One Man's Climb: A Journey of Trauma, Tragedy and Triumph on K2

by Adrian Hayes, Ranulph Fiennes (Foreword)

A deeply moving story of the beauty and brutality of life, and death, on the world’s most unpredictable and perilous mountain.

Sitting just lower than Everest at 8,611 meeres above sea level on the China–Pakistan border, the Savage Mountain claims the lives of even the most experienced climbers. Alongside severe altitude, the weather is notoriously volatile and the climb relentlessly steep. A staggering one in four attempts result in death on the mountain.

In One Man’s Climb , Adrian Hayes details an intensely personal account of his attempts to climb K2 – first in 2013 and again in 2014. Absorbing and self-reflective, his journey is as much a story of climbing a mountain as it is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to endure.

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, Mountaineering, Biography

248 pages, Hardcover

Published February 22, 2019

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I do love reading/listening to mountain climbing in the comfort of my own home. This one was intriguing and fascinating in its own right. And I was happy it had some happy moments and success and not only tragedy and death. But it was either not the most well written story or well narrated. But still an engaging story

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off really strong, but as I made my way through I just started to, well, not enjoy it as much. It's hard to really say why, there's nothing I can 100% point out and be like "that's why this book didn't get five stars", but I think it was due to the narrator's voice.

The great thing about 'adventure' books is they're all different, even when covering the same events, the authors view will always tint their writing. Here I think it's Hayes' motivational speaking voice that I found troublesome. I started to notice more references to this aspect of his life as the book went on, and I didn't want a book about bring motivated. I wanted to read a book about someone who has climbed K2. And yes, Hayes is a spokesperson and a motivational speaker and all that, so I know it's part of him as a person - so my main takeaway I guess is not to read books by folx who do his 'day' job?

I also felt like, at times, Hayes was including things just for the sake of... superiority? He mentions someone during his climb who failed to summit, but never names them, but says enough about the failed attempt that I could Google who this 'false summeter' was. Same earlier with a sponsorship deal gone wrong. The tone Hayes took at times just felt smug-ish, and maybe he is entitled to be given the challenges he has completed, but I didn't like those elements of the book.

I wish I could now point at parts and say "this I really enjoyed" but this book does not lend itself to that either. Suffice it to say, I had a hard time putting this down (even with the above quibbles) and I'd still consider reading another 'adventure' book by this author (well, adding it to my To Read list anyway), but not for a while.

[Clara Mazzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adrian Hayes, è un avventuriero britannico, primatista, speaker, paramedico e attivista in ambito dell’ecosostenibilità. Con questo libro vuole condividere anche coi suoi lettori, oltre che con i suoi follower sui social, la sua ascensione al K2 conclusa con successo nell’estate del 2014, dopo un tentativo fallito nel 2013 a causa delle cattive condizioni meteo. Ben conscio di non essere né il primo, né l’ultimo a compiere quest’impresa, condotta né in stile alpino né con l’intento di vincere un record, ritiene tuttavia, come da sua introduzione, che quest’esperienza vissuta in un momento molto forte della sua vita (l’estenuante battaglia per l’affido congiunto dei suoi due figli, inizialmente concesso esclusivamente all’ex moglie) non solo gli abbia insegnato molto a livello personale (come dai due capitoli finali) ma pensa essa possa offrire anche a terzi degli spunti di riflessione su di sé che egli si augura possano portare poi a dei benefici di crescita interiore così come è successo a lui.
E’ scritto in prima persona ed in perfetto stile giornalistico, molto scorrevole perché usa frasi brevi e parole scelte con grande esperienza. Accessibile a tutti (anche grazie ad un’appendice finale per i termini tecnici), lo scritto è soprattutto molto ben costruito, sfruttando un’eccellente tecnica di inquadratura dei vari argomenti, siano essi la storia delle ascensioni al K2, dalle prime ad oggi, oppure siano essi avvenimenti personali (su cui lui però offre spaccati minimi) che aiutano enormemente il lettore a ben focalizzarsi su quanto si sta dicendo. Bravo anche nel seminare qua e là momenti umoristici ben riusciti. L’obiettivo principale di Hayes, ovvero riuscire a toccare le corde emotive di chiunque lo voglia leggere, considerata la catarsi che l’esperienza ha avuto su di lui, raggiunge una certa profondità negli ultimi due capitoli. La materia principale di questo libro e la sua forza constano però in un’interessante, ben documentata e ben descritta spiegazione su come funziona una spedizione himalayana in ogni suo dettaglio, dall’inizio alla fine.
Sebbene sia difficile inserire quest’esperienza alpinistica tra le più coinvolgenti sia a livello tecnico che emotivo, lo scritto è comunque solido: il punto di forza resta il grande apparato di spiegazioni dettagliate e ben eseguite (mai noiose, mai scontate e descritte con abilità) e le stesse “pillole di saggezza”, forse già note per un lettore più maturo, sono comunque sincere, vere e di valore.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much a personal self reflection as a story of mountaineering - this account covers Adrian Hayes two attempts on the summit of K2. The complexity and detail of the planning and preparation that goes into any major expedition comes to the fore, and it can still all be upset by poor luck on the day. The importance of the personal relationships and interactions are key - Adrian's detailed approach to this comes across clearly, and is an evident factor in his successful efforts. Haye's writes in an engaging style, wrapping the personal tragedies into the story, perhaps made more compelling when you realise it is published by the daughter / sister of one of the climbers who died. The reader is engaged in the adventure, and keen to see its success, feeling regret at the setbacks the author describes.

Not a disaster story - but one filled with success, tragedy, emotion and obsession. Thoroughly enjoyable, and recommended to anyone with an interest in mountaineering or stories of human determination.

[Sojourn Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opened my world a little further, which always makes a book worthwhile : )
I feel that there was a deeper honesty missing - such honesty was just not emerging from the author's hand in that it lacked an openness - was it muted or masked .... I feel that there is another story that the author is wanting to write??

[wanderlustlost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book! Adrian Hayes has a down to Earth writing voice and it couples well with his superlative adventures.
This book is more of a mountain diary than your typical expedition account and the heart and pain Hayes lays bare add to the magnitude of his risks and ultimately his success.

One note I found frustrating was Hayes’s insistence that social media, smart phones, and the internet have, in a sense, ruined humanity’s mental health. He also bemoans the rise of pay-to-play expeditions on the 8,000-ers and seems to suggest social media is partly to blame for that as well. His thesis is that humans seek significance in life and that while most people find meaning in their jobs, their friends, their family, parenthood, pet rescue, charity work, fame, performing arts, “regular” sports, and artistic expression, some people strive for bigger things. He believes a small minority of people who are unsatisfied with the usual forms of significance seek superlatives. For him it was exploration, polar adventures, and high altitude mountaineering. He believes that social media has inspired more people to seek their own meaning in the high places of the world. I’m sure that’s true. But I don’t think it has caused as great an effect as Hayes does. After all, humans were seeking the ends of the Earth and limits of endurance long before the 20th century. I think, like a lot of people Hayes’s age (Boomers) he feels that society has somehow lost something as we’ve moved towards instant communication, instant answers, and instant gratification. He laments the loss of the slower way of life of his parent’s generation, and of his own childhood and coming of age, without acknowledging the role he and his peers played in creating the modern mode of existence. Like a Boomer asking a Millenial why they still live at home at 30, don’t own a home, and are stuck in a nowhere job he seems oblivious to the way people of his generation shaped today’s society and oddly seems to blame the people who came after him. After all, it was the Baby Boomers, parents of Millenials that told us all we were special, each in our own way. That everyone mattered. That everyone was different. That taking part was just as important as winning. And yet who denounce participation trophies and dismiss Millenials seeking social justice as us all being over-sensitive “snowflakes”, our uniqueness now a flaw rather than a point of pride. Hayes lays a lot of blame but takes little responsibility. It doesn’t sit well with me. A good portion of the book is Hayes seeming to acknowledge his flaws, his failings as a father and a partner, and yet while he is naming his insufficiencies he never really takes ownership of them (at least in this book). He seems to say “I have these shortcomings, but they’re not really my fault.” For someone so keen on personal responsibility it’s an odd position to take. And one I would have thought his editor would want to guide him away from. A good example is how thoroughly he decries the garbage on K2 while a) himself being one of the causes of said garbage and b) not doing anything about it. He laments the problems of the world but ignores that his generation played no small part in causing them, and doesn’t see it as their responsibility to ameliorate them.

Another point of criticism is his repeated assertions that there are more people alive than the planet can sustain. That’s absolutely not true. There is more than enough food and other needed resources available for every person on the planet. The US routinely grows more than it needs but instead of feeding the world it then destroys/hoards/discards that food (corn, wheat, rice, soya, and other staples) in order to keep prices up and markets stable. It chooses creating and sustaining wealth over the good of humanity. The world isn’t overpopulated, it’s under provisioned so a few elites can grow richer and richer. Hayes makes the perennial mistake of repeating eco-fascist talking points in ignorance of their origins or the truth.

Saying all that the book is beautiful and moving and exciting and inspiring the way all good “mountainous” book should be. Thoroughly enjoyable, misguided rant about modern life and the myth of overpopulation aside. Hayes has a beautiful way of drawing the reader into his adventures and letting them see the world through his privileged eyes. A must read for any mountaineering enthusiast.

[Peter Laurenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

K2, the second highest mountain in the world, has a formidable reputation. Though about 240 metres shorter than Mount Everest, when comparing the most common routes on the two mountains, K2 is widely understood to be much more challenging. It is more remote, steeper, and more exposed to avalanche and rock fall. Since Charles S. Houston and Robert H. Bates’s aptly titled K2 The Savage Mountain was published in 1954, K2 has often been referred to as the ‘savage mountain’. In this age of guided climbs on the 8,000-metre peaks, K2 has also become known as the ‘climber’s mountain’.

I trekked to K2 Base Camp myself in August 1997. After spending a very cold night there, visiting Gilkey Memorial and venturing up further towards Advanced Base Camp, only to be turned around by a menacing crevasse and a pounding headache, I gained a limited appreciation of the enormity of K2. I was never under any illusion about climbing such a mountain myself, but since my visit to Base Camp, I’ve had a morbid fascination about what it’s really like to climb it.

The first book I read about K2 was Houston’s classic. His party never made the summit on their 1953 attempt, but their selfless and, at times heroic, team effort is widely admired. By contrast, the Ardito Desio-led Italian expedition the year later, which was first to reach the summit of K2, ended in decades of controversy and acrimony. I’ve also read titles by Jim Curran ̶ K2 Triumph and Tragedy (1987) and K2: the story of the Savage Mountain (1995), as well as several others that cover K2, along with other famous peaks. All paint a grim picture, but a feeling persisted that something was missing from my understanding about the terrain climbers encounter on K2.

As the fourth book specifically about K2 I’ve read, I hoped One man’s climb might shed some new light. Also, Hayes was on K2 on his first attempt in 2013, at the same time as father and son Marty and Denali Schmidt were tragically killed by an avalanche while sleeping at Camp Three. So from a New Zealand reader’s perspective, this book held special interest.

Hayes is not only a very accomplished adventurer but also a professional motivational speaker. This comes through his writing in the degree that he is able to reflect on and candidly articulate his thoughts and feelings about a host of climbing and wider social topics. One man’s climb explores climbing philosophies, ego, what motivates us, what confuses us, implications of social media, cultural differences, terrorism, how adventuring impacts personal life and personality, facing danger, death and an adventurer’s ‘cold turkey’ on safely returning home. It makes interesting reading.

Although his face-to-face encounters with Marty and Denali Schmidt only span a small part of the early part of his book, Hayes returns again and again to the situation leading up to their deaths and to Marty’s personality in particular, as he explores different topics. His opinions, though candid, I think are even handed.

And what of the author’s descriptions about climbing terrain on the slopes of K2? Quite often climbing writers, especially New Zealand climbing writers, have tended to understate difficulty and danger, preferring to use dry wit and banter to express their experiences. Not so in this book. The author’s descriptions were good for my core strength, causing my stomach muscles to clench for extended periods as I read about sheer ice and terrifying exposure. There is more detail here than I’ve found in previous books about K2, leaving no question about why K2 is the ‘savage mountain’.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the 2013 K2 disaster - which I didn't know about because the actual death count was very low - and the climber's summit in 2014. He isn't a great writer but he's pretty good, and he's willing to spill some beans and admit to some stuff that climbers like to gloss over: that this is a selfish hobby people do for attention (no one summits without putting their names in the record books after) and it takes a hard toll not only physically and mentally but on their families, friends, and ability to live in society. A lot of the climbers are running from bad divorces, failed custody cases, and a general lack of things to do in life other than climb. They also suffer memory problems in the long term if they attempt to climb Everest without oxygen, which the author did previously. And when they're climbing the tents and camps are disgusting because there's no proper bathrooms anywhere. The author also acknowledges male privilege, white privilege, and socioeconomic privilege in passing, as he notes that Pakistan is a bad place to live in terms of standards of living and human rights. (He knows little about Pakistani culture but it's hard to spend any time there, especially since there were Taliban attacks on climbers in 2013, and he does speak fluent Nepali from his other trekking adventures) At the end of the book he tries to say something deeper about society but ultimately fails, but I guess it's nice that he tried.

[Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book both good and bad.

I liked the candid discussion of both the clear effort required to ascend mountains like K2 but also the insight into the simple act of relieving oneself on these mountain treks. The training required, the logistics to organize and get to the mountain, and the effort and challenges all come through clearly.

Hayes’ repeated missives of missing his children wore on me, though. If he really missed them then why spent two and a half years on two attempts to climb K2? Life is full of tradeoffs and Hayes made his so lets move on.

I read the audiobook. The author narrated it. This made some of the emotional appeals stronger but Hayes’ seemed to rush between one thought and the next, one paragraph and the next, or one chapter and the next. Several times I went, “Wait, what are we talking about now?” The use of pauses and silence would enhance the audiobooks readability. But good on him for narrating it.

Read enough mountaineering books and one feels we know the route to the summit. Hayes makes it clear that it, in and of itself, is insufficient for most of us.

3.5 Goodread stars raised up by the candid writing and inhibited by the ongoing missives.

[Ginger Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's nothing wrong with this book at all, and I got through it more or less in one sitting; it's well put together, largely free of mountaineering jargon, and retained my attention throughout.

However, one particular incident notwithstanding, it's hardly full of drama.

As a result, perhaps, the author seeks to inject some extra jeopardy into the story by weaving in aspects of his complicated personal and family life. Unfortunately (on the face of it for commendable reasons) he's unwilling to go into too much depth about all of this, and so the device doesn't really get very far.

Hayes also punctuates the chapters with reflections on what his adventures have taught him about life. The conclusions, however, are all fairly obvious, and it hardly seems as if he has put many of them into action.

So many adventurers maintain that testing themselves in the wilderness helps them to value the simple things in life - including family and friends. Yet few of them seem able to put aside the desperate goal-hunting that prevents them from fully committing to such things.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the most exciting of K2 books but an easy read. Annoying mistyping in the annexures though, where many Is should have been Ls and vice versa. Also annexure is a weird word. What's wrong with appendix?

[Will Armitage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw Adrian at a book promotion and finally got round to reading it. I enjoyed his writing style and the obvious incredible achievement put to words.

[Jeannette Spaninks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read about a climb up K2. It gives a good insight of the preparation required and what badecamp and thd various camps are like. A good read for anyone interested in this type of topic.

[Tina Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A refreshingly honest and low-ego account of an extraordinarily accomplished mountain climber, this book is also well-written. Unlike so many other K2 and Everest books, this one isn't crammed with testosterone and competition. It provides an honest look at mountain climbing and teams and the obstacles faced when climbing in the Himalayas. It isn't always about talent and fitness - sometimes an expedition can be derailed because of visas, language barriers, team disputes, and a hundred other situations that have nothing to do with climbing.

Two things that annoyed me about this book are the author's over-insistance of his love for this children (I suspect he wanted his children to read this while he was away on another climb somewhere) and his near-constant TMI involving his bowels.