Doctor on Everest: Emergency Medicine at the Top of the World : A Personal Account Including the 1996 Disaster

by Kenneth Kamler

Leading up to the 1996 climb in which Dr. Kenneth Kamler played a crucial role aiding survivors of that disastrous ascent, Doctor on Everest is the never-before-seen portrait of how medicine is performed and lives are saved - or lost - in perilous conditions. Through this intimate, gripping, and often humorous first-person account, Dr. Kamler describes in sharp detail what life was like on Everest - how he treated his fellow climbers for everything from altitude sickness to severe pulmonary edema and epidural hematoma; how he negotiated his dual role as doctor and climber; and how he reconciled the difficult separation from home and family to pursue his lifelong dream. Throughout, Kamler recalls with sensitivity and insight the effects of fear, stress, and adrenaline on the entire group. He draws vivid portraits of his climbing companions, including Rob Hall, leader of the New Zealand team, who perished just below the summit in '96, and Nima Tashi, a Sherpa still walking on broken and dislocated ankles more than a year after a climbing fall. These and other relationships, forged under such mortal conditions, are rendered here so poignantly as to be unforgettable. Certain to be a classic of mountaineering literature, Doctor on Everest puts the reader in the place of a climbing doctor and reveals a deeper understanding of what it takes for both the human body and mind to function at high altitude.

Genres: Nonfiction, Mountaineering, Adventure, Memoir, Medicine, Biography, Outdoors

305 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read "mountain" books for some years now and they do vary in quality both of writing and story. This one is pretty decent. Ken Kamler's approach is a good one. He is probably a doctor primarily, however he is a climbing doctor who wishes to climb Everest. The book covers three attempts, the last being the 1996 season and its events.

This is a very human story. There is not the driven characteristics of a normal climber. Indeed I think it's fair to say that Kamler would prefer to be a successful doctor than anything else. There is warmth and humour here. Additionally there is quite a good insight into the 1996 tragedies as seen through a doctor's eyes. Certainly recommended for those with an interest in such things - I enjoyed it.

[Mim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievably good

[Mazola1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between 1992 and 1996, Dr. Kenneth Kamler was a member of four expeditions to Mount Everest. He had a dual role, that of team doctor, and that of climber. One of the slower climbers, Kamler struggled more than the stronger climbers, and never made it to the top. But he did come close. And during the course of these struggles, he took his own measure, both as a climber and as a human being.

He treated a variety of illnesses and injuries, some life threatening and some trivial. He saw a young Sherpa member of one of his expeditions, eager to prove his courage and ability, take a foolish risk and plunge to his death. He arranged to have a Sherpa with a serious ankle fracture treated in the United States, telling him that although he would be able to walk without pain, he wcould not climb again. Later that Sherpa accompanied Kamler on his subsquent and unsuccessful efforts to summit, and himself summited the moutain four times.

In 1995, Dr. Kamler came within 900 feet of the summit, but turned back when confronted with deteriorating weather and too little time to provide a reasonable margin of safety for the descent. The next year, other climbers, confronted with similar circumstances, made the opposite decision, with fatal and near fatal results. The fatalities included experienced climbers who had been on Everest before. Kamler attributes a dulled sense of danger to this to familarity with the mountain: although the risks don't decrease, perception of those risks does. "As a doctor, I saw the phenomenon often: An experienced laborer who worked with dangerous equipment gradually relaxed his vigilance until he showed up in the emergency room with a severed hand. Familarity, and prolonged exposure without incident, leads to a loss of appreciation of risk."

Kamler knew many of the dead climbers personally, including Rob Hall, and participated in the emergency care of the more badly injured survivors, including Beck Weathers. After the 1996 disaster, Dr. Kamler returned to Everest, but not as a climber. Nonetheless, he felt that his efforts as a climber had been successful.

In explaining why, Kamler provides his answer to the age old, and probably never entirely successfully answered question of why people climb mountains. As he admits, in many ways reaching the top is a pointless goal, without any social utility. His answer is that climbing mountains is a way to conquer one's fears and perceived limitations.

His detailed explanation strikes me as somewhat unsatifactory and a bit forced and odd, coming as it does from a skilled surgeon used to dealing with devastating and traumatic physical injuries. But Kamler writes that "Climbing reduces life to its simplest, most basic elements: food, shelter, survival. Humans are designed to deal with these essentials, not the trivia that fills our everyday modern lives. Climbing elevates the senses to a higher pitch, emotions become more intense, and unexpectedly, it's relaxing. Challenging nature on its own basic terms and succeeding brings exhilaration on a grand scale."

Whatever might be the truth of those sentiments, Kamler seems to be on target when he says that although he didn't get to the top, he did succeed. He says that each of us should have our own Everest, "a testing place in any endeavor where the goal is almost, but not quite, beyond reach." As he says, when you take on a great challenge and perservere, "you discover that your abilities are more than you ever imagined, enabling you at times to accomplish the 'impossible.' A life lived in this way is infinitely fulfilling."

He sums up with a paraphrase from a poem by Goethe which he says is popular with climbers: "If you have a dream, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Doctor on Everest is about the boldness, power and magic of challenging dreams. It reminds us that we don't have to climb moutains to take on great challenges and we don't have to reach the top to be successful. The magic is in taking on and perservering at goal which stretches our abilities.

[Shubha Shivanandappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among all the mountain books that I’ve read so far this stands apart for reason that it is written by a doctor who treated many climbers and sherpas in high altitude despite his own distress and exhaustion from climbing. And also the author expresses his vulnerability and the failures without any guard of machoism.

Ken explains in great deal the difficulties involved in climbing Everest and admits he was the most slowest climber in almost all the seasons of his climbing expedition and becomes close to the readers with this off guarded thoughts. He tries to balance the thoughts of climbing Everest and leaving his family behind, and gives a meaningful reasoning behind why would a climber risk their entire life for achieving summit success.

The off point for me was in the beginning few pages where Ken sounds very privileged after he lands in Nepal for the first time. Nepal is a small developing country to be even compared or judged by his US standards.

[Susan Liston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how interesting this turned out to be. Although I'm reading through all the books about the '96 Everest disaster, according to reviews, this only covers that at the end. Plus I am mostly creeped out by medical stuff. But I gave it a try. Dr Kamler made multiple trips to Everest, as a client and a physician, and he gives you the actual day to day routine of what it is like to be there. This I'm sure would be boring to someone who only wants to read about derring do on the mountain, but I definitely enjoyed it. And there were quite a few details about 96 that I had not heard, as it was a from a completely different perspective.

[Alice Southwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting adventure story with added medical insight. I enjoyed reading this, especially his account of the 1996 Everest disaster. I have read a few other recollections of the 1996 Everest tragedy but to read it from the perspective of a doctor, working to save lives was fascinating. Although I cannot fully understand why Dr Kamler continued to return to Everest, despite leaving his wife and children at home, I can appreciate the physical and mental challenge and that (quote) ... 'climbing reduces life to its simplest, most basic elements, food, shelter & survival.'
8/10 recommend (especially to those who enjoy adventure, non-fiction mountaineering books).

[Andrea Galvez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kamler is privileged and pompous - which I guess should not be a surprise from a mountaineer. But his ego, even in his "vulnerable" moments, gets in the way of the telling. He wants to say that his experiences on Everest weren't as important as his home life with his wife and two small children. But he says that after admitting that he climbed or was at Basecamp for at minimum 7 seasons, each 2 months long. He chose to miss out on more than a year, total, of his children's life and his marriage. If you want to read about Everest, read Into Thin Air, which covers the 96 tragedy in more detail and with more morality.

[Linda Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I could give this book 1o stars!
Kenneth Kamler is an incredible writer, as well as an unbelievably talented microsurgeon. From even the first few pages of my reading, I was enjoying his sense of humor, his attention to detail, and his gift as an author.
Everest called to him, and he answered. The reader learns of his love for his wife Josian, and his son and daughter, but also of how he followed his desire to climb. He served as the physician to his climbing group and also to anyone else on the mountain who needed him, made arrangements to provide surgical treatment in America for a Sherpa guide he met in Nepal, and was in a lower camp when the 1996 disaster affecting Rob Hall's group of New Zealand climbers brought unexpected victims to him for treatment.
Kenneth is self-effacing, and calls a spade a spade. He made no cover-up of his earlier less-than-stellar climbing abilities, but this book is so much more than that. It is a totally engrossing insight into the medical side of climbing - and attempting to climb - the highest mountain in the world.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing I appreciated was the author’s leaving descriptions of others to the perception of the reader without editorializing, as if he knew those described would be reading about themselves. His own introspections seemed honest as well. I wish there’d been an index or at least a longer list names than were included in the postscript. Many in the book will be familiar to those who read a lot of climbing books, but mentioning a last name only at the first reference isn’t enough if you want to look up a bio of, for example, Mike or Jim.

[Virginia Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Ken Kamler’s writing style. He includes many of his emotions to help you really go on this journey with him. His writing is hard to describe — it’s sophisticated but not glib in any way. He shares so many personal things you know this is a humble person, not one of those who climb mountains for bragging rights. Glad to have read this book.

[Ia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous book, right up my street! Marrying my two interests: medicine and Everest. Well-written, interesting and to the point - I really enjoyed and have recommended it to others interested in Everest. Short review as I read it a couple of months back!

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has great details and is very honest about the paradoxical aspects of climbing Everest. Even with that honesty, I still struggled to understand Dr. Kamler's perspective and hyperfocus on the mountain.

[Andrea Strening · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, but a more aggressive editor and ghost writer would have made the story much more readable.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less about 1996 than I expected but still a captivating account of life on Everest.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My older sis and I are avid readers and we regularly trade huge paper bags of books with each other at family gatherings. She finds many of her books at a second hand store for a mere fraction of the original price. Sometimes these books are big hits, sometimes not so much. This one is a BIG hit. A doctor tells this true story of his experiences climbing Everest and one of the greater tragedies to ever strike a group of climbers (back in 1996). He served as the camp doctor so he gives a first hand account of all the physical trials that individuals go through during this harrowing quest. What is most interesting is that he takes us from beginning to end of an Everest trek - from simply wanting to climb, to preparing for such an adventure, to gathering gear, to getting to the starting point, through adapting to the climate, dealing with other climbing groups in their various camps, to the step by step ordeal that is Everest. I can say I felt the freezing temps myself as I was reading. If you want to know how it's done, what it takes, and what dangers are actually faced by those who choose to attempt the summit, read this book. Truly fascinating.

[Szeee · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Nem létezik még egy olyan cél, amely egyszerre annyira valóságos és mégis annyira elvont lenne, mint egy hegy csúcsa. Lehet, hogy egyes kérdésekre a válasz ebben rejlik. A csúcs egy jól körülírható cél, amelyet csak bizonyos ráfordításokkal, jó tervezéssel, kemény munkával és szerencsével lehet elérni. Az első pillantás egy nagy hegyre rendszerint félelemmel tölti el az embert: hihetetlenül nagy; leküzdhetetlen; semmi emberi nem tartozik hozzá. De ahogy uraljuk a félelmet, és a hegyre lépésenként tekintünk, amelyeket egyesével teszünk meg, rájövünk, hogy nincsen egyetlen egy lépés sem, amit ne tudnánk véghezvinni. Egyszerűen folyamatosan haladunk addig, amíg minden irányból csak lefelé vezet már út, egy zavarodott pillanat után pedig rájövünk arra, hogy a csúcson vagyunk. Nem voltak leküzdhetetlen akadályok, minden korlát csak az elménkben létezett."

Dr. Kenneth Kamler sosem jutott fel az Everest csúcsára, de nagyon sokszor járt a hegyen. Orvosként rengeteget segített a sérült, legyengült, megfagyott hegymászóknak. És ő volt az, aki végre leírta, hogy hogyan wc-ztek és zuhanyoztak a hegyen :D

[Homo Sapien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ken Kamler was a hand surgeon in the United States. He had a loving wife, three kids, and was safe financially. He was happy with this life until Everest caught his eye--he just had to try it.

With some luck, Kamler was taken on an expedition to Everest as the doctor. After the first expedition, he continued going back to Everest as a doctor.

The most challenging part of his Everest career was the tragedy of 1996. While Kamler himself waited out the storm, he prepared to care for extremely hypothermic and frostbitten patients near death, then see to their evacuation off the mountain.

After a frustrating night waiting for the helicopter to come, and a more frustrating morning when they could not make the landing, Kamler manages to keep the victims alive until help comes.

This was a great book. Having read Jon Krakauer's account if the tragedy of '96, I found it interesting to read it from another point of view.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've done quite a bit of reading about Everest and other mountain-climbing stories, as well as worked my way through a number of polar exploration journals, biographies, memoirs, etc. This book provides quite a different perspective, and that made it pretty interesting. Ken Kamler is both a physician and a mountain climber, and he served as expedition doctor on a number of Everest attempts. As much as I've read about Everest climbing routes, his was the first description that helped me truly understand how climbing the Lhotse face gets people through to be able to complete the southern route up Everest. His observations, both medical and mountaineering, are keen. Worth reading if this is a genre that interests you.

[Geo Forman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Kamler is quite a guy. Obviously an excellent doctor, he also grabs life with gusto. Falling on love with mountain climbing, he eventually joins an expedition to Everest. The first two thirds of the book describes his experience in just the right amount of detail so that the reader has a real appreciation of the challenges of Everest. The rest of the book uses that premise to frame his other expeditions to Everest finishing with the most famous and tragic expedition that saw several friends die.

Other than the harshness of the environment, I was most intrigued by how limited the time frame is for reaching the summit based on annual weather trends.

A really good adventure story that, for me, was an eye opener for me regarding Mount Everest.

[DMREAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a mountain climber, but after hearing a review of this book on NPR I felt it was a book I wanted to read. I found this well written non-fiction book read like a novel, and was a real page turner. Written from the perspective of a medical doctor as well as a climber, Kamler discusses high altitude medicine as well as climbing. This is an intimate account of a variety of attempts by Kamler to climb Mt. Everest, as well as the medical treatments that he administered as the team doctor. This book also deals with the tragedy of the 1996 disaster in which he was valuable in helping some of the survivors. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in mountain climbing or medcine.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE mountaineering books, but was a little wary to read this one, fearful it was going to be a knockoff of "Into thin Air", but actually wasn't at all. It was full of adventure and the details of extreme medicine, and was more about his medical experience on Everest than the 1996 disaster (although he did talk about that in detail, and his role as the main Doctor in that event). Kamler is extremely honest and I felt as if I were on the mountain with him. The only thing that bugged me is that he tried to dumb down his wordage for readers, and I like reading the medical terms and not shoddy explanations.

[Kaelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book and this author very much.

Kamler is a surgeon, and his descriptions of his medical duties while climbing mountains, and how they sometimes interfered with his climbing ambitions, were very interesting. The the fact that he always chose to care for other climbers in distress over making the summit himself made me respect him -- from what I've read, such moral fiber tends to fall to the wayside on mountains like Everest. I don't know if Kamler used a ghost writer, but the book is well-written and thoughtful and very, very interesting.

[Amy Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by stories of the struggles on Mount Everest and can hardly believe people take on that level of harshness and risk. It was appropriate that I was reading this book and Everest was in the news, having claimed 4 more climbers this month. This book is written by a climber who was also an expedition doctor, so you get an interesting account of the treatment of mountain injuries. It's an honest conversation about the overwhelming desire to climb despite the reality of the misery and death on the mountain.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Kenneth Kamler was on Everest as a climber/doctor during the disaster of 1996. He treated fellow climbers for a range of illnesses-altitude sickness, pulmonary edema and frostbite. Amongst the men he treated were
Makalu Gau and Beck Weathers, whose stories appear in many books about the disaster. It was a fascinating look at life on the mountain and the limited resources that a doctor has to work with. My edition included photographs of frostbite which were pretty damn scary to look at!

[Killaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a lot of mountaineering stories, but never from the perspective of the expedition doctor. It brings a refreshing perspective, a little less self-absorbed and emotional. An interesting contrast to a lot of the other accounts of the 1996 tragedy. Not nearly as riveting, but I'm not sure I have any emotion left for that disaster.

[Joy Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This booked helped me understand a bit why anyone wants to tackle Everest. The whole adventure is continually on the brink of disaster and enduring physical limits bodies are not designed for. The medical challenges were interesting, but most of the book was about Dr. Kamler's many attempts to summit.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kamler isn't exactly the best writer, but its good to hear more perspective on the tragedy on Everest in 1996 other than from "Into Thin Air". I especially appreciated the medical additions and wanted more high altitude medicine.

[MilkywayCrossing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never thought in detail about all the risks of climbing Mt. Everest before reading this book. The author does a good job explaining the environment of Mt. Everest and how easily disaster like the one he lived through can happen.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but not very well written.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author, who has been on four expeditions to Everest, describes what it is like to practice trauma medicine at such a high altitude. My only wish was for a bit more detail.