyone interested in learning about climate change and mountaineering.
May 27, 2022
Combination of adventure story and climate science, this book was good on several levels. The harrowing tales of climbing Everest and slogging through a tropical rain forest were gripping narratives. The sad descriptions of how the Earth is changing due to climate change were sobering. I enjoyed this book very much.
February 6, 2019
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I learnt about the effects of climate change in some extremely remote places. I enjoyed this book and may be one that I revisit in the future.
August 13, 2017
This whole book was excellent, but the final chapter on climate change and the Earth's future gave me chills. Scientific evidence doesn't lie.
October 24, 2018
Hair-raising true adventure as well as fascinating report on earth's climate changes
May 26, 2019
Great mix of technical details about climbing and climate science. Frightening to think about the pace of climate change and how it’s ravaging our mountains, glaciers and forests.
September 3, 2019
Mostly a read about the author's adventures with some climate change information interspersed.
March 15, 2022
I learned more about the reasons for studying mountains and ice though I had hoped the tales within the book, the author's adventures, could have been just a bit more interesting when being read.
March 21, 2023
Overall an enjoyable read! Was well written and pretty easy to understand. Some parts of the book get bland and dry.
August 3, 2024
Harrowing experiences. I never had a desire to climb Everest and after this I never will. I wanted more science and less about the author.
August 9, 2025
3.5 stars
January 3, 2022
This was really disappointing. For one thing, I really did not like the writing style at all. I expected more, or something different, from a person who is both a scholar and a lawyer. Only about 20 pages are about the icefall itself. I did appreciate the climate change focus but I did not like the author much at all. He's got grit though, that's for sure.
August 28, 2022
Wow, John All has done so much in his life. It make me what to get out there and get moving. I came to the book for the harrowing tale about All's fall down a crevasse, but stayed for all the amazing adventures he has had all around the world. It was interesting to read about not only the cool and interesting places he has been, but also about the science he has done along the way. It was face-paced read that I really enjoyed.
January 22, 2017
Thank You Net Galley for the free ARC:
I have read many mountaineering books and I am a biology teacher, so you would think I would have thought about the impact of global warming on places like Mount Everest, right? Wrong. Fact is, Mount Everest like all glacier covered mountains is melting. John All worked as a research scientists collecting data about global warming from all sorts of places - the Andes, Belize, Africa and of course, the Himalayas.
It was the ice fall avalanche that chased him off Everest to a much humbler mountain after 16 sherpas were killed on Everest. On Himlung, he decided to make some coffee and fell into a crevasse. He was certain he was going to die, his video went viral on face-book and triggered his rescue.
I have read many mountaineering books and I am a biology teacher, so you would think I would have thought about the impact of global warming on places like Mount Everest, right? Wrong. Fact is, Mount Everest like all glacier covered mountains is melting. John All worked as a research scientists collecting data about global warming from all sorts of places - the Andes, Belize, Africa and of course, the Himalayas.
It was the ice fall avalanche that chased him off Everest to a much humbler mountain after 16 sherpas were killed on Everest. On Himlung, he decided to make some coffee and fell into a crevasse. He was certain he was going to die, his video went viral on face-book and triggered his rescue.
April 4, 2017
Well I'm probably a bit biased since my cousin wrote this book and it is based on his experiences! But it was really interesting and I learned a lot by reading it. I always knew he was adventurous, and this book certainly details that fact! I enjoyed reading about his climate change research as well. It is timely and important. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mountain climbing, science and adventures! 5 Stars!!!!!
April 5, 2017
Worth reading and sharing as we consider the future of our planet.
April 12, 2017
There is more "science" and some adventures with the book. I think overall he reiterates probably what most of us know or suspect with regard to our changing world. He also tells us about some adventures he has during his data collecting. It's an ok read but not a adventure book so to speak in that his adventures always seem to be teamed with the science he wants you to know.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews