The Climb

By Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt (St. Martin’s Press, 1997)

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 255

Via; Library Book Sale

On May 10, 1996, two commercial expeditions headed by some of the finest, most experienced climbers in the world set off on the final leg of a five-day climb to the top of the world. Along the way, things went terribly wrong. Traffic jams along the route, miscommunications, inexplicable delays that burned up vital oxygen. Questionable leadership and decisions. A ferocious rogue storm. Time. All at the cruising altitude of a 747. All conspired to kill. Eight climbers from three expeditions died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit.

It remains one of the worst disasters in the history of Mount Everest.

Several survivors wrote memoirs after the disaster. Climber and journalist Jon Krakauer published his first-hand account of the tragedy in 1997, Into Thin Air.  It was a bestseller. Anatoli “Toli” Boukreev, a guide with Scott Fischer’s Mountain Madness team, felt impugned by the book.  Toli co-authored his version of events in The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest, also published in 1997.

An Eye-Opener

We’ve read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. Twice. Saw the movie. Several times. Have read numerous other articles and accounts from several different sources on the 1996 tragedy on Mount Everest. But we’d never read The Climb by head Everest expedition guide and world class climber Anatoli “Toli” Boukreev. Until now. (One of us is klinda slow. Hi, Mom.)  Picked it up at a recent library book sale. For a quarter.

Let’s just say it was an eye-opener.

We’ve long been aware of the controversy concerning Toli’s role in the 1996 Everest expedition. We’re not going to rehash that. That’s not why we’re here. From a book review stand point, The Climb is a well-written, compelling account of the ill-fated 1996 Everest expedition. Painstakingly detailed, it covers everything from climbing teams’ philosophies and team personnel to the clients, details about securing oxygen cannisters, food, tents, and other supplies to weather, and the Everest climbing culture. Also a meticulous account of events, decisions, actions and consequences at each of the camps along the way to the summit.

Details

Born in Korkino, within the old Soviet Union, Toli had difficulty with English, hence the co-writer DeWalt. DeWalt provides background, descriptions, quotations and such while Toli tells his story in his own words in a different type font. So it’s both history and memoir. What emerges is a precise and methodical walk in Toli’s boots as he and DeWalt take readers step-by-step through events before, during, and after that fateful day in May 1996. Also how Toli got there and why. Detailed descriptions of each team member from both American Scott Fischer’s Mountain Madness team and New Zealander Rob Hall’s Adventure Consultants are included. Ditto detailed accounts of Toli’s observations, reservations, and inner musings.

Readability

Krakauer’s Into Thin Far is the better book in terms of readability. That’s no surprise. He’s a professional journalist. So the narrative is rich, full, and smooth. The Climb is choppier. But it’s also more thorough. Detailed. Thought-provoking. Fascinating. Gripping. And quite compelling. Incidentally, if you’ve read Into Thin Air or seen the movie, we highly recommend The Climb. It’s a different perspective offering much food for thought.

Amazing

In The Climb we follow Toli as he executes one of the most amazing rescues in mountaineering history. Dueling perspectives and personalities aside, at the end of the day, Toli saved three lives. Any way you slice it, this rescue – performed solo just a few hours after summiting Mount Everest sans oxygen – represents one of the most incredible rescues in mountaineering history. It remains a feat of strength, resilience, courage and sheer grit that maybe no one else in the world could’ve accomplished.

Hero

In fact, The Climb changed our mind about Toli, considered by many to be the “Tiger Woods of Himalayan climbing” and the greatest climber of his generation.  He summited the daunting and dangerous K2 in 1993 and Mount Everest via the North Ridge route in 1995. He also accomplished solo speed ascents of some of the world’s highest mountains. Mountaineering accomplishments aside, one thing’s for sure: On that ill-fated day in May 1996, Antatoli Boukreev saved lives. The man’s a hero.

Anatoli Boukreev was killed in a 1997 avalanche during a winter ascent of Annapurna in Nepal. Another tragedy.

Honor

On this May 10, we want to honor the memory of those lost in the 1996 Everest disaster and pay tribute to an extraordinary climber: Anatoli Boukreev. (We won’t be rating this book. It doesn’t feel right.)