Shook: An Earthquake, a Legendary Mountain Guide, and Everest's Deadliest Day

by Jennifer Hull

Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award (History/Biography category)
Winner of the 2021 Zia Book Award
Winner of the 2021 NMWP Communications Contest (history/biography)

Dave Hahn, a local of Taos, New Mexico, is a legendary figure in mountaineering. Elite members of the climbing community have likened him to the Michael Jordan, Cal Ripkin, or Michael Phelps of the climbing world. The 2015 expedition he would lead came just one short year after the notorious Khumbu Icefall avalanche claimed the lives of sixteen Sherpas. Dave and his team--Sherpa sirdar Chhering Dorjee, assistant guide JJ Justman, base-camp manager Mark Tucker, and the eight clients who had trained for the privilege to attempt to summit with Dave Hahn--spent weeks honing the techniques that would help keep them alive through the Icefall and the Death Zone. None of this could have prepared them for the earthquake that shook Everest and all of their lives on the morning of April 25, 2015. Shook tells their story of resilience, nerve, and survival on the deadliest day on Everest.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mountaineering, Adventure, History, Audiobook, Outdoors, Climbing

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 19, 2020

About the author

Jennifer Hull is a writer and teacher. She grew up in New York, graduated cum laude from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in history, and has a master’s degree in education. She has taught K-12 students as well as college freshmen at the University of New Mexico. She lives in New Mexico with her husband, twin sons, and cocker spaniel.

Reviews

[Angie Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be honest – this book was written by a dear long time friend and fellow bookclub sister about a local Taos legend in an extremely interesting setting. Of course I’m going to read it.
Here it is though – it so riveting and completely beautifully written with honor and integrity about our legend but really about so many other people that needed their individual stories told as well.

I love mountain stories, Everest tales, I’m a sucker. I sat by my kiva fireplace in Taos, mid-90s devouring Into Thin Air. But here’s the difference. I do not remember the humanizing story behind the nuts and bolts figures in that story like I do in Shook.

When Jen names the very important people, men and women that make these expeditions happen, like REALLY make them happen, the Sherpas, the cooks, the base camp managers, the med staff you take notice. I said each name, each Nepalese name aloud as she listed them. It was writ as so. You must say their names to honor the backbreaking work and sacrifice they make in order to create a hospitable, safe situation for those that go “because it’s there”.

This story of the devastating earthquake in 2015 of Nepal and base camps of Everest is also a tale of people that I would have never known but for this beautiful book. I am honored to have met Ms Hawley, Chhering Dorjee, Tuck, the guides, the families, the trekkers, the Lamas, the doctors, the helicopter pilot. So many others. I was just struck by the intimacy of their emotions and re-telling of this life-changing experience. But knowing Jen, of course they told her their stories.

Lastly, the tale itself. Each chapter began with a most poignant and perfect post or quote and then wrapped you in its riveting telling. I could not put it down.

I’m remotely teaching right now but the moment I am back in my classroom as a dyslexia therapist at Taos High School, I will be reading this book to them. I cannot wait, face mask, shield and all.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read (and love to read) many books about climbing Everest and other of the high peaks. This book provided me with more information about how things actually work on Everest and the planning that goes into an ascent. I loved it.

Books about Everest tend to focus on the difficulties, and the problems (often created by the climbers themselves), and on how hard it is to pitch tents, and how the climbers managed to bivouac without tents. There is rarely information on the true role of the Sherpas, or the towns and people on the road to Base Camp, or on the issues of dealing with 1000 plus climbers and their lack of respect for the mountain. We tend to hear only of how difficult the Nepalese government is in allowing climbers what they want. In Shook, we have all that is missing in other books and more. We learn something about the Sherpas as real people with families and concerns. (I love that the Sherpas arae treated as part of the team.) We learn a lot about what is needed physically and what skills it takes to climb Everest (or other very high mountains).

I loved the rules for visiting the Khumbu Valley and the National Park and World Heritage site: (p. 30)
1. Refrain from taking life.
2. Refrain from anger.
3. Refrain from jealousy.
4. Refrain from offending others.
5. Refrain from taking excessive intoxicants.
Can you imagine such a beautiful list of rules at one of our national parks? I loved that the guide in this book, David Hahn, seemed to truly incorporate these rules and tried to instill them – fairly successfully – in his climbers.

For the first time, I met Elizabeth Hawley, (well into her 80s in 2015) who kept extensive statistics about who was climbing Everest. For example:
“men and women climbers have very similar odds of summiting and of dying on Everest…climbers older than forty years old have reduced odds of summiting….climbers older than sixty not only achieve the summit far less frequently than climbers in their thirties (at 13.3 percent versus 35.7 percent), but they also have a death rate three times higher than that of younger climbers, mostly occurring during the descent.” (p. 34)
I am excited to read Keeper of the Mountains, the Elizabeth Hawley Story,\, by Bernadette McDonald .

And, the book is incredibly well-researched with massive notes and bibliographic information- something I always appreciate.

[Marsha Altman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second of two books I've read on the 2015 Nepali earthquake as told by someone who survived at Camp 2 while Base Camp was hit by an avalanche (the other is Jim Davidson's "The Next Everest"). That part was actually a bit rushed, as most of the detail is about the trip until that point. I was interested in the information about the hike to base camp because it's usually something that's skipped over, and the author peeks a little behind the curtains about Sherpa life, but otherwise there's not a lot here but a well-written trip summary.

[Amanda Hudgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid Coverage of Everest Culture

Was looking for more context on the 2015 Nepali earthquake from the perspective of those on Everest and this was a good resource for that. Well written and from the perspectives of those who had a say in what was actually happening, it gave really good context and was terribly empathetic.

[Maria Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can never say no to a nonfiction Everest book. Pretty sure I have read them all. I am also pretty sure that as I finish each one, I again remind myself that I have no desire to climb Everest. Because it sounds awful, not because I am not in shape enough…

[Jill Crosby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two-thirds of the book describes the ascent to base camp, including a repetitive catch-all list of the number of times the hiking team played football or glacier golf. About 1/3 of the book focuses on the earthquake that decimated Everest Base Camp and killed so many. Meanwhile, the team we have been following is safely up at a higher camp, and is rescued by helicopter.

So we have:

Team spends time acclimating and hanging out at Base Camp.
Team climbs to Camp One, then Camp Two;
Earthquake:
Team waits for rescue;
Team gets choppered down;
Team walks out of the valley and to air transport home

This is basically all you’ll read—no description of thoughts of mountain climbers trapped on their way to the top for a few days. Just some general discomfort and lots of anticlimactic action.

PS—While the privileged class of mostly US climbers tiptoes their way up Everest, they’re constantly encountering teams of sherpas carrying wood, tents, ladders, and ropes passing them in the “fast lane.,” who then descend to get more equipment, and then hike past the carefully acclimating elite climbers again, who are pacing themselves beneath 40-pound gear packs

[Michael Shorr · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautifully written book! Ms. Hull clearly loves and cares about people and brought so many of them to life in a rich, subtle, full way. They are alive in my imagination now. Same for her descriptions of the trekking, training on and climbing Chomolungma (Tibetan for "Goddess Mother of Mountains," formerly known as Mount Everest). I’ve read quite a few books about Chomolungma and high mountain climbing, but they have never been as alive, clear and detailed for me as Shook. It’s not just about a terrible tragedy. It’s about fascinating people, a gorgeous, difficult and terrifying landscape and struggles during tragic circumstances. Plus, anyone who wants to know about what a guided tall peak climb is like - at least on the extreme end - will do well to read Ms. Hull's book. (Full disclosure: Jen is a good and old friend. Nonetheless, I full-heartedly stand by my review!)

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great balance of science, technical terms, and human interest. That's the kind of nonfiction I love to read.

[Paige Braddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The details of what it takes to mount a bid for the summit were fascinating. The details of the "culture" sounding the community that supports climbers was also interesting. The ending didn't match the excitement of the rest of the story in my opinion. Maybe it was hard to find "the end" for a story that essentially still continues.

[Susan Liston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2015 Nepal earthquake does not occur in this book until very close to the end, and there is not much about it in the way of detail. She doesn't even talk about the Everest casualties, let alone what all happened to the area. The majority of the book is a profile of a single team's leader and the story of their climb prior to the quake. Which, don't get me wrong, was perfectly interesting, but know that the earthquake is not the focus.

[Ryan Hanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why am I low-key obsessed with survival stories that take place in the cold? 😅

[Clint Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a number of books about Everest, this one being the best. It provides insight into how the teams function, much more than in other books. Also the manner in which the culture (surroundings, individual interactions) is described is wonderful. Obviously well researched and skillfully written, this book was a joy to read.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, good account of the 2015 earthquake that shook Nepal and hundreds of hopeful climbers, guides and Sherpas at Everest base camp and a couple camps above just as they were preparing for the climbing season to get started. Rather than a classic mountaineering story, the book's focus is on Dave Hahn and his small number of carefully vetted climbers. Details of the trek to Everest, the Sherpa culture and their acclimatization and training exercises give a different story from other mountaineering books I've read. By 2015 the lower reaches of Everest had a compact but well stocked clinic staffed by volunteer medical experts and cell phone service. Dave's group had arrived earlier than most, and had a good position below the Ice Fall with some amenities such as a heated shower. All that was demolished in an instant as the quake shook down avalanches of ice and stone, killing and injuring many. There was high anxiety for the safety and lives of loved ones until communication could be re-established. The lead Sherpa did not know if his pregnant wife had survived back in Kathmandu, and families back in the U.S. waited anxiously for news from any source.

[Stacie Saurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written---the 2015 Nepalese earthquake & subsequent avalanche on Mt Everest would have been book enough. However, what I found even more fascinating was the in depth look at what it takes to actually summit the world's tallest peak, including the vast number of Sherpa guides.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is a very interesting and well-written account of the 2015 spring climbing season on Mount Everest, when a massive earthquake hit the Kathmandu/Everest area in Nepal, killing thousands in remote villages and leaving dozens of climbers stranded on the mountain with no way to climb down through the notorious and deadly Khumbu Icefall (where 16 Sherpas had been killed by falling ice the year before). Hull tells the story primarily through the lens of a group led by guide Dave Hahn, a well-respected climbing guide who had gotten to the summit of Everest more than 10 times. The book gives good background on historical and modern Everest climbing, and on the local peoples who are both porters and climbing guides assisting the expeditions. It also talks about the specific goals and motivations of the climbers on Hahn's expedition, and we get a lot of insight from them. The book, though fairly brief, is very well-written and quite illuminating. Plus, we hear from and about the intrepid Miss Elizabeth Hawley, an American journalist who traveled to Nepal in 1959 and never left, reporting on Himalayan expeditions for decades and establishing the Himalayan Database. She died in 2018 at the age of 94, reporting until almost the last...having never herself climbed a mountain. Hawley is the subject of at least one book and a short movie...worth your time learning more about her, too.

[kevin moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed every book I've read about mountain climbing; Everest in particular. This was no exception.

Many pay considerable attention to the 'clients' - their backgrounds, motivations, etc. As with most of the book it proceeded briskly through all that. Focus here was more on the environment and guide decision making. A good choice with a very good result.

[Susan Wroble · Rating 5 out of 5]

It all began with middle school presentations. Mountain Guide Dave Hahn spends his off-season in Taos, New Mexico, and would speak to students at Taos Middle School where Jennifer Hull taught. Years later, on April 25th, 2015, when an earthquake shook Mount Everest—marking the deadliest day on Everest and upending the lives of not only Dave’s RMI Expeditions team but of the climbers and Sherpas and residents of Nepal—Hull knew it was a story that needed to be shared.

Hull’s compelling story tells far more than the hardships. Her meticulously researched and gorgeously written narrative draws the reader into the details of the lives of the team members, the beauty of the villages, and the ethos of the country. When the earthquake strikes, you worry about not just for the team, but also for families left behind, frantic about their safety. Shook can be considered an adventure story, but it is far more than that—it is the chronicle readers and researchers will reach for to understand this day, and this era on Everest.

[Dorie Hagler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It turns out that Mt. Everest is actually .86 meters higher than previously thought. Why do I know this when you couldn’t pay me enough money to climb Mt. Everest. Because, after reading Shook (a book I could simply not put down), I will forever be fascinated by this mountain and the people who it beckons. 2020 shook all of us. This riveting book took me on a wonderful adventure when I needed it most. Shook reminded me that heroes come in many shapes and sizes and one of the heroes just grew nearly a meter. I am giving this book to everyone on my holiday gift list, it’s the perfect gift.

[Barbara Hull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you are into mountaineering or not, this book tells an exciting, riveting, unbelievably compelling story that is timeless and extremely informative! The author’s research is so well done the reader feels as if they are preparing for and climbing Mt. Everest themselves alongside world famous guide Dave Hahn! Not to be missed!

[Marie Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was amazed at what all goes into summiting a mountain! It is both physically and mentally exhausting. To be on Everest when the earthquake hit had to be beyond terrifying.

[Heather Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was mr favorite book of 2020. The writing is gorgeous and so detailed. I love how the author weaves the story of all the characters and events. This was awesome.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.5. Very interesting story!

[WT · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title misleading as most of the book is not focused on the earthquake / rescue.

[Mystic Miraflores · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book which proves that real life is better than fiction! I was pleased to see Dave Hahn and Ms. Hull are from New Mexico, because I grew up there. The narrative was very intense and dramatic. The book was hard to put down after the earthquake hit. What struck me the most was that unlike other Everest books, RMI's climbers and Sherpas were portrayed as down-to-earth and caring people. In other books, such as Mark Synnott's "The Third Pole", the various climbers and their supporting Sherpas were cutthroat competitors, split into seemingly-warring expeditionary teams based on the commercial companies. There were some nasty characters in that book. Mr. Synnott even portrayed some of the Sherpas as untrustworthy. However, in Ms. Hull's book, the RMI folks were a friendly and cohesive team. The Sherpas were loyal and faithful. It was a group of people I wouldn't have minded hanging out with, if I had the money and the strength to go to Everest. :-) I look forward to reading more books from Ms. Hull.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book; I like to read about mountaineering and the hardships people are willing to go through to reach the highest peaks on Earth. Everest of course is iconic. I learned quite a bit about the Sherpa people which made it more fascinating. I was glad to see they have finally secured working rights we take for granted, such as pension and life insurance. Their job is by far the most dangerous on Everest.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The urge some people feel to put themselves through weeks of extreme discomfort in order to climb a mountain for no other reason than to be able to say they did it is something I will never understand... but it does make for an interesting read. That said, what I was most interested in going into this book was the 2015 Nepal earthquake it was supposedly about, which only comparatively little time was spent on.

[Kennedie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sorry. I love Everest books and survival stories and this book just took so long to get started. 2/3 of the book was finished by the time they started climbing. Don’t get me wrong I love the backstory into the climbers. But the hike to basecamp was so unnecessarily detailed. And then the earthquake and events after the earthquake were so rushed in comparison.

[Nate Hendrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may have read to many books about Everest and mountain climbing. This was good, but not great. If you don't know anything about what goes into climbing Everest this book might seem better than I found it to be. This book is better than my review makes it out to be. For that I am sorry.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book because I wanted to learn about the Everest quake, the response, etc. The earthquake occurred 75% of the way into the book, so there is very little detail about it. Most of the book is just following one group of climbers up the EBC, and there are plenty of other books about that.

[Elizabeth Sanders · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn’t care for this book. I could stay focused. I finished it. It just didn’t grab my interest and keep me in the book