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The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier
“My eyes travel up the frozen walls. I figure it is eighty feet up to the sunlight. The walls above me climb up at about eighty degrees, then they go dead vertical, and then, higher up, they overhang. It is as if I am looking out from the belly of a beast, its jagged white teeth interlocking above me.”
In June 1992, best friends Jim Davidson and Mike Price stood triumphantly atop Washington’s Mount Rainier, celebrating what they hoped would be the first of many milestones in their lives as passionate young mountaineers. Instead, their conquest gave way to catastrophe when a cave-in plunged them deep inside a glacial crevasse—the pitch-black, ice-walled hell that every climber’s nightmares are made of.
An avid adventurer from an early age, Davidson was already a seasoned climber at the time of the Rainier ascent, fully aware of the risks and hopelessly in love with the challenge. But in the blur of a harrowing free fall, he suddenly found himself challenged by nature’s grandeur at its most unforgiving. Trapped on a narrow, unstable frozen ledge, deep below daylight and high above a yawning chasm, he would desperately battle crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him alive, while struggling in vain to save his fatally injured companion. And finally, with little equipment, no partner, and rapidly dwindling hope, he would have to make a fateful choice—between the certainty of a slow, lonely death or the seeming impossibility of climbing for his life.
At once a heart-stopping adventure story, a heartfelt memoir of friendship, and a stirring meditation on fleeting mortality and immutable nature, The Ledge chronicles one man’s transforming odyssey from the dizzying heights of elation and awe to the punishing depths of grief and hard-won wisdom. This book’s visceral, lyrical prose sings the praises of the physical world’s wonders, while searching the souls of those willing, for better or worse, to fully embrace it.
In June 1992, best friends Jim Davidson and Mike Price stood triumphantly atop Washington’s Mount Rainier, celebrating what they hoped would be the first of many milestones in their lives as passionate young mountaineers. Instead, their conquest gave way to catastrophe when a cave-in plunged them deep inside a glacial crevasse—the pitch-black, ice-walled hell that every climber’s nightmares are made of.
An avid adventurer from an early age, Davidson was already a seasoned climber at the time of the Rainier ascent, fully aware of the risks and hopelessly in love with the challenge. But in the blur of a harrowing free fall, he suddenly found himself challenged by nature’s grandeur at its most unforgiving. Trapped on a narrow, unstable frozen ledge, deep below daylight and high above a yawning chasm, he would desperately battle crumbling ice and snow that threatened to bury him alive, while struggling in vain to save his fatally injured companion. And finally, with little equipment, no partner, and rapidly dwindling hope, he would have to make a fateful choice—between the certainty of a slow, lonely death or the seeming impossibility of climbing for his life.
At once a heart-stopping adventure story, a heartfelt memoir of friendship, and a stirring meditation on fleeting mortality and immutable nature, The Ledge chronicles one man’s transforming odyssey from the dizzying heights of elation and awe to the punishing depths of grief and hard-won wisdom. This book’s visceral, lyrical prose sings the praises of the physical world’s wonders, while searching the souls of those willing, for better or worse, to fully embrace it.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published July 26, 2011
112 people are currently reading
3344 people want to read
About the author
Jim Davidson
34 books110 followersJim Davidson is a climber and international speaker who shares resilience lessons from a lifetime of mountain adventures. He was trapped on Mount Everest during the deadly 2015 earthquake, summited Everest in 2017, and has been a climber and expedition leader for 39 years. Jim also coauthored the New York Times bestselling adventure and survival memoir, The Ledge.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
December 17, 2024
Another one of those climbing adventure survival stories! I do enjoy reading these especially tucked under a blanket with a hot cup of tea nearby!
March 10, 2015
I think much of this story is false.
The author made many stupid choices on this trip.
1. He didn't camp at thumb rock, circa 10,000'
the normal camp because it's a safe place to spend time.
Instead they spent the night hanging from ice screws
at a ridiculous location.
2. They camped above 14,000' the next night despite
some altitude sickness problem which they couldn't know
whether would get worse during the night.
3. They glissaded down a crevassed glacier despite warnings not to.
4. Instead of plunge stepping down the 10-20' wide beaten path,
they were on snow/ice no one else had traveled on.
My opinion based on 30 years of climbing in the Cascades
including Liberty ridge, Ptarmigan ridge, Nisqually glacier
many other routes on Rainier including 2 Febuary winter accents
and a March winter accent, and about 800 other climbs total:
I think they were off the beaten path because they wanted
to do more glissading and that generally isn't possible
where others have kicked steps either going up or down.
For a nice smooth glissade you want virgin snow.
Going up or plunge stepping down,
people keep little slack between them,
but when glissading,
you want more slack so the other person
doesn't jerk you off balance.
You need to keep adjusting the angle of your feet
and you're going a lot faster than plunge stepping.
A sitting glissade is often even faster.
This is why the rope didn't cut into the edge of the crevasse.
Normally when a person drops into a crevasse,
the rope friction burns a slot about 18" deep in the ice,
and when the rope stops moving, it freezes in hard.
So hard you can't pull it out,
you have to use the ice ax to cut the ice away.
Because they had so much slack, the rope didn't cut in
and both glissaded into the crevasse.
STUPID!!!
AND, he has the gall to blame Mike for not stopping HIS fall.
As he goes into the crevasse, he keeps saying: why isn't the rope pulling me to a stop, i.e. it's Mike's fault.
Thousands of people stub their toe in the great american wilderness every year.
If no on had died,
this story would have little value,
but because Mike died,
the author has been able to milk this story ever since.
People are curious how one man died and the other managed to live.
The author made up a bunch of lies and he compares himself with Joe Simpson who really was a courageous and strong person.
If Simpson hadn't written his book,
this wanta be wouldn't have had the idea to do the same.
Spending the rest of your life making money off your dead
"friend", how disgusting.
Most of the book is about his getting out of the crevasse,
IMO, mostly lies.
And the part about how both got into the crevasse, all lies.
A literary fraud.
The author made many stupid choices on this trip.
1. He didn't camp at thumb rock, circa 10,000'
the normal camp because it's a safe place to spend time.
Instead they spent the night hanging from ice screws
at a ridiculous location.
2. They camped above 14,000' the next night despite
some altitude sickness problem which they couldn't know
whether would get worse during the night.
3. They glissaded down a crevassed glacier despite warnings not to.
4. Instead of plunge stepping down the 10-20' wide beaten path,
they were on snow/ice no one else had traveled on.
My opinion based on 30 years of climbing in the Cascades
including Liberty ridge, Ptarmigan ridge, Nisqually glacier
many other routes on Rainier including 2 Febuary winter accents
and a March winter accent, and about 800 other climbs total:
I think they were off the beaten path because they wanted
to do more glissading and that generally isn't possible
where others have kicked steps either going up or down.
For a nice smooth glissade you want virgin snow.
Going up or plunge stepping down,
people keep little slack between them,
but when glissading,
you want more slack so the other person
doesn't jerk you off balance.
You need to keep adjusting the angle of your feet
and you're going a lot faster than plunge stepping.
A sitting glissade is often even faster.
This is why the rope didn't cut into the edge of the crevasse.
Normally when a person drops into a crevasse,
the rope friction burns a slot about 18" deep in the ice,
and when the rope stops moving, it freezes in hard.
So hard you can't pull it out,
you have to use the ice ax to cut the ice away.
Because they had so much slack, the rope didn't cut in
and both glissaded into the crevasse.
STUPID!!!
AND, he has the gall to blame Mike for not stopping HIS fall.
As he goes into the crevasse, he keeps saying: why isn't the rope pulling me to a stop, i.e. it's Mike's fault.
Thousands of people stub their toe in the great american wilderness every year.
If no on had died,
this story would have little value,
but because Mike died,
the author has been able to milk this story ever since.
People are curious how one man died and the other managed to live.
The author made up a bunch of lies and he compares himself with Joe Simpson who really was a courageous and strong person.
If Simpson hadn't written his book,
this wanta be wouldn't have had the idea to do the same.
Spending the rest of your life making money off your dead
"friend", how disgusting.
Most of the book is about his getting out of the crevasse,
IMO, mostly lies.
And the part about how both got into the crevasse, all lies.
A literary fraud.
February 7, 2019
This was a good story but as I am an armchair mountain climber, there was a bit about climbing gear that I did not understand. It would have been great to have some diagrams with the set-up used to climb out of the crevasse along with a dictionary of terms. I just couldn’t get a sense of what an achievement it is to self-belay and aid climb. I was able to get a good sense, though, of how technical a climb Davidson made getting out and how emotionally and physically draining it was.
June 8, 2011
Father’s Day, June 21 1992. Jim Davidson and good friend and climbing partner Mike Price have just summited Mount Rainier via the more dangerous Liberty Ridge route and you’d think the decision to take the more heavily travelled Emmons glacier route back down would be the easiest part of the climb, but no…it wasn’t quite time to let their guard down. As careful as they are to test the glacier surface for unseen dangers, tragedy strikes when Jim missteps and tumbles into a hidden crevasse, and since they’re tied together both end up plummeting down. Thankfully their fall is broken by a tiny ledge, but only Jim survives it – and he’s got 80 feet of a solid ice wall to climb, limited equipment, only so many hours of daylight before night comes, he’s exhausted and grieving and battling hypothermia to boot. Can he do it?
Yes he did and what a harrowing experience, but there’s still more to come as he has to deal with grief over the death of his friend, his guilt over the *what if* questions about whether any one decision or action he might have taken that could changed the outcome of that fatal day, and whether or not he can ever bring himself to climb a mountain again.
I did have a few quibbles over how the book begins, with a prologue that throws the reader right into the heart of the fall, and then backtracking to Jim and Scott’s back history and friendship, but once their climb of Rainier started I had a hard time putting this down. This book does contain a lot of technical aspects involved in not only climbing the mountain, but Jim’s harrowing climb back out of the crevasse and may not appeal to all readers. That said, if you have a real mountaineer (my mountain climbing boss is so drooling over this) or an arm-chair one in your family, I suspect this might just be up his/her alley. The advance copy I received from Amazon vine is text only, but it would be nice if the actual edition contains some photos of the two friends, and the happy times before that fateful step into nowhere.
The author speaks about his experience and grief process in a video to be found here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_3pxl....
Yes he did and what a harrowing experience, but there’s still more to come as he has to deal with grief over the death of his friend, his guilt over the *what if* questions about whether any one decision or action he might have taken that could changed the outcome of that fatal day, and whether or not he can ever bring himself to climb a mountain again.
I did have a few quibbles over how the book begins, with a prologue that throws the reader right into the heart of the fall, and then backtracking to Jim and Scott’s back history and friendship, but once their climb of Rainier started I had a hard time putting this down. This book does contain a lot of technical aspects involved in not only climbing the mountain, but Jim’s harrowing climb back out of the crevasse and may not appeal to all readers. That said, if you have a real mountaineer (my mountain climbing boss is so drooling over this) or an arm-chair one in your family, I suspect this might just be up his/her alley. The advance copy I received from Amazon vine is text only, but it would be nice if the actual edition contains some photos of the two friends, and the happy times before that fateful step into nowhere.
The author speaks about his experience and grief process in a video to be found here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_3pxl....
July 8, 2011
“Resources in this world are not distributed evenly, especially the precious gift of time.”
When you take risks, the consequences can be horrible and deadly. If you don't take risks, the consequences will eventually be deadly anyway, it just may take longer. Jim Davidson and Mike Price, climbing buddies and friends, took the risks and Mike paid with his early death. Jim, given the situation he was in, should have died. He didn't. This story tells how the two men came to be stuck on a tiny snow ledge 80 feet down a crevasse, with unknown depths left to fall should the ledge break or they fall off.
This is a story that will appeal to climbers and us less brave souls, the armchair adventure voyeurs. It is more than a climbing story. It is about friendship, challenge, survival guilt. It is about doing the impossible when you know it is impossible but it is your only choice. And it is about how others view you when two people set out and only one comes back.
I learned about things I don't even want to contemplate, especially “corking,” a term new to me but one I'll never forget. Because I am not a climber (and, for the record, don't intend to become one), I had to pay close attention to the explanations of climbing and the equipment used, and the authors went to great lengths to help me understand. The bravery of the rangers and volunteers, people who are risking their own lives to save others, is inspiring. What courage that must take.
At the beginning of the book, there were too many time jumps for me to keep the time line straight. The writing was occasionally uneven, much better in some places than in others. I liked hearing about Mr. Davidson's early life, his summer jobs working with his dad, jobs that no sane person would undertake. I would have liked to know more about Mr. Price. Still, this was a fascinating story and a wonderful tribute from a climber to his friend and fellow climber.
(The quote at the top of this review is taken from an advance uncorrected proof given to me, and may have changed in the finished edition.)
When you take risks, the consequences can be horrible and deadly. If you don't take risks, the consequences will eventually be deadly anyway, it just may take longer. Jim Davidson and Mike Price, climbing buddies and friends, took the risks and Mike paid with his early death. Jim, given the situation he was in, should have died. He didn't. This story tells how the two men came to be stuck on a tiny snow ledge 80 feet down a crevasse, with unknown depths left to fall should the ledge break or they fall off.
This is a story that will appeal to climbers and us less brave souls, the armchair adventure voyeurs. It is more than a climbing story. It is about friendship, challenge, survival guilt. It is about doing the impossible when you know it is impossible but it is your only choice. And it is about how others view you when two people set out and only one comes back.
I learned about things I don't even want to contemplate, especially “corking,” a term new to me but one I'll never forget. Because I am not a climber (and, for the record, don't intend to become one), I had to pay close attention to the explanations of climbing and the equipment used, and the authors went to great lengths to help me understand. The bravery of the rangers and volunteers, people who are risking their own lives to save others, is inspiring. What courage that must take.
At the beginning of the book, there were too many time jumps for me to keep the time line straight. The writing was occasionally uneven, much better in some places than in others. I liked hearing about Mr. Davidson's early life, his summer jobs working with his dad, jobs that no sane person would undertake. I would have liked to know more about Mr. Price. Still, this was a fascinating story and a wonderful tribute from a climber to his friend and fellow climber.
(The quote at the top of this review is taken from an advance uncorrected proof given to me, and may have changed in the finished edition.)
November 25, 2012
A good read about based on a 1992 climbing accident where two climbers fell through a snow bridge while descending Mt Rainier. One of the climbers is killed and the other goes through the lifesaving efforts, then the grief and then his self rescue out of the crevasse
The authors, one of whom is the surviving climber, do a great job of giving the background and life of both climbers before the accident. By the time the accident occurs you feel that you know both the climbers and their passion for mountaineering.
The accident and aftermath were riveting and I was impressed with the sensitive treatment of the death of the one climber. The description of the rescue got a bit technical, the description of the self belay, the use of the rope, the moving of the ice screws was at times over my head and occasionally tedious. However, readers with a stronger mountaineering background would surely appreciate the detail.
The aftermath of the accident was also handled sensitively, especially the survivor's conversations with the the dead climber's family. It also described how the survivor resumed his passion for mountaineering and describes his subsequent life
A good read that I recommend
The authors, one of whom is the surviving climber, do a great job of giving the background and life of both climbers before the accident. By the time the accident occurs you feel that you know both the climbers and their passion for mountaineering.
The accident and aftermath were riveting and I was impressed with the sensitive treatment of the death of the one climber. The description of the rescue got a bit technical, the description of the self belay, the use of the rope, the moving of the ice screws was at times over my head and occasionally tedious. However, readers with a stronger mountaineering background would surely appreciate the detail.
The aftermath of the accident was also handled sensitively, especially the survivor's conversations with the the dead climber's family. It also described how the survivor resumed his passion for mountaineering and describes his subsequent life
A good read that I recommend
October 24, 2024
Jim Davidson's memoir recounts the harrowing mountaineering accident he experienced with his climbing partner, Mike Price, on Mount Rainier in 1992. Davidson is forced to draw upon his physical strength and mental resilience to survive after falling into a crevasse. Davidson reflects on the fragility of life, the unpredictability of nature, and the “what ifs” that always arise after experiencing such an event. It portrays nature as both awe-inspiring and unforgiving. Davidson and Price had prepared extensively for the climb, but their fall into the crevasse reveals how even the most experienced climbers can be caught off guard. The book is structured in alternating segments of the climbing pair’s past experiences and family histories, and the riveting account of the accident. A basic knowledge of mountaineering terminology is helpful. In a rather lengthy section near the end, Davidson relates what happened in his life in the aftermath. Recommended to those interested in first-hand true stories of mountaineering experiences.
December 7, 2011
Every year, two or three people die on Mount Rainier. In 1992, Mike Price was one of those people. To the world at large, his death went mostly unnoticed, another routine climbing fatality, no doubt recorded only in his hometown paper and perhaps the Seattle media. To his climbing partner, Jim Davidson, however, Mike's death and the accident that caused it were life altering events.
Davidson's book, The Ledge, tells the story of how he survived the accident and what he learned about himself from that experience. Although the book recounts a rather unusual accident in somewhat precise and technical terms, it nonetheless tells a universal tale of a person finding the inner resources to confront and overcome a seemingly insurmountable challenge.
Jim Davidson was an avid and moderately experienced mountaineer. His friend, Mike Price, equally avid about climbing, was more seasoned and technically adept. In the summer of 1992, they set off to climb Mount Rainier, a climb accomplished by hundreds of climbers every year, generally with a few fatalities being recorded each season. The two friends uccessfully summited, and were nearly back when disaster struck. While crossing an unsuspected ice bridge, the ice gave way, and although roped together, Mike and Jim both plunged into the depths of a hidden crevasse.
These accidents are among the most feared by climbers. In 1981, the famed American climber, Jim Wickwire, was pulled into a crevasse on Denali, when his climbing partner, Chris Kerrebrock, fell in. Kerrebrock was wedged so tightly into the crevasse that although Kerrebrock survived the fall, Wickwire was unable to rescue him, and he died on the mountain. The haunting story of this accident is one of the most vivid parts of Wickwire's book, Addicted To Danger.
Davidson and Price narrowly escaped this fate, known as getting "corked." Fortuitously, their fall was broken about 80 feet down by a small ice ledge. Davidson was aware that if the ledge gave way, or if he fell from it, he would no doubt get corked, and die an unpleasant death. Davidson was not seriously injured, but Price was near death at the end of the fall, probably having suffered a broken neck. Davidson found himself 80 feet away from the surface, confronted with an almost vertical ice wall with an unstable overhanging ledge at the top, a dead or dying partner he was reluctant to abandon, and almost none of the equipment necessary to undertake such a climb. The climb was techically more demanding than any he had ever successfully completed. Nonetheless, somehow he found the inner strength and resources to get out.
Davidson tells the story of the climb in great detail, recounting both how he solved the technical difficulties of climbing an 80 foot vertical ice wall with just six ice screws and some rope, and how he dealt with the anxiety, fear, guilt and hopelessness that were obstacles as great, if not greater, than the physical obstacles he faced. Some readers have found the technical details to be tedious and unnecessary. I think however that they are necessary to set the proper tone and to tell Davidson's story accurately. His climb up the wall was not accomplished in a single leap, rather it was a series of small and stressful steps, painfully accomplished, with the outcome always in doubt. He had to think, plan, risk and execute each inch of the way up. The story of how each inch was gained in the face of great psychological and physical difficulties is made more understandable by this detail, even for readers without a full understanding of the equipment and mechanics of how Davidson accomplished that.
Davidson wrote The Ledge years later, after he had had time to reflect on the lessons he learned on the ledge. The ledge is a great metaphor for the often uncertain and capricious nature of life. It was positioned in just the right way to break the climbers' fall, but Davidson lived while Price was killed. Had Davidson had one less ice screw, he probably could not have climbed out of the crevasse, but if he had walked an inch to his right or left, the accident may never had happened. These are the types of situations that tease and torment us with thoughts about fate, luck, and chance.
But in the end, Davidson confronted what could have been a fatal challenge, and rather than giving up or being discouraged, decided to fight for his life. Each of us at one time or another will find ourselves in a similar tight spot. Reflecting on the lessons of The Ledge may help us to find a way out. For that alone, this book is worth reading.
Davidson's book, The Ledge, tells the story of how he survived the accident and what he learned about himself from that experience. Although the book recounts a rather unusual accident in somewhat precise and technical terms, it nonetheless tells a universal tale of a person finding the inner resources to confront and overcome a seemingly insurmountable challenge.
Jim Davidson was an avid and moderately experienced mountaineer. His friend, Mike Price, equally avid about climbing, was more seasoned and technically adept. In the summer of 1992, they set off to climb Mount Rainier, a climb accomplished by hundreds of climbers every year, generally with a few fatalities being recorded each season. The two friends uccessfully summited, and were nearly back when disaster struck. While crossing an unsuspected ice bridge, the ice gave way, and although roped together, Mike and Jim both plunged into the depths of a hidden crevasse.
These accidents are among the most feared by climbers. In 1981, the famed American climber, Jim Wickwire, was pulled into a crevasse on Denali, when his climbing partner, Chris Kerrebrock, fell in. Kerrebrock was wedged so tightly into the crevasse that although Kerrebrock survived the fall, Wickwire was unable to rescue him, and he died on the mountain. The haunting story of this accident is one of the most vivid parts of Wickwire's book, Addicted To Danger.
Davidson and Price narrowly escaped this fate, known as getting "corked." Fortuitously, their fall was broken about 80 feet down by a small ice ledge. Davidson was aware that if the ledge gave way, or if he fell from it, he would no doubt get corked, and die an unpleasant death. Davidson was not seriously injured, but Price was near death at the end of the fall, probably having suffered a broken neck. Davidson found himself 80 feet away from the surface, confronted with an almost vertical ice wall with an unstable overhanging ledge at the top, a dead or dying partner he was reluctant to abandon, and almost none of the equipment necessary to undertake such a climb. The climb was techically more demanding than any he had ever successfully completed. Nonetheless, somehow he found the inner strength and resources to get out.
Davidson tells the story of the climb in great detail, recounting both how he solved the technical difficulties of climbing an 80 foot vertical ice wall with just six ice screws and some rope, and how he dealt with the anxiety, fear, guilt and hopelessness that were obstacles as great, if not greater, than the physical obstacles he faced. Some readers have found the technical details to be tedious and unnecessary. I think however that they are necessary to set the proper tone and to tell Davidson's story accurately. His climb up the wall was not accomplished in a single leap, rather it was a series of small and stressful steps, painfully accomplished, with the outcome always in doubt. He had to think, plan, risk and execute each inch of the way up. The story of how each inch was gained in the face of great psychological and physical difficulties is made more understandable by this detail, even for readers without a full understanding of the equipment and mechanics of how Davidson accomplished that.
Davidson wrote The Ledge years later, after he had had time to reflect on the lessons he learned on the ledge. The ledge is a great metaphor for the often uncertain and capricious nature of life. It was positioned in just the right way to break the climbers' fall, but Davidson lived while Price was killed. Had Davidson had one less ice screw, he probably could not have climbed out of the crevasse, but if he had walked an inch to his right or left, the accident may never had happened. These are the types of situations that tease and torment us with thoughts about fate, luck, and chance.
But in the end, Davidson confronted what could have been a fatal challenge, and rather than giving up or being discouraged, decided to fight for his life. Each of us at one time or another will find ourselves in a similar tight spot. Reflecting on the lessons of The Ledge may help us to find a way out. For that alone, this book is worth reading.
January 28, 2013
Last year, I spent 4 straight weekends on Mt. Rainier. I helped teach a class on crevasse rescue, backcountry skied on the Muir Snowfield, Climbed Little Tahoma, and on the fourth week tried to climb all the way to the top with two friends. All three of us had the experience and technical know how to make it to the top. We planned a three day trip, up the most commonly climbed route, in order to give us time to acclimatize and give us the best chance to get to the top. But on day three, freezing cold weather, horrible winds, and illnesses turned us around at 12,200 ft. By the time we got back to our tents and rested for a bit, the really bad weather had rolled in. We were tired, sick, had not made the summit, and now had to spend the next 6 hours carrying 50 pounds on our back, in snow / freezing rain, not being able to see, just to get back to our car. The last trudge from below Panorama Point to Paradise, in soft slushy snow, while getting rained on, is enough to make me never want to come near Mt. Rainier again. A couple days later, we were discussing when we would make our next attempt.
Many people who read this book will never understand why anyone would choose to put themselves through what it takes to climb a mountain on a good day, let alone why someone would choose to go back after an experience like Jim had. But I get it, and so would my climbing friends, and so would Mike Price. I have had some scary moments in the mountains. I have had infinitely more moments of peace, triumph, beauty, awe, and joy.
While I am sure the message of initiative, perseverance, resilience, and determination is universal, I am too close to the subject to speak of this book as anything but a climber. Jim has given us a story to rival Joe Simpson's "Touching the Void." His descriptions are extremely technical, with each knot, protection placement, and precaution carefully explained. The scary part of this book is not that he fell, but that he did everything right, took every precaution possible, followed every guideline, had a wonderful experienced partner, and still fell.
I am headed back to Rainier this year, and I have many other Mountains on my list to tackle. This book has just served as a reminder to be careful, to take every precaution, to only climb with partners I trust my life with, and to enjoy every moment. And if I ever find myself in a desperate situation, I can only hope that I remember this story, and face the challenge with the dignity and determination that Jim did.
Many people who read this book will never understand why anyone would choose to put themselves through what it takes to climb a mountain on a good day, let alone why someone would choose to go back after an experience like Jim had. But I get it, and so would my climbing friends, and so would Mike Price. I have had some scary moments in the mountains. I have had infinitely more moments of peace, triumph, beauty, awe, and joy.
While I am sure the message of initiative, perseverance, resilience, and determination is universal, I am too close to the subject to speak of this book as anything but a climber. Jim has given us a story to rival Joe Simpson's "Touching the Void." His descriptions are extremely technical, with each knot, protection placement, and precaution carefully explained. The scary part of this book is not that he fell, but that he did everything right, took every precaution possible, followed every guideline, had a wonderful experienced partner, and still fell.
I am headed back to Rainier this year, and I have many other Mountains on my list to tackle. This book has just served as a reminder to be careful, to take every precaution, to only climb with partners I trust my life with, and to enjoy every moment. And if I ever find myself in a desperate situation, I can only hope that I remember this story, and face the challenge with the dignity and determination that Jim did.
January 31, 2018
I am on a roll with the books this year (knock on wood). Still waiting for the first clunker, lol. This book was NOT it.
Honestly, I'm really not normally a person who cries when reading. The Housekeeper and the Professor touched me and brought a tear to my eye, but like sobbing? Um, no. Maybe it is premenopause. I don't know, but this book really made me cry. The author does a really great job of putting the reader in the midst of a life threatening crisis in a way that you are practically in his brain as he tries to save himself. I was so relieved when he finally emerged (not a spoiler, I mean the guy wrote a book about it, lol), that I sobbed. His resilience touched me.
The author paces the book well. He gives enough background information to make you care about him and his friend, Mike, and then the middle section is riveting. I don't know much about mountaineering, but I think books about it appeal to me because I love the idea of being outdoors doing physical activity, but this sport has an element of risk that I personally can't get my mind around. I'm fascinated by people for whom this is their passion. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster is one of my favorite all time books.
So for me, this book teetered toward five stars. I couldn't put it down. Two things made me give it four. The aftermath of the Rainier climb felt anticlimactic and a little overwrought. I was more interested in why Jim decided to climb again than I really was about how he found peace in the aftermath of a disaster. There was a stronger focus on the latter.
All in all though, if you like reading about outdoor adventure, I would absolutely throw this one on the TBR.
Honestly, I'm really not normally a person who cries when reading. The Housekeeper and the Professor touched me and brought a tear to my eye, but like sobbing? Um, no. Maybe it is premenopause. I don't know, but this book really made me cry. The author does a really great job of putting the reader in the midst of a life threatening crisis in a way that you are practically in his brain as he tries to save himself. I was so relieved when he finally emerged (not a spoiler, I mean the guy wrote a book about it, lol), that I sobbed. His resilience touched me.
The author paces the book well. He gives enough background information to make you care about him and his friend, Mike, and then the middle section is riveting. I don't know much about mountaineering, but I think books about it appeal to me because I love the idea of being outdoors doing physical activity, but this sport has an element of risk that I personally can't get my mind around. I'm fascinated by people for whom this is their passion. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster is one of my favorite all time books.
So for me, this book teetered toward five stars. I couldn't put it down. Two things made me give it four. The aftermath of the Rainier climb felt anticlimactic and a little overwrought. I was more interested in why Jim decided to climb again than I really was about how he found peace in the aftermath of a disaster. There was a stronger focus on the latter.
All in all though, if you like reading about outdoor adventure, I would absolutely throw this one on the TBR.
April 8, 2018
I read stories like this for: 1. the vicarious thrill of adventure I'd never try myself and
2. to help me understand what drives some folk to put themselves in such dangerous pursuits.
The Ledge satisfies on both counts, plus the intense account of miraculous ascent to safety. Although I didn't understand all the technical jargon of climbing, the story had me spellbound
2. to help me understand what drives some folk to put themselves in such dangerous pursuits.
The Ledge satisfies on both counts, plus the intense account of miraculous ascent to safety. Although I didn't understand all the technical jargon of climbing, the story had me spellbound
June 1, 2011
Witnessing the death of a friend is never easy, but doing so at the bottom of a crevasse while in a life threatening situation is downright devastating. Jim Davidson recalls the fateful day on Mount Rainier when he tumbled 80 feet into a crevasse, pulling his climbing partner Mike Price in after him in a fall that would take Mike’s life. Remarkably, Jim survived without major injuries, but he must make the most technically difficult climb of his life if he wants to save himself and recover Mike’s body. Jim narrates the desperate efforts he made to revive Mike and the grueling hours he spent ascending the vertical ice wall, exhausted, using minimal equipment, and mourning his friend’s death. In a constant battle of emotions, Jim is forced to overcome his self-doubt to gain the confidence and summon the energy he needs to get himself out of the crevasse.
I commend Jim for sharing such a personal and emotional experience. With the permission of Mike’s family, he has turned this tragedy into inspiration. He suffered a great deal, especially the survivor’s guilt that plagued him for years afterward. He also chronicles the experiences that helped him gradually heal and to regain the courage to climb, like a trip to Tibet in honor of Mike. While there were some technical aspects of mountain climbing that were beyond me, Jim made a good effort to explain various gear and methods to non-climbing readers. There were some redundancies in his recollections, but otherwise, it was a powerful testimonial to his friend and a story worth reading.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
I commend Jim for sharing such a personal and emotional experience. With the permission of Mike’s family, he has turned this tragedy into inspiration. He suffered a great deal, especially the survivor’s guilt that plagued him for years afterward. He also chronicles the experiences that helped him gradually heal and to regain the courage to climb, like a trip to Tibet in honor of Mike. While there were some technical aspects of mountain climbing that were beyond me, Jim made a good effort to explain various gear and methods to non-climbing readers. There were some redundancies in his recollections, but otherwise, it was a powerful testimonial to his friend and a story worth reading.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
January 23, 2012
This was a gripping story! I found myself having a hard time putting it down because I wanted to find out how things turned out! Though I was slightly bored with some of the back story in the beginning I started to find it more interesting and was later able to see how crucial this information was to the overall plot.
If you like adventure or mountaineering stories this is a must read.
If you like adventure or mountaineering stories this is a must read.
January 26, 2024
Cried for probably 50+ pages
December 23, 2024
This was an engaging outdoor adventure story with a strong element of humanity. The narrator, Jim Davidson, tells a harrowing first hand account of a situation that condenses multiple common phobias into a single situation. Most people would have a mental breakdown and not be able to survive in the book's scenario that includes fear of heights, fear of falling, fear of freezing to death, fear of being buried alive, claustrophobia, and the fear of disappearing and leaving one's final whereabouts as a mystery to one's loved ones. Jim and his best friend and climbing buddy Mike are descending from their victorious climb of Mount Rainier in Washington state. As they make their way through a glacier field, Jim crashes through a snow bridge over a crevasse. Jim and Mike happened to be tethered together, so they both fall into the crevasse, into an uncertain fate.
"The Ledge" is a gipping story of survival against improbable odds, a story of a friendship built on two men braving the outdoors together, a biographical study of the life experiences that draw the characters to risky outdoor endeavors and allow them to overcome nature's obstacles, and a study of climbing and mountaineering techniques. The story combines nail biting suspense, personal life challenges, and technical details about gear and it's use. The level of detail in this regard gives the reader the impression that the author really knows his stuff.
The book explores the drive to experience the outdoors, a drive that leads one to push out of the boundaries of safety and comfort in order to experience something profound. This drive can create a seemingly religious devotion to the experience of hostile environments, one that can scarcely be understood to those who would prefer to spend their spare time online or in front of the TV. The outdoor life is one that offers rewarding experience far beyond the banality of the modern world, but can also place one face to face with death. Through reading this book, one can absorb the perspective of the outdoor adventurer and appreciate it, while at the same time being shown how the beauty of nature can turn deadly in an instant.
"The Ledge" ranks alongside John Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" and "Into the Wild" as one of the best books that captures both the majestic beauty and menacing danger of extreme outdoor experiences.
"The Ledge" is a gipping story of survival against improbable odds, a story of a friendship built on two men braving the outdoors together, a biographical study of the life experiences that draw the characters to risky outdoor endeavors and allow them to overcome nature's obstacles, and a study of climbing and mountaineering techniques. The story combines nail biting suspense, personal life challenges, and technical details about gear and it's use. The level of detail in this regard gives the reader the impression that the author really knows his stuff.
The book explores the drive to experience the outdoors, a drive that leads one to push out of the boundaries of safety and comfort in order to experience something profound. This drive can create a seemingly religious devotion to the experience of hostile environments, one that can scarcely be understood to those who would prefer to spend their spare time online or in front of the TV. The outdoor life is one that offers rewarding experience far beyond the banality of the modern world, but can also place one face to face with death. Through reading this book, one can absorb the perspective of the outdoor adventurer and appreciate it, while at the same time being shown how the beauty of nature can turn deadly in an instant.
"The Ledge" ranks alongside John Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" and "Into the Wild" as one of the best books that captures both the majestic beauty and menacing danger of extreme outdoor experiences.
July 24, 2011
In The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier, Jim Davidson, with the help of Kevin Vaughan, shares some of his life's experiences, especially with mountain climbing. The main focus of The Ledge is the climb of Mt. Rainer he and his friend Mike Price undertook almost 20 years ago, in June 1992. This challenging climb changed Jim Davidson's life forever and took Mike's life. During the climb, Jim and Mike broke through a snow bridge and fell 80 feet into a glacial crevasse, landing on a narrow ledge.
After opening with some background stories and foreshadowing the accident to come, the book jumps back and forth in time until the fall happens in the timeline. Then it details the event and Jim's struggle to get out of the crevasse. As a result of the accident, Jim suffered from survivor's guilt and had another hurdle to overcome.
The book started out strong, but perhaps had a few too many details in the background stories. Once the climbing starts, anyone who has mountaineering and climbing experience will likely enjoy the detailed technical explanation of the climb(s). If you don't, the overwhelming number of details provided can become, well, overwhelming, and detract from the story.
What completes the story is not Jim's survival, but the determination it took to overcome adversity when the odds were not in his favor. He survived the tragic accident in more ways than one and was able to take the life lessons he learned from the event and use them to help him motivate others in their own personal growth. Jim Davidson is now a motivational speaker who has helped many other people.
While those who climb mountains or enjoy nonfiction accounts of adventures are going to appreciate this novel, others might be slightly put off by the amount of technical details. Yes, it's a solid nonfiction choice, however, the writing can be uneven in places. For me, it's highly recommended, with the admission that I didn't even try to follow the technical climbing information.
http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/
Disclosure: I received this novel through the Goodreads First Reads program.
After opening with some background stories and foreshadowing the accident to come, the book jumps back and forth in time until the fall happens in the timeline. Then it details the event and Jim's struggle to get out of the crevasse. As a result of the accident, Jim suffered from survivor's guilt and had another hurdle to overcome.
The book started out strong, but perhaps had a few too many details in the background stories. Once the climbing starts, anyone who has mountaineering and climbing experience will likely enjoy the detailed technical explanation of the climb(s). If you don't, the overwhelming number of details provided can become, well, overwhelming, and detract from the story.
What completes the story is not Jim's survival, but the determination it took to overcome adversity when the odds were not in his favor. He survived the tragic accident in more ways than one and was able to take the life lessons he learned from the event and use them to help him motivate others in their own personal growth. Jim Davidson is now a motivational speaker who has helped many other people.
While those who climb mountains or enjoy nonfiction accounts of adventures are going to appreciate this novel, others might be slightly put off by the amount of technical details. Yes, it's a solid nonfiction choice, however, the writing can be uneven in places. For me, it's highly recommended, with the admission that I didn't even try to follow the technical climbing information.
http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/
Disclosure: I received this novel through the Goodreads First Reads program.
October 22, 2015
Much better than the usual stuff in this genre. Davidson is a more reflective soul. There's none of this business about "assaulting" the mountain. The ego is toned down. My only complaints are in the structure--the way the prologue wording is repeated later in the book, and other repetitions. And in the way Davidson goes out of his way to justify telling his story. That needed no justification, IMO. I was a little pissed at him for not calling Price's parents from his hotel room immediately after his rescue. I thought that was immature. Nothing to do with the writing, and it's honestly told, but it bothered me quite a bit. A guy thing maybe? I'd have thought he'd have wanted to reach out to them, to share in his and their grief. I really can't stand men, sometimes, with their inability to SPEAK.
I was also bothered by what I saw as a bit of glibness, at the end. It seems Davidson has turned all of this into a motivational speaking business. I have no problem with this and in fact gained quite a bit from listening to this story myself. However, to say that people can draw from their pasts and from their relationships is a bit of a stretch. Not everyone is as well-adjusted as Davidson was. Very few people have the kind of childhood he had or the kind of marriage he has. Resilience has many components, including genetics. A person who was beaten or incested by their parents or for whatever reason does not have the kind of support structure Davidson could draw from might not be able to get the kind of coaching he wants to provide. I think he should take this into account.
Nevertheless, I thought the story quite compelling and will probably give this book as a Christmas present to several people.
I was also bothered by what I saw as a bit of glibness, at the end. It seems Davidson has turned all of this into a motivational speaking business. I have no problem with this and in fact gained quite a bit from listening to this story myself. However, to say that people can draw from their pasts and from their relationships is a bit of a stretch. Not everyone is as well-adjusted as Davidson was. Very few people have the kind of childhood he had or the kind of marriage he has. Resilience has many components, including genetics. A person who was beaten or incested by their parents or for whatever reason does not have the kind of support structure Davidson could draw from might not be able to get the kind of coaching he wants to provide. I think he should take this into account.
Nevertheless, I thought the story quite compelling and will probably give this book as a Christmas present to several people.
March 15, 2012
As an adventure journalist I have the opportunity to meet some amazing people. And it was through the magic of social media that I became friends with climber, writer and public speaker Jim Davidson. We first got acquainted on Facebook. But last year we met in person at a café in the Canadian Rockies, a town called Banff. There he told his incredible story of friendship, adventure and survival that’s the subject of his new book, “The Ledge”. On a routine decent of Mt. Rainer Jim and his climbing partner Mike Price suddenly fell and were trapped in a deep crevasse.
Jim’s partner Mike died in the fall. And it was only after several hours of painstaking effort that Jim was able all alone to climb his way to safety. Despite the tragic circumstances of his story as detailed in his book the Ledge today Jim finds great comfort in the lessons he’s learned through the power of persistence, determination and the bonds of friendship. Ironically these are life-long skills that Jim picked as a young a man not as a climber, but doing dangerous work with his father as a high altitude painter of tall buildings towers and bridges.
Listen to my interview with Jim on the Joy Trip Project: http://joytripproject.org/2011/the-le...
Jim’s partner Mike died in the fall. And it was only after several hours of painstaking effort that Jim was able all alone to climb his way to safety. Despite the tragic circumstances of his story as detailed in his book the Ledge today Jim finds great comfort in the lessons he’s learned through the power of persistence, determination and the bonds of friendship. Ironically these are life-long skills that Jim picked as a young a man not as a climber, but doing dangerous work with his father as a high altitude painter of tall buildings towers and bridges.
Listen to my interview with Jim on the Joy Trip Project: http://joytripproject.org/2011/the-le...
August 2, 2012
As a friend and colleague of Jim Tuttle, who died on Mt. Rainier, and Lester Spross, his climbing partner who survived (and then died flying planes not very many years after that), this book was a revelation. I came upon it in the weirdest way - a friend of Jim Davidson's was having a reception and fundraiser at a downtown Denver restaurant we just happened to be dining at with some friends and I saw the book on my way out, made a donation, and devoured the book. Though Les had recounted the entire adventure and Jim's death to me, somehow reading this book made Mt. Rainier and his story much more understandable, more complete and brought it full circle. It's a wonderful read.
January 11, 2014
Jim is a solid character shaped from years of experience and coping with the loss of a good climbing friend. The Ledge is a great book to witness the mental strength required to overcome adversity.
November 28, 2015
This true narrative is incredibly gripping and hard to put down. If you want to read something that will take your mind off your troubles for a day or two, this is the book.
January 13, 2019
Good for someone who is interested in mountaineering and surviving.
January 16, 2023
I really needed this book right now! I expected a climbing story about survival on a mountain, but got so much more. The book was action-packed and gripping. It also took the reader through the healing process after a tragedy. I appreciated the background stories about the author and his friend. I think I also connected to this book as the author discussed places in Colorado and Houston that I am familiar with and where I have also lived.
Quotes:
P 249 "Life is full of scary crevasses....At some time, everyone will fall into one of life's crevasses; mine just happened to be a crack in the ice. Crawling out of these crevasses, overcoming life's challenges, is something each of us must face. Finding resilience for surviving and thriving through adversity is part of everyone's climb."
P 122 "I feel an incredible weight settle onto me. The burden of sole responsibility for our survival. I moan as the emotional side of my brain comprehends what my logical side has already realized."
P 140 "I want someone to save me, to make this scary situation just go away. If someone else solves the brutal difficulties, then I won't have to."
P 150 "I am going to go deeper into the ominous crevasse. I am going to face my fears, wrap my arms around them, and pull them close, just to get that ax and have a chance to live."
P 214 "You might feel the urge to turn in on yourself and not face the world. It's going to be hard, but anybody who survives what you did has to be a fighter."
P 217 "Once I leave the mountain today, everything will be different. I will have to face the world. Everyone will want to know what happened, but maybe they'll never understand, because they weren't with us on the glacier."
Quotes:
P 249 "Life is full of scary crevasses....At some time, everyone will fall into one of life's crevasses; mine just happened to be a crack in the ice. Crawling out of these crevasses, overcoming life's challenges, is something each of us must face. Finding resilience for surviving and thriving through adversity is part of everyone's climb."
P 122 "I feel an incredible weight settle onto me. The burden of sole responsibility for our survival. I moan as the emotional side of my brain comprehends what my logical side has already realized."
P 140 "I want someone to save me, to make this scary situation just go away. If someone else solves the brutal difficulties, then I won't have to."
P 150 "I am going to go deeper into the ominous crevasse. I am going to face my fears, wrap my arms around them, and pull them close, just to get that ax and have a chance to live."
P 214 "You might feel the urge to turn in on yourself and not face the world. It's going to be hard, but anybody who survives what you did has to be a fighter."
P 217 "Once I leave the mountain today, everything will be different. I will have to face the world. Everyone will want to know what happened, but maybe they'll never understand, because they weren't with us on the glacier."
August 19, 2020
I recently visited Mount Rainier. Staring up at it made me wonder if I would like to climb it. Reading this book makes me think... nope, nope, not ever, nope, nope, nope. Not going to happen. Don't want to die in a crevasse. And I would have definitely died if I were in this man's shoes.
Overall, this was quite the gripping story. I couldn't put it down. I was transfixed as I read through chapter after chapter of the intense physical and emotional strain in climbing out of that crevasse.
Following Jim's story after his amazing survival, though, felt just as intense and draining as following his grueling trek, inch by inch, up the wall of Mount Rainier's icy crevasse. While the journey out of the crevasse ended with intense relief, at least for the reader, the journey after that was - at least for me - very difficult to read. Rather than getting to the end and feeling safe to breathe a great big exhale of relief, reading the last chapters of this book was more like being lost in a continuous emotional jungle with no clearing in sight.
Jim's survivor guilt was tremendous. He seemed to flail about for years afterward, unable to find peace. He glosses over his reunion with his wife, and later having two children, as a sort of a sidenote; the central core of his thoughts seems to be all about his survivor guilt. From this reader's perspective, it seems like Jim is still 100% locked up in the prison of remorse. Whether intentionally or not, the remainder of the book is hauntingly sad. Jim, if you read this: the inner peace you are seeking is only found in Jesus. If you seek Him, you will find Him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2024
This book made my heart race at times. The author’s struggle to survive after falling into a crevasse on Mount Rainier with his climbing partner was incredible. I found myself thinking there is no way I would have survived this. Faced with insurmountable physical challenges just to climb out of the crevasse alone would be daunting enough, but doing so after experiencing the shock of losing your climbing partner and best friend moments before is really unthinkable. At times I did not like how it was written with such stream of consciousness but overall it was a book well worth reading and hard to put down. While I enjoy hiking mountains and reaching peaks, I can’t say I have ever wanted to climb a mountain—especially not one with glaciers—and reading this book solidifies that.
February 19, 2013
This was an excellent book right from page 1. Mr. Davidson and Mr. Vaughan did an excellent job of laying out everything in a way that put you in these people's lives throughout the entire drama. They did an especially nice job of describing the humanity involved in the whole drama - not just what happened that day on June 21, 1992 but what kind of people both he and Mike Price were. In addition, the authors provided incredible insight in to the emotions of families, friends, boyfriends, wives and girlfriends as part of the unfolding story. I often marvel at the strength of relationships that are built in nature...especially one's that were built in the mountains. Mr. Davidson and Mr. Vaughan have done an amazing job at describing the friendship and partnership that was built between Mike Price and Mr. Davidson. The writing that covered the event itself - the fall into the crevasse - was very poignant, thoughtful and powerful. It goes without saying that Mr. Davidson showed incredible courage and fortitude as he took great care to save himself. But what I found more empowering is the respect and love he showed for Mike and the care in which he displayed in the immediate hours after the accident. This was a great bit of writing - I read the final 150 pages in one sitting!! Mr. Davidson's further thoughts on the tragedy and it's long lasting impacts provided me with many take aways which I'm thankful for. BOTTOM LINE: read this book!!
March 16, 2018
Detailed and honest account of a life-changing mountaineering accident that as a climber myself I find extremely important in taking lessons from. The beginning chapters of The Ledge, recounting the lives of the protagonists prior to their ill-fated 1992 trip, were a little slow and not particularly attention grabbing, though learning about Jim Davidson's background is critical to understanding his later resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. Once the story reached the Rainier trip however, it became engrossing, and the parts from when the author woke up on the ledge to when he finally managed to climb out of the crevasse are absolutely riveting - so much so that I couldn't put the book down.
I also appreciated learning about how Davidson struggled with the aftermath of his partner's death, and how he was able to find closure while at the same identifying new reasons to continue climbing. The fact that it took twenty years for this story to be published in long-form is a testament to its impact. To cap a fulfilling career, Jim Davidson reached the summit of Everest in 2017, which he managed based on the mountaineering strength and experience defined by the loss of Mike Price twenty-five years earlier. Thanks Jim for sharing your story of tragedy and redemption so that we can all be inspired to be the best we can be in seemingly impossible situations.
I also appreciated learning about how Davidson struggled with the aftermath of his partner's death, and how he was able to find closure while at the same identifying new reasons to continue climbing. The fact that it took twenty years for this story to be published in long-form is a testament to its impact. To cap a fulfilling career, Jim Davidson reached the summit of Everest in 2017, which he managed based on the mountaineering strength and experience defined by the loss of Mike Price twenty-five years earlier. Thanks Jim for sharing your story of tragedy and redemption so that we can all be inspired to be the best we can be in seemingly impossible situations.
July 29, 2013
I have met and talked to Jim many times at an ice climbing festival in Colorado. He's a great guy and speaks from his gut. The book is quite a bit like him in that regard. The rawness of the emotions was particularly stirring to me, having had my own near-death experience on Liberty Ridge - the route featured in this book.
Because of that I had a really hard time with the book and had to put it down frequently. Not because of any fault of the book mind you, but because it was intense enough to give me the shakes several times over. The more time you spend on the big mountains of the world, the more you begin to realize just how fast everything can go belly up and you're fighting for your life.
The only reason I gave it four instead of five stars is because it kind of lags and wallows a bit in the aftermath, as Jim tries to rationalize it and make the whole experience a part of his new life.
I really recommend this book to anyone who has the climbing bug and wants to see what it's like. Anyone who says "It can't happen to me. I'll be safe." This is reality folks.
Because of that I had a really hard time with the book and had to put it down frequently. Not because of any fault of the book mind you, but because it was intense enough to give me the shakes several times over. The more time you spend on the big mountains of the world, the more you begin to realize just how fast everything can go belly up and you're fighting for your life.
The only reason I gave it four instead of five stars is because it kind of lags and wallows a bit in the aftermath, as Jim tries to rationalize it and make the whole experience a part of his new life.
I really recommend this book to anyone who has the climbing bug and wants to see what it's like. Anyone who says "It can't happen to me. I'll be safe." This is reality folks.
August 27, 2012
Overall a good story of Jim's tragic account during a climb on Mount Rainier, and the circumstances he had to overcome to survive (although his friend Mike did not). I found it informative and contemplative, and wondered how I would have handled it if faced with a similar situation.
There were some parts of the book which I thought were far longer than they needed to be. His account of climbing out of the crevasse seemed to take a long, long time to describe. Also the end of the book (after being rescued) also seemed unnecessarily long. You would think the book would end, but it kept going. (For example, it went into lengthy descriptions of Jim's dealing with the tragedy, which included more details about Buddhist ceremonies than I wanted to know). At these parts the story dragged and I found myself wishing it would skip over some details and would move on.
Overall, still a good book that I would recommend to anyone who would like to learn from a true survival story.
There were some parts of the book which I thought were far longer than they needed to be. His account of climbing out of the crevasse seemed to take a long, long time to describe. Also the end of the book (after being rescued) also seemed unnecessarily long. You would think the book would end, but it kept going. (For example, it went into lengthy descriptions of Jim's dealing with the tragedy, which included more details about Buddhist ceremonies than I wanted to know). At these parts the story dragged and I found myself wishing it would skip over some details and would move on.
Overall, still a good book that I would recommend to anyone who would like to learn from a true survival story.
April 25, 2019
At first I didn't understand this book. It starts out with the "crux" of the story, to borrow a climbing term, and then flashbacks to events that didn't seem closely related. Also there's some switching back and forth between Jim's past and Mike's past. Slowly it started to come together. They climb up the difficult Liberty Ridge route on Mt Rainier. Disaster strikes and it becomes a gripping story of a fight for survival. The flashbacks now make total sense.
Although I wouldn't say this is the best written book in this genre I've read, the story is incredible. It's the kind of story you just want to re-tell your friends, simply because it's one of *those* stories, like the guy fending off a mountain lion or being trapped in Canyonlands with a rock pinning your hand down.
So ultimately I really enjoyed this book because of the incredible story it tells, and the personal, psychological insight into one of the most terrifying experiences you can imagine.
Although I wouldn't say this is the best written book in this genre I've read, the story is incredible. It's the kind of story you just want to re-tell your friends, simply because it's one of *those* stories, like the guy fending off a mountain lion or being trapped in Canyonlands with a rock pinning your hand down.
So ultimately I really enjoyed this book because of the incredible story it tells, and the personal, psychological insight into one of the most terrifying experiences you can imagine.
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