Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains

The articles in the book include a description of ice-climbing; a horrifying account of a particularly murderous year on K2; various profiles of particularly interesting mountaineers; a very funny description of what to do if trapped for days in a tent in a storm; a history of glacier flying; and some of the author's personal climbing experiences, including some awkward cross-cultural encounters with French climbers.


Engrossing introduction to the essence of climbing   February 9, 2001
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

I've never climbed anything more challenging than a bunk bed, but after reading the essays in "Eiger Dreams" I felt like I had an insight into the thrills and terrors that attract mountain climbers to dizzying and dangerous heights. Krakauer says in his introduction that he doesn't just want to describe climbing, he wants the reader to begin to understand why climbers are so relentlessly obsessive about their sport. I think he was successful in this respect.

He also touches on many different aspects of the sport, including what it's like to be stuck in your tent for days on end; the rewards and repercussions of solo climbing; the challenge laid down by legendary climber Reinhold Messner, who eschewed pre-prepared routes and bottled oxygen; and the culture of climbing towns which are packed to the gills with climbers of varying degrees of skill and equipment.

My favorite essay is the last one, probably because it's the most personal to the author. In it he tells the story of how he quit his dead-end job and spent his last dollar on an ambitious attempt to become the first climber to scale the north face of the Devil's Thumb, an imposing Alaskan peak. This piece is repeated in Krakauer's later book "Into the Wild", but it is definitely worth reading twice if you have both books.

My only complaint is that I got more out of Krakauer's later books "Into the Wild" and "Into Thin Air", if only because they deal with a single narrative and draw the reader that much deeper into the lives of their obsessed protagonists. The essays in "Eiger Dreams" do not explore as deeply as those later books, but they still do a good job of reflecting the excitement and danger inherent in the sport.


A Wonderful Collection of Stories.........   October 26, 2000
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

I've read Into Thin Air and Into the Wild so when I picked up this book in the Seattle airport after getting off Mt. Rainier I was hoping it would be as good. I wasn't disappointed.

An excellent mix of both adventure and mountaineering stories, I finished this book in no time at all. What really strikes me is the life that Krakauer has been able to lead. I only wish I had had the time and direction to attempt half of what this guy has done and then be able to write so candidly about it.

This book is first rate. From the stories about canyons in the Southwest to excellent climbing stories that focus not only on the terrain, but the personalities along the way, make this book enjoyable cover to cover. The fact that climbers are such an interesting cross section of society is vividly expounded on in this book. You finish feeling you know these folks intimately or at least relate to just about everyone as a friend or contemporary.

Buy it.....read it. Then give it to a friend like I did. The Burgess Boys are worth the cost alone!