K2

K2

Author: Ed Viesturs

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2010-08-03

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0767932609

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A thrilling chronicle of the tragedy-ridden history of climbing the world's most difficult and unpredictable mountain, by the bestselling authors of The Mountain and No Shortcuts to the Top “Gripping . . . reveals a good deal about the rarefied noble-gonzo world of high-altitude mountaineering.”—The New York Times Ed Viesturs, one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers, explores the remarkable history of K2 and of those who have attempted to conquer it. At the same time, he probes the mountain's most memorable sagas in order to illustrate lessons about the fundamental questions mountaineering raises—questions of risk, ambition, loyalty to one's teammates, self-sacrifice, and the price of glory. Viesturs knows the mountain firsthand. He and renowned alpinist Scott Fischer climbed it in 1992 and got caught in an avalanche that sent them sliding to almost certain death before Ed managed to get into a self-arrest position with his ice ax and stop both his fall and Scott's. Focusing on seven of the mountain's most dramatic campaigns, from his own troubled ascent to the 2008 tragedy, Viesturs crafts an edge-of-your-seat narrative that climbers and armchair travelers alike will find unforgettably compelling. With photographs from Viesturs's personal collection and from historical sources, this is the definitive account of the world's ultimate mountain, and of the lessons that can be gleaned from struggling toward its elusive summit.


Mountain of the Dead

Mountain of the Dead

Author: Keith McCloskey

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-07-01

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0752494074

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In January 1959, ten experienced young skiers set out for Mount Otorten in the far north of Russia. While one of the skiers fell ill and returned., the remaining nine lost their way and ended up on another mountain slope known as Kholat Syakhl (or ‘Mountain of the Dead’).On the night of 1 February 1959 something or someone caused the skiers to flee their tent in such terror that they used knives to slash their way out. Search parties were sent out and their bodies were found, some with massive internal injuries but with no external marks on them. The autopsy stated the violent injuries were caused by ‘an unknown compelling force’. The area was sealed off for years by the authorities and the full events of that night remained unexplained.Using original research carried out in Russia and photographs from the skier's cameras, Keith McCloskey attempts to explain what happened to the nine young people who lost their lives in the mysterious ‘Dyatlov Pass Incident’.


Stories of Ice

Stories of Ice

Author: Lynn Martel

Publisher: Rocky Mountain Books Incorporated

Published: 2020-09-04

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9781771603898

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With the state of global ice constantly in the news, one mountain journalist examines Canadian glaciers to uncover their secrets and their future. From a mother/daughter duo who spent five months skiing across icefields from Vancouver to Alaska, to scientists discovering biofilms deep inside glacier caverns, to protesters camping for weeks to protect their beloved local glacier, western Canada's glaciers are dynamic, enigmatic, exquisitely beautiful, sometimes dangerous environments where people play, work, run businesses, explore, and create art every single day. Author Lynn Martel is one of them. With gorgeous images by some of the country's best outdoor photographers, Stories of Ice shares the excitement, the mystery, and the wonder of Canada's glaciers and poses questions about their future.


Exposed

Exposed

Author: Brad McQueen

Publisher: Johnson Books

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781555664596

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In May of 2001, the author and his wife and father were stranded overnight on Mount Evans during a freak late-spring blizzard. Melissa punched through snow into a creek and ended up spending the night out in the cold with her feet bare. She suffered severe frostbite on both feet and had to have eight of her toes amputated. This is the never-before published full account of this accident and their rescue from the mountains, as well as numerous other adventures in the mountains. including the author's successful quest to complete all 54 Colorado 14ers; climbs of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Grand Teton, Denali, and Ecuador's Antisana and Cotopaxi. If you want to start climbing high mountains, then first read Exposed: Tragedy & Triumph in Mountain Climbing. Exposed is an informative, cautionary tale about how a day in the mountains can quickly turn dire. --Jim Davidson, co-author of The Ledge: An Inspirational Story of Friendship and Survival Fourteeners are either why you started or a great place to remind you of why you started. Either way, they will teach you how to proceed. --Gerry Roach, author of Colorado's Fourteeners: From Hikes to Climbs A gripping, compelling, and unforgettable story, read this poignant book to learn the mountains' hard lessons. Inspiring! --Ed Webster, climber and author, Snow in the Kingdom: My Storm Years on Everest


Denali's Howl

Denali's Howl

Author: Andy Hall

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2014-06-12

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 0698157125

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In the summer of 1967, twelve young men ascended Alaska’s Mount McKinley—known to the locals as Denali. Engulfed by a once-in-alifetime blizzard, only five made it back down. Andy Hall, a journalist and son of the park superintendent at the time, was living in the park when the tragedy occurred and spent years tracking down rescuers, survivors, lost documents, and recordings of radio communications. In Denali’s Howl, Hall reveals the full story of the expedition in a powerful retelling that will mesmerize the climbing community as well as anyone interested in mega-storms and man’s sometimes deadly drive to challenge the forces of nature.


Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering's Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters

Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering's Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters

Author: James M. Tabor

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2008-06-17

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 0393066851

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Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award Grand Prize Winner, Banff Mountain Book Festival "Forever on the Mountain grips even non-climbers with its harrowing scenes of thorny relationships tested by extraordinary circumstances." —Washington Post In 1967, seven young men, members of a twelve-man expedition led by twenty-four-year-old Joe Wilcox, were stranded at 20,000 feet on Alaska’s Mount McKinley in a vicious Arctic storm. Ten days passed while the storm raged, yet no rescue was mounted. All seven perished in what remains the most tragic expedition in American climbing history. Revisiting the event in the tradition of Norman Maclean’s Young Men and Fire, James M. Tabor uncovers elements of controversy, finger-pointing, and cover-up that make this disaster unlike any other.


One Mountain Thousand Summits

One Mountain Thousand Summits

Author: Freddie Wilkinson

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2010-07-06

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1101456132

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The account of one of the deadliest and most mysterious tragedies in mountaineering history-the 2008 K2 disaster. One Mountain Thousand Summits reveals the true story of the K2 tragedy that claimed the lives of eleven men. Based on his numerous trips to Nepal and in-depth interviews he conducted with the survivors, the families of the lost climbers, and the Sherpa guides whose heroic efforts saved the lives of at least four climbers, Freddie Wilkinson's narrative uncovers what actually occurred on the mountain, while delivering a criticism of the mainstream press's incomplete coverage of the event, and an insightful look into the lives of the six Sherpas who were involved.


Tragedy on the Mountain

Tragedy on the Mountain

Author: Brent Poppen

Publisher: Rj Communications

Published: 2012-02-20

Total Pages: 112

ISBN-13: 9780985040802

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I've learned that it is not the end result that matters but the experiences that lead us to our destiny. Every time I give classroom presentations and ask the students to pretend they are me when answering this question: If I could go back to the day that I became paralyzed and change what happen, would I? Most students would guess my answer to be"Yes." Then when I tell then my answer is always: No I would not change anything because if I did I WOULD NOT BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY. Each time I could see in some of their eyes that they understood immediately. My sudden transition into the life of a quadriplegic and near death illness has taught me to live for today for tomorrow may not come or it may come, but not as planned. In retrospect, I realize I had a choice to make that would shape the rest of my life. I could have chosen to be angry at the world for what happened to me or not be afraid of dreaming again and working hard to make my dreams become a reality. It is evident that I chose to dream and not be afraid to fail. In so doing, my life story is best summed up as someone who: ACCOMPLISHED A LOT- BUT GAVE MORE. ENDED UP AT A HIGHER PLACE THAN THE PLACE FROM WHICH I FELL."


No Way Down

No Way Down

Author: Graham Bowley

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2010-06-29

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0062002902

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New York Times Bestseller “A refreshingly unadorned account of the true brutality of climbing K2, where heroes emerge and egos are stripped down, and the only thing achieving immortality is the cold ruthless mountain.” — Norman Ollestad, author of Crazy for the Storm In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, New York Times journalist Graham Bowley re-creates one of the most dramatic tales of death and survival in mountaineering history—the 2008 K2 ascent that claimed the lives of eleven climbers In the tradition of Into Thin Air and Touching the Void, No Way Down is the harrowing account of the worst mountain climbing disaster on K2, second to Everest in height. . . but second to no peak in terms of danger. On August 1, 2008, no fewer than eight international teams of mountain climbers—some experienced, others less prepared—ascended K2, the world's second-highest mountain, with the last group reaching the summit at 8 p.m. Then disaster struck. A huge ice chunk came loose above a deadly three-hundred-foot avalanche-prone gully, destroying the fixed guide ropes. More than a dozen climbers—many without oxygen and some with no headlamps—faced the nearly impossible task of descending in the blackness with no guideline and no protection. Over the course of the chaotic night, some would miraculously make it back. Others would not. From tragic deaths to unbelievable stories of heroism and survival, No Way Down is an amazing feat of storytelling and adventure writing, and, in the words of explorer and author Sir Ranulph Fiennes, “the closest you can come to being on the summit of K2 on that fateful day.”