The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt
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Book Reviews of The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest
Book Review: Loved it!
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent, especially if you've read Into Thin Air and love mountaineering minutiae.Book Review: Honest, as it can be I suppose
Summary: 4 Stars
Having read "Into Thin Air" after reading "The Climb", Boukreev is portrayed not as a hero but more like a human being with some very good intentions. However, I chose not to rely on either of these books exclusively to find out as Boukreev would probably would say, "kto vinovat?"- who is to blame. There are other accounts I'm sure, for example Lena Gammelgard (sp?) recently gave her account so I am sure there is further insight, so at this time unlike other readers I reserve my judgement.The oxygen situation seemed to have tried Boukreev's patience more than anything. His account of acquiring these Poisk bottles, probably greatly influenced his decision to go without oxygen for probably the clients' and the entire group. Although, Boukreev never admits it, Fischer's concern on costs more than likely hinted to him to start finding ways to give the clients as much oxygen as they need on the summit and descent. He also partly chastises the clients for not being entire prepared for high-altitude mountaineering, which I think most any client would pale in comparison to a guides' experience no matter the mountain. Assertions that Boukreev was ill-clothed for summit day were disproved with a photograph. I don't find this trivial, summit day requires clothing for all measures and even more so for a guide. Boukreev has every right to make sure DeWalt (even if a bit heavy-handedly) made it known that he was prepared physically and mentally, so he would be prepared to help the clients. As a former client of a mountaineering school, I'm sure the clients on Everest that day signed some type of waiver on the responsibilities of other clients and guides. Despite these waivers, guides still hold themselves to certain obligations of their clients, safety being paramount. Yet, they walk that fine line of safety and baby sitting. Boukreev obviously didn't have the communication skills to ascertain that. Of course, I have my own skepticism. As a Russian speaker and budding mountaineer and as someone who acts as a translator/liaison between English speakers and Russians, I found Boukreev's transcripts compelling (but for my English reading, extremely tiresome!), but the value I found was how poor his English seemed (I say this hesitantly since transcripts can be edited). "Into Thin Air" portrayed Boukreev as a guide doing his own thing, but the transcript reveals to me that Boukreev perhaps felt constrained by his English. On paper guides are respected for what they have done and can do, but the most important way to the convey this to clients is by building a strong base of communication (as repoire I guess). If a guide cannot communicate at a "small talk" level how can he/she do it when struggling up and down a mountain? No wonder I get that wooden impression of Boukreev when reading "Into Thin Air." This is further reinforced by Boukreev description of his clients- he might as well just read verbatim their climbing resumes. Such small talk cannot by underestimated in building client/guide bonds. My other criticism is the "because Scott told me" feeling I have. The situation with oxygen and money all came from Scott, the other guide Neal seemed wooden. Why? Boukreev's communication. Can we also say how easy it is to blame the dead guy. I have my doubts about his decisions on summit day as coming from Scott. On the other hand Fischer seemed quite headstrong and probably didn't appreciate what Boukreev had to offer and seemed to misuse Boukreev's value to the team. I can how this might strengthen Boukreev's isolation.
Overall, Boukreev wanted to portray himself as honestly as he could. Of course such participant accounts are always tinged either intentionally or unintentionally by self-justification. He felt more business pressure than he let on and coupled with poor repoire with clients likely compounded the tragedy that occurred. He still had the guts to go back out to retrieve clients in need of help, which during a whiteout and storm is an incredibly frightening experience from my experience.
"The Climb" is worth its read especially from someone as experienced as Boukreev and the respect and admiration that he commands in the Russian mountaineering community is something that the mountaineering world as a whole cannot fully appreciate.
Mir prakhu ego
Book Review: Credibility Counts
Summary: 4 Stars
I read some of the reviews posted here and don't recognize the book the reviewers are talking about. Did we read the same book? What I notice most frequently is that the negative reviewers zero in on the writing style and virtually ignore the content of The Climb, especially the "Response to Jon Krakauer" which was offered in the most recent edition. OK. I accept the fact that Into Thin Air is a better written book, no contest, but is that the sole measure of a book's value and importance? What about author credibility? The Climb, by simply and clearly laying out the facts, raises some disturbing questions about the story Krakauer has told and about his professionalism. A few things to consider: (1) Krakauer has said that he "implored" Beck Weathers to come down the mountain with him. Weathers, in tape recorded comments, has said that he asked Krakauer for help, but that Krakauer declined, saying that he wasn't a guide. (2) Boukreev, well before Into Thin Air was published, told Krakauer that Scott Fischer, the expedition leader, had OK'ed his descent ahead of clients. Did Krakauer reveal this? No. Instead, he suggested that Boukreev made a personal, selfish decision to save himself. (3) Krakauer says that his tentmate, Stuart Hutchison, left the tent when Mike Groom stumbled into Camp IV, that he was nowhere around when Groom begged for help with a rescue of Beck Weathers and Yasuko Namba. Mike Groom, in his published account, says that his request for help was made in Krakauer's presence. (4) Krakauer in an interview three years ago said that he might have been wrong in assuming that Fischer, in conversation with Boukreev, did not authorize Boukreev's decsent ahead of clients, but now, after having been criticized for not revealing Boukreev's explanation for his descent, says he suspects the conversation never took place because he saw Fischer boogeying for the summit immediately after he topped the Hillary Step. Oh, yeah? Consider this: In The Climb, Boukreev says that he spent ten or more minutes conferring with Fischer above the Hillary Step after Krakauer went over the edge. Possible? Makalu Gau, from the Taiwanese expediton and Fischer topped the Hillary Step about 2:35 PM. In a published interview Gau says he arrived at the summit at 3:00PM; Fischer didn't arrive at the summit until about 3:45PM. Fischer, who by eyewitness accounts was moving faster than Gau, was forty five minutes behind him on the summit despite the fact that they topped the Hillary Step within minutes of each other. That fact raises serious questions about Krakauer's "observation" that Fischer left the Hillary Step immediately after Krakauer went over its edge and offers ample proof that there was pleeeeenty of time for Boukreev and Fischer to confer. And, the list goes on.If writing style is all that matters in considering a book's meaningfullness, then my time is wasted in making these points. But it means something to me that no substantial fact in The Climb has been proven to be untrue and that members of Krakauer's own expedition have published differing accounts of events in which Krakauer has favorably presented himself. Given that, I'll endure the style of The Climb, which does suffer with the jerky translations of Boukreev's prose, and argue that others should as well.Book Review: "The Climb" vs "Into Thin Air"
Summary: 4 Stars
For anyone who has read Jon Krakauer's gripping first-hand account in "Into Thin Air" and needs closure (especially and not in spite of his accusatory remarks surrounding Anatoli's role in the rescue event) , Anatoli's book does not disappoint.
It is true that readers may not experience the same sense of urgency and readability in Anatoli's book. The Russian mountaineer's book, even with all the flaws of it being penned by a third party who never climbed the slopes of Everest, not least in a style that lacked the same page-turning qualities as Jon's book, was more than made up for by its refreshing rawness. While a very good story-teller, Jon's over-generous use of quotable quotes/excerpts was, to say the least, irksome. Reading about the event from Anatoli's perspective gave you the vantage point of looking at things as if you were amongst the party of the Mountain Madness team, unlike Jon's version where readers remained outsiders or mere voyeurs. Reading about Anatoli's recollection made Jon's words appeared fraught with sensationism and naiveté. While Jon oftentimes justified his actions or views in what later proved to be clouded or colored - either by his lack of high altitude experience or his complex against paid clients of higher social/financial standing or a mixture of both - Anatoli cut to the chase and enriched readers in many facets: why high-altitude mountaineers are inevitably driven to leading commercial expedition to finance their life-long passion of summiting higher and more dangerous peaks; what constituted successful acclimatization and the use/safety of supplemental oxygen; his heroic act of selflessness when he saved three lives in his team under what was no less than near-hell circumstances.
Anatoli's book also provided a formidable rebuttal to Jon's callous assertions made in "Into Thin Air" - prose that might have been biased and unfeeling at best and slanderous at worst. To any dedicated high-altitude climber, reputation is of paramount importance - it is little wonder why Anatoli would insist on putting in print his version of events in debunking some of the myths/errors presented in Jon's account. At the end of Anatoli's book, our views of what really happened on May 10th, 1996 would be less one-sided and our unfavorable views on Anatoli as portrayed by Jon would take an abrupt about-turn. This is an important process for readers seeking a more well-rounded view of what really happened on that fateful day. After all, one undisputed fact remains: no paid clients on the 1996 Mountain Madness' team perished, and mostly, if not entirely, to Anatoli's credit.
Book Review: Essential but not as pretty as some other books about Everest 1996
Summary: 4 Stars
This book joins a group of other memoirs of the tragic 1996 season on Everest - - Jon Krakauer's famous "Into Thin Air," as well as chapters in Ed Viesturs' and David Breashears' autobiographies, among others. Boukreev stands in a special position among these. He behaved heroically in saving several climbers' lives in an emergency, but he has attracted criticism from Krakauer that, if he had guided differently earlier in the day there would not have been an emergency.
This book is Boukreev's response to his critics, and a full story of his role as a guide on Scott Fischer's expedition. The story begins with how he came to join Fischer, and the borderline fiasco of ordering oxygen bottles in Russia for the expedition.
The disaster unfolded as a result of decisions by two rival guides, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer. Thanks to Boukreev, only Fischer died among Fischer's team. Hall's team lost four, including Hall. Clearly, Boukreev deserves a lot of credit for the different results. But could he have done better? He summitted quickly, without oxygen, and returned to his tent to rest in case he was needed for a rescue. Apparently Fischer and Boukreev had agreed on this plan. But Viesturs, in an otherwise sympathetic account, wonders whether it would be better to prevent an emergency than to rest up in case of one. That point seems right to me, but it does not diminish Boukreev's heroism once the emergency develops.
Boukreev, whose English is shaky, wrote this book with Weston DeWalt. Most of the narrative is well polished. However, DeWalt chose to reproduce a transcript of their conversations during the key moments atop Everest. This decision gives the narrative an authenticity and immediacy, but I don't agree with it. Boukreev speaks stereotypical Russian-accented English and ends up sounding like Boris and Natasha from "Bullwinkle and Rocky." I liked DeWalt's reworking of the raw material up to that point, and I wish he had continued doing that.
If you're interested in the 1996 Everest disaster, this book is essential for you to make up your own mind about those events. If you're interested in mountaineering, it's a good book - - Boukreev was a phenomenal climber and this book provides a dramatic account of key events in his life. It doesn't put the 1996 story into full context as do the other books I mentioned above, but I'd recommend it nonetheless.