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One Mountain Thousand Summits: The Untold Story of Tragedy and True Heroism on K2
The account of one of the deadliest and most mysterious tragedies in mountaineering history-the 2008 K2 disaster.
"One Mountain Thousand Summits" reveals the true story of the K2 tragedy that claimed the lives of eleven men. Based on his numerous trips to Nepal and in-depth interviews he conducted with the survivors, the families of the lost climbers, and the Sherpa guides whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers, Freddie Wilkinson's narrative uncovers what actually occurred on the mountain, while delivering a criticism of the mainstream press's incomplete coverage of the event, and an insightful look into the lives of the six Sherpas who were involved.
"One Mountain Thousand Summits" reveals the true story of the K2 tragedy that claimed the lives of eleven men. Based on his numerous trips to Nepal and in-depth interviews he conducted with the survivors, the families of the lost climbers, and the Sherpa guides whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers, Freddie Wilkinson's narrative uncovers what actually occurred on the mountain, while delivering a criticism of the mainstream press's incomplete coverage of the event, and an insightful look into the lives of the six Sherpas who were involved.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
October 30, 2010
I started climbing at age 17 and love to read books about climbing trips,
I have to say this is about the worst book about climbing or just about any topic I've ever read.
The author has no talent for writing.
The author is a pack rat who included every bit of trivia he learned that was even slightly related to K2.
Someone has a sister who's a very good student, 2nd in her class.
A mouse was found at base camp, several paragraphs.
Uncles, cousins, grandmothers, anyone slightly related to the story is included.
The most annoying aspect of the book is his style of flash forward or back 2 to 100+ years.
So many times 2+ pages is spent talking about another time and place.
He talks about Queen Elizabeth's coronation, trips to the north & south poles 100+ years ago.
Hillary's climb of Everest in 1953.
He assumes the reader has no knowledge of history and acts like
most of what happened in the last century came to a head on the day this group summited K2.
I guess you could call that focus.
But it's a totally disjointed narration.
I have another 50 pages to go, I'm hoping it'll be worth it,
but reading this book is a tiresome exercise...
Just looked at someone elses review, the ending is even worse than the the beginning & middle.
I have to ask myself, why do I have the compulsion to finish a book that isn't worth it.
I have to say this is about the worst book about climbing or just about any topic I've ever read.
The author has no talent for writing.
The author is a pack rat who included every bit of trivia he learned that was even slightly related to K2.
Someone has a sister who's a very good student, 2nd in her class.
A mouse was found at base camp, several paragraphs.
Uncles, cousins, grandmothers, anyone slightly related to the story is included.
The most annoying aspect of the book is his style of flash forward or back 2 to 100+ years.
So many times 2+ pages is spent talking about another time and place.
He talks about Queen Elizabeth's coronation, trips to the north & south poles 100+ years ago.
Hillary's climb of Everest in 1953.
He assumes the reader has no knowledge of history and acts like
most of what happened in the last century came to a head on the day this group summited K2.
I guess you could call that focus.
But it's a totally disjointed narration.
I have another 50 pages to go, I'm hoping it'll be worth it,
but reading this book is a tiresome exercise...
Just looked at someone elses review, the ending is even worse than the the beginning & middle.
I have to ask myself, why do I have the compulsion to finish a book that isn't worth it.
December 6, 2014
Thoughtful review of the tragedy on K2 in 2008. Provides the backstory of the climbing sherpas and a thorough analysis of the events on the mountain. Most importantly, good discussion on the direction of the sport of mountaineering when people are being paid to fix lines above camp IV on K2 for employers who are racing from one eight-thousander to the next to collect 14 checks on a list. This is a much better book than No Way Down by Graham Bowley. I would skip No Way Down, or at least take it with a grain of salt - Bowley pretty much mailed in the research on that book. But it might be a helpful warm-up if you are not familiar with the people and events. Alternatively, look up some of the news articles.
Book needed better proof reading.
Book needed better proof reading.
May 18, 2016
I had a feeling this book would be a clunker with that title. Obviously the author knows a great deal about the subject and performed copious amounts of research. Unfortunately, he clearly didn't know how to relay that information in any sort of narrative. This poor book needs a good editor to get all the stories, facts, and details in an order that can keep the reader engaged and interested. The added confusion caused by the similar names of several of the Sherpas doesn't help. I desperately wanted to follow the story and walk away with a clear picture of what happened. Alas, this book made an already confused situation even more convoluted. Flashbacks and multiple story lines work well in screenplays, not journalism. Look elsewhere for an explanation of the 2008 season.
May 17, 2021
Back in the mountains, only this time in Pakistan on K2.
This books rates right up there with Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, for me anyway. Let me make it clear, from the start, Freddie Wilkinson was not present in August 2008 when disaster hit K2. However, he has done fantastic research, he is a mountain climber and this book proves he can write. It kept me riveted.
Eleven men died on the slopes of K2 that day.
..whereas on Everest climbers frequently slip into a beguiling state of exhaustion, eventually succumbing to the elements, the causes of death on K2 tell a different story. More than half the of the fatalities that have occurred on the mountain are result of traumatic events..
Although Everest is higher than K2, K2 is the more dangerous climb. Wilkinson begins the story in base camp, and for nearly 1/2 the book gives the hour by hour telling of the climb and tragedy. His research was done and he uses blogs and interviews to back up the telling. The second half of the book explores the who and why. I especially liked that he put the Sherpa-Climbers in a new perspective for the reader and you learn a lot about their life and culture.
If you liked Jon Krakauer's book, you will want to read this one.
This books rates right up there with Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, for me anyway. Let me make it clear, from the start, Freddie Wilkinson was not present in August 2008 when disaster hit K2. However, he has done fantastic research, he is a mountain climber and this book proves he can write. It kept me riveted.
Eleven men died on the slopes of K2 that day.
..whereas on Everest climbers frequently slip into a beguiling state of exhaustion, eventually succumbing to the elements, the causes of death on K2 tell a different story. More than half the of the fatalities that have occurred on the mountain are result of traumatic events..
Although Everest is higher than K2, K2 is the more dangerous climb. Wilkinson begins the story in base camp, and for nearly 1/2 the book gives the hour by hour telling of the climb and tragedy. His research was done and he uses blogs and interviews to back up the telling. The second half of the book explores the who and why. I especially liked that he put the Sherpa-Climbers in a new perspective for the reader and you learn a lot about their life and culture.
If you liked Jon Krakauer's book, you will want to read this one.
March 28, 2017
My eyes kept sliding off the pages of this book. It could not hold my attention. I kinda love reading books about people climbing giant mountains (dying is not a requirement) but they're usually not so boring. I don't know if it's the way he paced it, or inserting random facts, or what. Read pretty much any highly regarded book in the genre instead.
July 26, 2012
I've read lots of mountaineering books and this one, unfortunately, just failed to capture my interest. "One Mountain, Thousand Summits" isn't so much about the tragic expedition on K2, one of the deadliest mountains in the Himalayas, but about who knew what, when about the 11 people who died. For the most part, I just kept thinking "who cares?" who told what story to the media.
Freddie Wilkinson objects the way expedition tragedies are covered by the media but also the way mountaineering "firsts" are covered. He objects to the media publishing sketchy information, but also that the media's efforts to get accurate information crashed a website. Basically, the book felt like an indictment of the media's interest in mountaineering accidents, which seemed strange since Wilkinson himself has written and is selling a book that is all about a mountaineering tragedy.
I didn't find this book to be well written or particularly interesting. There are so many great mountaineering books out there -- this isn't one of them sadly.
Freddie Wilkinson objects the way expedition tragedies are covered by the media but also the way mountaineering "firsts" are covered. He objects to the media publishing sketchy information, but also that the media's efforts to get accurate information crashed a website. Basically, the book felt like an indictment of the media's interest in mountaineering accidents, which seemed strange since Wilkinson himself has written and is selling a book that is all about a mountaineering tragedy.
I didn't find this book to be well written or particularly interesting. There are so many great mountaineering books out there -- this isn't one of them sadly.
December 1, 2018
Most detailed , methodical and objective account of the 2008 K2 disaster. Many books have been written on it - it’s hard to top this one.Only thing is the lack of photographs in the book.
September 2, 2016
An insider's account of one of the deadliest and most controversial tragedies in mountaineering history-the 2008 K2 disaster.
When eleven men perished on the slopes of K2 in August 2008, it was one of the deadliest single events in Himalayan climbing and made headlines around the world. Yet non of the surviving western climbers could explain precisely what happened. Their memories were self-admittedly fogged by exhaustion, hypoxia, and hallucinations. The truth of what happened lies with four Sherpa guides who were largely ignored by the mainstream media in the aftermath of the tragedy, who lost two of their own during the incident, and whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers.
Based on his numerous trips to Nepal and in-depth interviews he conducted with these unacknowledged heroes, the other survivors, and the families of the lost climbers, alpinist and veteran climbing writer Freddie Wilkinson presents the true story of what actually occurred on the "savage" mountain. This work combines a criticism of the mainstream press's less-than-complete coverage of the tragedy and an insightful portrait of the lives of 21st-century Sherpas into an intelligent, white-knuckled adventure narrative.
Rather disjointed writing style that took some getting use to but enjoyed it.
The author focuses on Pemba Gyalje, Tsering (Chhiring) Bhote, and Big Pasang Bhote who were involved in the 2008 summit attempt and looks at the circumstances of Gerard MacDonnell's disappearance on the mountain - for me the most enduring mysteries of the K2 tragedy.
If he had survived his story would have been one of the greatest tales of heroism ever told
When eleven men perished on the slopes of K2 in August 2008, it was one of the deadliest single events in Himalayan climbing and made headlines around the world. Yet non of the surviving western climbers could explain precisely what happened. Their memories were self-admittedly fogged by exhaustion, hypoxia, and hallucinations. The truth of what happened lies with four Sherpa guides who were largely ignored by the mainstream media in the aftermath of the tragedy, who lost two of their own during the incident, and whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers.
Based on his numerous trips to Nepal and in-depth interviews he conducted with these unacknowledged heroes, the other survivors, and the families of the lost climbers, alpinist and veteran climbing writer Freddie Wilkinson presents the true story of what actually occurred on the "savage" mountain. This work combines a criticism of the mainstream press's less-than-complete coverage of the tragedy and an insightful portrait of the lives of 21st-century Sherpas into an intelligent, white-knuckled adventure narrative.
Rather disjointed writing style that took some getting use to but enjoyed it.
The author focuses on Pemba Gyalje, Tsering (Chhiring) Bhote, and Big Pasang Bhote who were involved in the 2008 summit attempt and looks at the circumstances of Gerard MacDonnell's disappearance on the mountain - for me the most enduring mysteries of the K2 tragedy.
If he had survived his story would have been one of the greatest tales of heroism ever told
October 16, 2011
I actually really enjoyed this book. It is not particularly well written compared to other mountaineering books, but I liked how he covered the disaster on K2 from several different viewpoints. This gives a sense of the real uncertainty about what happened and how the accounts that we hear are so dependent on the personalities of the mountain climbers giving the accounts. Also, he treats the Sherpas and Bhotes with much more respect and interest than I've seen in other mountain climbing books.
November 24, 2015
I'm well versed in the 2008 K2 incident, and Himalayan mountaineering literature in general. When I started to lose interest in this book halfway though, I thought maybe I'd hit my limit for the month. As I forged on, I realized that the culprit was the incredibly disjointed writing style.
Every other paragraph, you're skipping around in time and place from one person to the next for no discernible reason and with absolutely no transition. It was like the author had lost interest, or perhaps ran out of adderall.
I'm just glad it's over.
Every other paragraph, you're skipping around in time and place from one person to the next for no discernible reason and with absolutely no transition. It was like the author had lost interest, or perhaps ran out of adderall.
I'm just glad it's over.
April 10, 2022
This book raises important questions about the treatment of Asian climbing staff and the media influence on mountaineering, but the way the climbing narrative is split up throughout the book makes it a slog.
It needs better editing, there are some parts that are repetitive and it's sometimes hard to tell which similarly named person is being discussed.
It needs better editing, there are some parts that are repetitive and it's sometimes hard to tell which similarly named person is being discussed.
June 10, 2017
Too much time spent on every little detail, and too disjointed writing style to keep my interest.
November 15, 2021
It kept me engaged til the very end, that's for sure! He went off on many tangents... partly annoying, partly interesting. Definitely was not chronological, which was confusing. Lots of names to keep track of. I understand that's necessary for trying to tell the full story of what happened on the mountain, but it lost me as a reader. Perhaps if I read it a couple more times I'd finally get all the characters straightened out.
Recommended by a Dirtbag Diaries episode, "The Accidental Journalist".
Recommended by a Dirtbag Diaries episode, "The Accidental Journalist".
October 9, 2020
Wilkinson performed a boatload of research to write this book. I have read other accounts of this disastrous climb, mostly written by participants or based on their accounts, but this author goes much further here. He has spoken to loved ones who were back home and tracking what was going on as best they could through web blogs, satellite phone calls, and so on. Most importantly, the author spoke to those who did not write accounts of the events, and most especially among those, the Sherpas, who were not only in the middle of events but who also showed extreme bravery and skill trying to rescue anyone who wasn't swept away by the avalanche. Sherpas always need to find work signing on with new expeditions, so they might be understandably reluctant to describe in detail what went on with their expedition teams during the tragedy and aftermath. But Wilkinson was persistent in his efforts.
In addition to tracking the Sherpas' movements and actions, the author performs another great service by tracking the movements of the Irish climber Gerard McConnell, about whom the prior accounts gave conflicting reports, including a rather cryptic reference to him walking "towards China." The author pieces together information and adds a bit of educated conjecture to fill in Ger's own heroic efforts to save lives.
This was a different sort of tragedy than the 1996 Everest debacle. K2 isn't quite as high as Everest, but it is steeper. Fewer climbers have attempted it, and a higher percentage of those who reach the top perish on the way down. Both events were caused by a combination of a natural event (a storm on Everest and an avalanche on K2) and difficulties with teams trying to work together to prepare ropes for the final ascent. Also, by 2008 there was a lot more technology on the mountain: satellite phones were more numerous, more climbers were blogging even as they went from high camp to highEr camp, and this gave Wilkinson more sources for information. This is good, for in many ways, the K2 tragedy was more complex and harder to figure out than the Everest one had been.
My only critique is a small one. There are a few times right in the middle of an interview with a source when the author describes some back history around a point that has come up in that interview. It is relevant, of course, but it seriously interrupted the flow of the narrative for me. After several paragraphs or even pages, the interview would suddenly resume. It was distracting, but perhaps he explored and discarded other ways of inserting that back
It seems unlikely that Wilkinson has gotten every single detail right with all of the hundreds of pages of material he must have had to draw from, but I feel confident that the hard work and meticulous care has produced the most accurate portrayal yet of what happened on K2 in 2008, and a well-written effort at that.
In addition to tracking the Sherpas' movements and actions, the author performs another great service by tracking the movements of the Irish climber Gerard McConnell, about whom the prior accounts gave conflicting reports, including a rather cryptic reference to him walking "towards China." The author pieces together information and adds a bit of educated conjecture to fill in Ger's own heroic efforts to save lives.
This was a different sort of tragedy than the 1996 Everest debacle. K2 isn't quite as high as Everest, but it is steeper. Fewer climbers have attempted it, and a higher percentage of those who reach the top perish on the way down. Both events were caused by a combination of a natural event (a storm on Everest and an avalanche on K2) and difficulties with teams trying to work together to prepare ropes for the final ascent. Also, by 2008 there was a lot more technology on the mountain: satellite phones were more numerous, more climbers were blogging even as they went from high camp to highEr camp, and this gave Wilkinson more sources for information. This is good, for in many ways, the K2 tragedy was more complex and harder to figure out than the Everest one had been.
My only critique is a small one. There are a few times right in the middle of an interview with a source when the author describes some back history around a point that has come up in that interview. It is relevant, of course, but it seriously interrupted the flow of the narrative for me. After several paragraphs or even pages, the interview would suddenly resume. It was distracting, but perhaps he explored and discarded other ways of inserting that back
It seems unlikely that Wilkinson has gotten every single detail right with all of the hundreds of pages of material he must have had to draw from, but I feel confident that the hard work and meticulous care has produced the most accurate portrayal yet of what happened on K2 in 2008, and a well-written effort at that.
July 28, 2016
Couldn't find into thin air so I settled for this. The book feels a little too journalistic, very factual with I feel, very little human emotions. I guess the author's objective was to present the plain facts to readers of what was essentially a chaotic tragedy. The human memory is unfortunately not what we confidently believe it to be what it is. Oftentimes memories are laced by our perceptions, beliefs, emotions, etc. these plus the fact that the witnesses were all at an elevation of >8000m and were turning hypoxic, made it hard for a "true" picture to emerge. I found it hard to follow through about who's who, especially the Sherpas who shared similar names. The "star" of the story seemed to be an Irishman named Gerard McDonnell, who was a kind, affable man well-loved by many who knew him. He was always willing to help and was empathetic towards everyone. I can imagine what a lovely person he must have been and his helpfulness was what killed him eventually on K2.
I'm not sure if the writer was biased against the Koreans but it did seem they were painted in a very bad light. Slave-drivers, a strong sense of the master-slave relationship thereby mistreating several of the Sherpas and porters they employed, stubborn, result-oriented, etc. it did really make me want to strangle Kim Jae-Su the leader of the Korean expedition who didn't seem to feel the least bit remorseful for his decision to summit despite warnings from one of the Sherpas that it was too risky. Some mountaineers also believed that above 8000m, it is every man for himself. This certainly gives the sport a bad rep- lack of sportsmanship among mountaineers. But we could also understand why this is so, as sometimes the rescue work could result in even more harm done.
However, in Gerard, one finds the contrary. It was mentioned in the story that during one of his hike in Alaska(Denali?), he had went out of his way to help a group of Taiwanese and South Africans who were having trouble on the mountains.
I think it goes to show that one should always respect the conditions of the mountains and know that we are at the mercy of them. One should know when to stop, when to try when the mountains let you, and not take unnecessary risks that result in the deaths of others and oneself. Not too bad a read.
I'm not sure if the writer was biased against the Koreans but it did seem they were painted in a very bad light. Slave-drivers, a strong sense of the master-slave relationship thereby mistreating several of the Sherpas and porters they employed, stubborn, result-oriented, etc. it did really make me want to strangle Kim Jae-Su the leader of the Korean expedition who didn't seem to feel the least bit remorseful for his decision to summit despite warnings from one of the Sherpas that it was too risky. Some mountaineers also believed that above 8000m, it is every man for himself. This certainly gives the sport a bad rep- lack of sportsmanship among mountaineers. But we could also understand why this is so, as sometimes the rescue work could result in even more harm done.
However, in Gerard, one finds the contrary. It was mentioned in the story that during one of his hike in Alaska(Denali?), he had went out of his way to help a group of Taiwanese and South Africans who were having trouble on the mountains.
I think it goes to show that one should always respect the conditions of the mountains and know that we are at the mercy of them. One should know when to stop, when to try when the mountains let you, and not take unnecessary risks that result in the deaths of others and oneself. Not too bad a read.
January 17, 2021
This book is a bit tricky to rate. The information and general writing is good, it's clear the author did their research, but it's really disjointed and presents a lot of superfluous information and unnecessary details. I don't need the exact dimensions of the candle someone's lit, nor do I need to know about the hairstyle, clothes and gait of family members or friends of the climbers. I don't really see how this adds to the story.
Regarding the 2008 disaster, I've previously read No Way Down and Buried in the Sky, so of course this book is mostly repetition of what I've already read. It did, however, provide some different insights in the incident with setting out the ropes in and the bottleneck and how some of the main miscommunications arose. It was also interesting to read more about Pemba Gyalje point of view, as most articles have been from the pov of Western climbers.
Regarding the 2008 disaster, I've previously read No Way Down and Buried in the Sky, so of course this book is mostly repetition of what I've already read. It did, however, provide some different insights in the incident with setting out the ropes in and the bottleneck and how some of the main miscommunications arose. It was also interesting to read more about Pemba Gyalje point of view, as most articles have been from the pov of Western climbers.
August 7, 2019
If you want to be a mountaineer, this is a great place to start. Wilkinson does a magnificent job of showing how teams went to K2 without a clear understanding of what roles would be played by whom, and how that resulted terribly, and more importantly, unnecessarily.
February 26, 2021
It's hard not to compare this book about the 2008 disaster on K2 that left 11 climbers dead to Jon Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air" about the 1996 Everest disaster and it's not a terribly favorable comparison. While "Into Thin Air" was a deeply personal and tightly wound narrative that left me awed, moved and saddened, "One Mountain" has a tendency to meander and I found it difficult to track the various characters or figure out what Wilkinson's... for lack of a better word... thesis was. It took me a long time to read it and while I think he finally did find something resembling a point in the last 50 pages or so, it was heavy sledding to get there. I know this book was well received, but I just wish he had been able to decide earlier on whether he was doing an investigative journalism piece, an analysis of the roles and characters of the Sherpas or a focused story on the life and tragic and possibly heroic death of one man, Gerard McDonnell, rather than a somewhat stew-like amalgam of all three.
Anyway, if you want to read a book about people dying on mountains, read "Into Thin Air." If you or someone you know is thinking about climbing an 8,000m mountain, read "Into Thin Air."
Anyway, if you want to read a book about people dying on mountains, read "Into Thin Air." If you or someone you know is thinking about climbing an 8,000m mountain, read "Into Thin Air."
January 1, 2025
rambling monologue
This book resorted to very dubious culture analysis, psychology etc to try and argue that an Irish climber tried to save lives on K2. I could not see any coherent logical critique in the book. Moreover, the treatment of the Korean climbers on K2, and Korean climbers in general was shameful. The author seemed to privilege certain characters throughout and ignored any critique of such. Obviously these views are my own but I have exhaustively read on the 2008 K2 disaster.
This book resorted to very dubious culture analysis, psychology etc to try and argue that an Irish climber tried to save lives on K2. I could not see any coherent logical critique in the book. Moreover, the treatment of the Korean climbers on K2, and Korean climbers in general was shameful. The author seemed to privilege certain characters throughout and ignored any critique of such. Obviously these views are my own but I have exhaustively read on the 2008 K2 disaster.
April 30, 2023
This had so much potential but was so disappointing. It’s SO hard to read. The structure is chaotic and it jumps around with no reason for doing so. It almost feels like the author just wrote down everything he knew and nothing was ever edited.
The author has an impressive span and depth of knowledge on the subject, but the information is not conveyed effectively at all. There’s also so many tangents that seem to be entirely unrelated to the story.
The author has an impressive span and depth of knowledge on the subject, but the information is not conveyed effectively at all. There’s also so many tangents that seem to be entirely unrelated to the story.
August 2, 2017
One of my favorite books is "Into Thin Air," and this tells a similar story about a different climbing tragedy. The first part of the book was the most interesting to me, because it told about the actual events. Later chapters dealt with more technical aspects and some history of climbing, which I skimmed.
July 31, 2021
There's some good information in here, but as other reviews have said, the writing style makes this one tough; it's often unclear and disjointed. I was able to follow along since I'm relatively familiar with the 2008 K2 situation but someone coming in blind would probably find keeping the chronology and arguments difficult.
March 13, 2022
I enjoyed this book but I had a hard time keeping the climbers straight. This was particularly sad because they each had such full and complex lives that should be remembered.
I'm definitely a believer that there were no villains on the mountain and recollection and decision-making can quickly become impaired with so little oxygen.
I'm definitely a believer that there were no villains on the mountain and recollection and decision-making can quickly become impaired with so little oxygen.
December 31, 2024
Read the book after seeing a newspaper article in Sydney Oz, the author traveled to the country to interview climbers, there seems to be other back stories and research included, as other reviews have stated it could have been edited further.
November 14, 2021
I could never quite figure out what this author was trying to communicate. Disjointed, poorly written, a struggle to get through it. Skip this one.
February 29, 2024
What a struggle.
October 11, 2010
in august 2008, several different international teams went for the summit on K2, the world's second highest & arguably most dangerous mountain. it's part of the karkaoram mountain range, located in pakistan. by the time the dust settled & all the survivors were back in base camp/evacuated to military hospitals, eleven people were dead, almost all of them from avalanche & serac falls (when huge chunks of ice cleave off the overhanging glacial feature that inhibits progress to the summit). in some cases, there were surviving eyewitnesses to the deaths, who were able to say with some certainty exactly how the climbers died. in other cases, they were confused, conflicting reports from climbers suffering from hypoxia & hallucinations, who could not be sure exactly what they saw. the author of this book is an enthusiastic & knowledgeable climber, though he has no interest in personally subjecting himself to the the 8000+-meter peaks. he does have an enduring interest in the mysteries of K2, & noticed right away that most of the media coverage surrounding the august 2008 disaster was mostly gleaned from online blogs, rumors, & interviews that were not consistent with old-fashioned journalistic expectations. he cobbled these reports together & augmented them with his own research, including face-to-face interviews with three of the four surviving sherpa who climbed K2 on summit day, & with people who had lost loved ones in the accident. he manages to put together a pretty persuasive case about what happened, countering much of what is assumed in mainstream media reporting on the incident.
i love reading these mountaineering books, maybe because climbing an 8000-meter peak is not something i would ever ever do. i think i like these books for the same reason other people read mysteries of thrillers. i want to unravel the questions about what happened & see what comes next & how everyone handled probably the most horrible day of their lives.
this one...it was okay. it kept me turning pages & i feel like i was over 200 pages in before i even considered checking my progress. it went really quickly. my criticisms: the narrative of what happened on the mountain isn't really knit together in a coherent fashion. i gather that that's kind of the nature of climbing a mountain--not everything is linear, not all memories can be trusted. but as a reader, it was kind of a struggle to figure out exactly what was going on & how it related to events that come chapters later or chapter earlier. i also found the last few pages very disappointing, as they relate the perception of a climber the author had really wanted to talk to, & failed to meet face-to-face. there's a certain amount of tantalizing build-up concerning the possibility that the author may have secured this climber's story anyway, but the way it is shared is very vague & unsatisfying.
but probably my main issue with the book was that it had a few significant editing/proofreading issues. i don't think the author is really a great stylist to begin with. a lot of the language is clunky & downright cliche to the genre of disaster/mountaineering narratives. add to this the use of words like "excructing." it's obvious that he meant "excruciating," but pausing to figure that out took me out of the story. there are numerous examples like this throughout the book, including one part where he says some climbers spent the night at over 60,000 feet. he means 6000 meters. 60,000 feet is more than twice as tall as mount everest, the tallest mountain on earth. letting a mistake like that through was kind of a big slip-up, i felt. there is also a part where he says that the climbers found the landscape "unerringly beautiful". not sure what he meant here. "eerily beautiful," maybe? "unerringly beautiful" is not technically wrong...it doesn't work from a stylistic/editorial standpoint. it doesn't match the tone of the passage, at all. it is in fact jarringly wrong.
there were just a few issues like this, distracting me from the story. there are also times when he kind of goes a little too far to present the surviving sherpa as heroic good guys who never did anything wrong a day in their lives. that got kind of tiresome after a while. smacked of trying too hard. other than that, i enjoyed the book.
i love reading these mountaineering books, maybe because climbing an 8000-meter peak is not something i would ever ever do. i think i like these books for the same reason other people read mysteries of thrillers. i want to unravel the questions about what happened & see what comes next & how everyone handled probably the most horrible day of their lives.
this one...it was okay. it kept me turning pages & i feel like i was over 200 pages in before i even considered checking my progress. it went really quickly. my criticisms: the narrative of what happened on the mountain isn't really knit together in a coherent fashion. i gather that that's kind of the nature of climbing a mountain--not everything is linear, not all memories can be trusted. but as a reader, it was kind of a struggle to figure out exactly what was going on & how it related to events that come chapters later or chapter earlier. i also found the last few pages very disappointing, as they relate the perception of a climber the author had really wanted to talk to, & failed to meet face-to-face. there's a certain amount of tantalizing build-up concerning the possibility that the author may have secured this climber's story anyway, but the way it is shared is very vague & unsatisfying.
but probably my main issue with the book was that it had a few significant editing/proofreading issues. i don't think the author is really a great stylist to begin with. a lot of the language is clunky & downright cliche to the genre of disaster/mountaineering narratives. add to this the use of words like "excructing." it's obvious that he meant "excruciating," but pausing to figure that out took me out of the story. there are numerous examples like this throughout the book, including one part where he says some climbers spent the night at over 60,000 feet. he means 6000 meters. 60,000 feet is more than twice as tall as mount everest, the tallest mountain on earth. letting a mistake like that through was kind of a big slip-up, i felt. there is also a part where he says that the climbers found the landscape "unerringly beautiful". not sure what he meant here. "eerily beautiful," maybe? "unerringly beautiful" is not technically wrong...it doesn't work from a stylistic/editorial standpoint. it doesn't match the tone of the passage, at all. it is in fact jarringly wrong.
there were just a few issues like this, distracting me from the story. there are also times when he kind of goes a little too far to present the surviving sherpa as heroic good guys who never did anything wrong a day in their lives. that got kind of tiresome after a while. smacked of trying too hard. other than that, i enjoyed the book.
March 22, 2012
This was an interesting read for me. While I am not a mountain climber I love outdoor/wilderness adventure - hiking, trekking, scrambling, kayaking. I have read a number of climbing books and while they do not inspire me to scale K2 they do keep the magic of the wild alive for me while I am in the city and I respect the tenacity and dedication of truly professional alpinists.
Freddie Wilkinson's book sets out to examine the events of the well known 2008 disaster on K2. As he does this Wilkinson, like so many others, is inexorably drawn to the magic/allure/mystery of the Sherpas, their culture and their often underplayed contributions to serious alpine achievements. As such this is an interesting look not only at the Sherpas' contributions but it also explains the roles and developing contributions of their cousins elsewhere in Nepal and in Pakistan. All too often the public misconceives a Sherpa as any "local Asian" "porter" who is employed by a foreign climbing expidition. While I have seen others attempt to clarify this error, Wilkinson has gone into more depth on this than I have read elsewhere in climbing books.
While concentrating on the contributions of Nepalese and Pakistani climbers and supporters, Wilkinson also illustrates very well the role of and highlights unanswered questions about a number of the foreign climbers, e.g. Gerard McDonnell and Wilco van Rooijen among others. At the same time though there are many others about whom we learn almost nothing - Dren Mandic, Park Kyeong-hyo among them. Granted in a story with so many players not all can share the limelight but Wilkinson has undertaken an exhaustive study and even he in the end admits that he has not been able to cover all of the stories in as much depth as he might have liked.
The book in many cases to me read like a series of magazine articles packed together in an intense and detailed review of the tragedy. The timeline changes frequently and requires the reader to remain actively involved in the story in order to stay abreast of where and how it all fits together. While this is often an effective style I felt that there was a bit too much of it, particularly in Part Three, and at times it felt like the book was struggling to stay together.
This is a book which serious outdoor adventurers will enjoy though it may not be for the armchair thrill seeker. I was once again impressed by the planning, logistics and dedication required to mount even a "lightweight" expedition to an 8,000 meter peak. The author touches on the often discussed subject of just who should be going out to tackle these big mountains - only the professionals or anyone with the cash to hire an army of professional supporters. While Wilkinson does not deal with that subject exhaustively no modern review of any alpine undertaking in the Himalayas would be complete without some consideration of this and the authour successfully checks that box.
Through it all Wilkinson has delivered an in-depth study of what did or what may have occurred on K2 in the summer of 2008. He has added considerable colour to the narrative with the detailed stories of and / or circumstances surrounding Chhiring Dorje, Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, Pasang Lama and Jumik Bhote.
In my opinion this is a good first book from a professional alpinist and author of numerous magazine articles. I look forward to his next book.
Freddie Wilkinson's book sets out to examine the events of the well known 2008 disaster on K2. As he does this Wilkinson, like so many others, is inexorably drawn to the magic/allure/mystery of the Sherpas, their culture and their often underplayed contributions to serious alpine achievements. As such this is an interesting look not only at the Sherpas' contributions but it also explains the roles and developing contributions of their cousins elsewhere in Nepal and in Pakistan. All too often the public misconceives a Sherpa as any "local Asian" "porter" who is employed by a foreign climbing expidition. While I have seen others attempt to clarify this error, Wilkinson has gone into more depth on this than I have read elsewhere in climbing books.
While concentrating on the contributions of Nepalese and Pakistani climbers and supporters, Wilkinson also illustrates very well the role of and highlights unanswered questions about a number of the foreign climbers, e.g. Gerard McDonnell and Wilco van Rooijen among others. At the same time though there are many others about whom we learn almost nothing - Dren Mandic, Park Kyeong-hyo among them. Granted in a story with so many players not all can share the limelight but Wilkinson has undertaken an exhaustive study and even he in the end admits that he has not been able to cover all of the stories in as much depth as he might have liked.
The book in many cases to me read like a series of magazine articles packed together in an intense and detailed review of the tragedy. The timeline changes frequently and requires the reader to remain actively involved in the story in order to stay abreast of where and how it all fits together. While this is often an effective style I felt that there was a bit too much of it, particularly in Part Three, and at times it felt like the book was struggling to stay together.
This is a book which serious outdoor adventurers will enjoy though it may not be for the armchair thrill seeker. I was once again impressed by the planning, logistics and dedication required to mount even a "lightweight" expedition to an 8,000 meter peak. The author touches on the often discussed subject of just who should be going out to tackle these big mountains - only the professionals or anyone with the cash to hire an army of professional supporters. While Wilkinson does not deal with that subject exhaustively no modern review of any alpine undertaking in the Himalayas would be complete without some consideration of this and the authour successfully checks that box.
Through it all Wilkinson has delivered an in-depth study of what did or what may have occurred on K2 in the summer of 2008. He has added considerable colour to the narrative with the detailed stories of and / or circumstances surrounding Chhiring Dorje, Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, Pasang Lama and Jumik Bhote.
In my opinion this is a good first book from a professional alpinist and author of numerous magazine articles. I look forward to his next book.
August 28, 2010
Few news events captured my attention (much to the chagrin of my advisor who wanted my attention on research) as much as the 2008 K2 disaster in which 11 mountaineers died high on the mountain. Much of the reporting, while utterly captivating, sucked for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is that none of the journalists could get their stories straight.
Fast forward two years and we now have two books that attempt to fill the serac-size gaps left by the mainstream news. One, "No Way Down", is written by a journalist, Graham Bowley, who originally covered the event in 2008. The Other is "One Mountain Thousand Summits", written by professional mountaineer Freddie Wilkinson. While "No Way Down" is currently the more popular book, OMTS is by far the superior work.
What Wilkinson lacks in prose style compared to Bowley (which is not much), he more than makes up for in depth of research, passion for the subject, great background knowledge of mountaineering, and general competence. The amount of research he performs in trying to piece together an accurate depiction of that week is astounding. At one point, in trying to piece together the final moments of a certain mountaineer, he discovers that an hour difference between photographic evidence and other mountaineers' recollections stemmed from differing daylight savings time in Pakistan compared to the rest of the world. This makes his arguments much stronger, especially when positing certain hypotheses (I won't spoil the fun for you) that aren't yet mainstream media view.
In addition to research, he also exploits his background as a mountaineer. He spends time climbing with and interviewing the Sherpas on the K2 expedition, which is smart because a) they were the strongest climbers on the trip, b) they were the ones saving other climbers and c) their stories were never told to journalists. He recounts the bifurcating histories of siege-style/guided ascents and its alpine counterpart and even compares the biases of newspaper to blog and website reporting.
I have stopped giving stars to books, but I'm going to make an exception here for a couple reasons. First, OMTS is a great book which sadly is being outsold by the inferior but more effectively marketed "No Way Down". Second, there are only 6 ratings (so far) of this book, and one of the poorer ones was left by a person who bestowed her highest rating to a work called "The Bachelorette Party"... Seriously?
The book isn't perfect. The ending sags a bit and Wilkinson, although a mountaineer, is not an 8000m-peak veteran such as Ed Viesturs, who I thought showed a bit more depth in his K2 book. (Of course, my infinite wisdom comes from reading a few mountaineering books and sitting in front of a computer for 14 hours a day). But in all, this is a damn fine book.
Fast forward two years and we now have two books that attempt to fill the serac-size gaps left by the mainstream news. One, "No Way Down", is written by a journalist, Graham Bowley, who originally covered the event in 2008. The Other is "One Mountain Thousand Summits", written by professional mountaineer Freddie Wilkinson. While "No Way Down" is currently the more popular book, OMTS is by far the superior work.
What Wilkinson lacks in prose style compared to Bowley (which is not much), he more than makes up for in depth of research, passion for the subject, great background knowledge of mountaineering, and general competence. The amount of research he performs in trying to piece together an accurate depiction of that week is astounding. At one point, in trying to piece together the final moments of a certain mountaineer, he discovers that an hour difference between photographic evidence and other mountaineers' recollections stemmed from differing daylight savings time in Pakistan compared to the rest of the world. This makes his arguments much stronger, especially when positing certain hypotheses (I won't spoil the fun for you) that aren't yet mainstream media view.
In addition to research, he also exploits his background as a mountaineer. He spends time climbing with and interviewing the Sherpas on the K2 expedition, which is smart because a) they were the strongest climbers on the trip, b) they were the ones saving other climbers and c) their stories were never told to journalists. He recounts the bifurcating histories of siege-style/guided ascents and its alpine counterpart and even compares the biases of newspaper to blog and website reporting.
I have stopped giving stars to books, but I'm going to make an exception here for a couple reasons. First, OMTS is a great book which sadly is being outsold by the inferior but more effectively marketed "No Way Down". Second, there are only 6 ratings (so far) of this book, and one of the poorer ones was left by a person who bestowed her highest rating to a work called "The Bachelorette Party"... Seriously?
The book isn't perfect. The ending sags a bit and Wilkinson, although a mountaineer, is not an 8000m-peak veteran such as Ed Viesturs, who I thought showed a bit more depth in his K2 book. (Of course, my infinite wisdom comes from reading a few mountaineering books and sitting in front of a computer for 14 hours a day). But in all, this is a damn fine book.
February 8, 2023
Man, there are so many interesting details about the disaster in this book and the author has clearly done a mountain of research. However it is incredibly disorganized and at times hard to follow.
The focus of the book jumps all over the place as well. Lots of seemingly random historical details, then to the focus on media mishandling, then to a discussion of the complicated relationships between sherpas and clients, then back to the details of the disaster, etc. All interesting topics worthy of focus but not organized or connected particularly well.
I really enjoyed the section about Pemba's life and point of view, and appreciated the effort taken to uncover what might have happened to Ger.
The focus of the book jumps all over the place as well. Lots of seemingly random historical details, then to the focus on media mishandling, then to a discussion of the complicated relationships between sherpas and clients, then back to the details of the disaster, etc. All interesting topics worthy of focus but not organized or connected particularly well.
I really enjoyed the section about Pemba's life and point of view, and appreciated the effort taken to uncover what might have happened to Ger.
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