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Climbing High | 
 enlarge | Author: Lene Gammelgard
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book
Buy New: $71.27
New (1) Used (6) from $2.09
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 2375493
Media: Paperback
Pages: 220
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.9 x 5.1
ISBN: 0330392271
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9780330392273
ASIN: 0330392271
Publication Date: July 7, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Book is brand new, and has never been opened. Thousands of satisfied customers!
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| Customer Reviews:
Another view of the Everest disaster July 20, 2007
Lene Gammelgard's book is the 6th one I've read by someone who was on the mountain in May of 1996. Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" remains the definitive account of events - all subsequent books are merely trying to fill its gaps. In this respect, Gammelgard does quite well, as she's able to give better perspectives of people she was closer to than Krakauer, especially those people in Scott Fisher's group (Krakauer was instead part of Rob Hall's group).
Anatoli Boukreev, a person who came across badly in "Thin Air" comes across a bit better here. Nevertheless, Gammelgard makes it clear that while Boukreev was a great climber, even Scott Fisher - his boss - found him taciturn and too aloof from the people he was being paid to guide. She also confirms something that Boukreev alleged in his book "The Climb" - Fisher was not in good shape for the ascent, was taking medication, and overexerted himself prior to the summit attempt - leaving himself exhausted for the descent. Also, although she portrays Sandy Hill Pittman much more sympathetically than other books have, it's clear that the physical requirements of an Everest climb were beyond what Pittman should have been able to do, given her prior high altitude experience.
In terms of style, Gammelgard's tale is less linear and more episodic than others, so it doesn't flow as well. Also, in some places the prose is awkward, but I think this may be more a result of translation than the author's intent (it was originally published in Danish). However, the book picks up in the later half, once the summit attempt begins. One thing I did appreciate - Gammelgard's description of events focuses less on what happened, and much more on how it felt. You really get an idea from her of how difficult conditions were, and how much effort was required (both physical and mental) to get through them. She gets across a sense of fear, exhaustion, and urgency which is missing from other books about this event. In that respect, her tale stands above the rest.
If you're interested in the Everest disaster, you'd be foolish not to read this - but it's best read as a filler once you've read the more prominent ones first. I also recommend Jamling Norgay's "Touching My Father's Soul" (a view from the Buddhist/Sherpa perspective), Matt Dickinson's "The Other Side of Everest" (same storm, but ascent route up the north face by a non-climber - VERY readable), and Broughton Coburn's "Everest: Mountain Without Mercy" (excellent photos from the IMAX expedition group).
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