The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest [Mass Market Paperback]

"Raw but powerful...[Boukreev] took action. He chose danger, and he saved lives." --"The New York Times Book Review"

"One of the most amazing rescues in mountaineering history, performed single-handedly a few hours after climbing Everest without oxygen by a man some describe as the Tiger Woods of Himalayan climbing." --"Wall Street Journal"

"["The Climb"] has a ring of authenticity that challenges the slickly written "Into Thin Air..".Compelling" --"Minneapolis Star Tribune"

"The Climb" is a true, gripping, and thought-provoking account of the worst disaster in the history of Mount Everest. On May 10, 1996, two commercial expeditions headed by experienced leaders attempted to climb the highest mountain in the world, but things went terribly wrong. Crowded conditions on the mountain, miscommunications, unexplainable delays, poor leadership, bad decisions, and a blinding storm conspired to kill. Twenty-three men and women, disoriented and out of oxygen, struggled to find their way down the southern side of the mountain. In the dark, battered by snow driven by hurricane-force winds, some of the climbers became hopelessly lost and resigned themselves to death. Anatoli Boukreev, the head climbing guide for the West Seattle-based Mountain Madness expedition, refused to give up hope. Solo, climbing blind in the maw of a storm that continually threatened his life, Boukreev brought climbers back from the edge of certain death. Here for the first time, Anatoli Boukreev speaks in his own voice about what happened on that desperate day on Mount Everest. His dramatic first-person account is woven into the sensitive, probing inquiry conducted by investigative writer and filmmaker G. Weston DeWalt, whose extensive interviews with expedition members and survivors and with professional mountaineers provide a unique and critical perspective on the tragedy. "The Climb" is an odjective account of misadventure and a sobering cautionary tale of hubris in the face of unforgiving nature.

In May 1996 a number of expeditions attempted to climb Mount Everest on the Southeast Ridge route. Crowded conditions slowed their progress and late in the day 23 men and women, including the expedition leaders, were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Disorientated and out of oxygen, climbers struggled to find their way to safety. Alone and climbing blind, Anatoli Boukreev rescued a number of climbers from certain death. This honest and gripping account includes the transcript of the Mountain Madness debriefing, recorded five days after the tragedy, as well as G. Weston de Walt's response to Jon Krakauer. 'Powerful . . . a breath of brisk, sometimes bitter clarity . . . Boukreev did the one thing that denies the void. He took action. He chose danger, and he saved lives.' New York Times Book Review 'The best book I've read this year . . . The Climb has a story that will grip and haunt you.' Alex Garland, author of The Beach and The Tesseract --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Anatoli Boukreev was one of the world's foremost high-altitude mountaineers. For his heroic actions in May 1996, he was awarded the American Alpine Club's highest honour, the David A. Sowles Memorial Award. He died in an avalanche whilst climbing in Nepal in 1997. G. Weston Dewalt is a writer and documentary filmmaker. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.