Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day

This is a wonderful book, well researched, carefully documented, absolutely accurate and beautifully written and edited. It is a true adventure that takes the reader into the world of climbing Nepali Sherpas and Pakistani High Altitude Porters (HAPs), a world seldom experienced and little understood by westerners. We usually only hear about the westerners on the mountains and even in death most Eastern Sherpas and HAPs are not identified by name in news reports. The book weaves a true tale of tragedy, courage, and humanity about the most skilled climbers in the world who carry the rest of us to the top of unforgiving mountains inhabited by their goddesses. It is also the story of their culture, their families, and physiologically why they are especially adapted to climbing at high altitudes. This book leads us into their world. My husband and I have a personal interest in this story and have carefully followed the books published about the 2008 tragedy on K2 as Jumik and Tshering Bhote, Nepali Sherpa friends of ours, were on that mountain. They are brothers of Pemba, our lead Sherpa on our visits to Nepal. They have cared for us, driven us, guided us, and befriended us, as Sherpas do. Jumik lost his life when a serac fell on him. Tshering survived but will be forever marked by that terrible event as will his family, also friends of ours. I wish that I could say Jumik died in a place where he wanted to be doing what he loved; but, truthfully, he was doing what he could to provide for his family. People in that part of the world mostly live in abject poverty. Money can be made in the mountains, risky as climbing is. Jumik, and the other HAPs and Sherpas, do not climb for the love of climbing. They climb for money. Jumik was doing honorable work for honorable reasons, and this book honors his memory as well as all of those Sherpas and HAPs who were on the mountain that day. It tells the story of terrible death and great heroism and why these skilled mountaineers climb. It introduces us to their humanity as well as ours. I urge you to enter this world through the eyes of Amanda and Peter. You will be glad you did.

Buried in the Sky tells the story of the people who do most of the work, but get little credit when climbing the 8000 meter mountains of the Himalayas. These people are the Sherpa and Hunza who are the high mountain porters and, in many cases, the guides on mountains like K2 and Everest. The authors attempt to put a face and voice to these people. Sometimes the action is gripping and the scenes are visceral and uncomfortable to the reader. Sometimes the writing becomes tedious. Still, the thorough research and effort is admirable.

This book is so much more than a recounting of the tragic events that took place on K2. The background on the history and culture of the various ethnic groups and the high altitude porters involved, is so enlightening. And the story, told from the perspectives of these men makes it so unique among the books on mountaineering. Last, but not least, it is so well written a d compelling.

I couldn't put the book down. Although unlike Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Peter Zuckerman wrote the book as an outsider, not one who climbed the mountain, the book is as engrossing as Into Thin Air. I actually like this book better. Into Thin Air, jumps to other stories in the midst of telling one too much. It's quite confusing. A reviewer commented the book spent too much time in the beginning talking about the lives of sherpas? but this book is exactly that, as the title goes The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day. I do have the sentiment that in order to present a whole picture of the story of the sherpas, we do need to know about their lives, about how they start to have a job as a guide. I am fascinated by sherpas. They are strong, kind and exceptionally loyal people (the same goes to the Paskistani high altitude worker/porter). I like that the author tells the lives of sherpas and their families, before their mountain career and after - what happened to the families of the deceased and the sherpas who survived. It is disturbing to know that how climbers would ask the sherpas or the HAP to go back into the worst of conditions to look for their friends. In my mind, that's equal to asking them to go and die out there in the snow storm. I personally think that once you decided to go Everest summit, you are responsible for your own life. Yes, sherpas/HAP should help when they can but it should not put them in a situation where they are highly likely to die while saving you, no matter how much you can pay them.. There's always moral debate about leaving climbers in trouble high on the mountain. But so many people ignored turnaround time, inexperienced climbers ignored their own physical ability and put themselves in danger for summit, they and they alone are responsible for their own decisions. It is unfair and selfish to accuse others for not trying to help, especially when it's so high up in the mountain where others' own survival is also in question. Climbers do not spend tens of thousands to have to bear the consequence for irresponsible climbers. I digressed. Back to the book. Although I read some comments that the book is too short and felt cheated (I don't remember the exact comment), it still came as a shock to me when the ebook ended 60% into it......... It is the first time I encounter such situation..... Nevertheless, it doesn't affect my liking to this book. I find this a very good read.

Interesting profile of K2 and the world of high-altitude climbing. Also an interesting window into Sherpa culture and religion. Ultimately the narrative is a bit disjointed which robs the story of some of its power, but it is still a gripping account of the eleven people who died and those who survived. The book is clearly very meticulously researched and does well to give fair treatment to the Sherpa people who seem to be so often overlooked as a critical component in the success of people pursuing the high summits of the Himalayan mountains. B

there have been plenty of movies and documentaries on the K2 tragedy, but none is as comprehensive as this book. Seen from the eyes of the High Altitude Porters who were there it really tell the story as it happened while international media only focused on Western climber.

Le point de départ de Buried in the sky est le désastre survenu au K2 pendant l'été 2008 où 11 alpinistes, occidentaux et locaux, sont décédés. Le livre raconte de façon précise et complète ses tenants et aboutissants, au-delà de la chute de sérac qui en fut le déclencheur. Le simple récit très documenté, réalisé sans pathos, mais avec une compréhension fine de la problématique des ascensions extrêmes aurait déjà été passionnant, mais le livre est beaucoup plus que cela. Il renouvelle le genre du récit de montagne, car on peut le considérer comme un livre total : aucune dimension liée au drame ne lui échappe. On y trouve bien sûr, loi du genre oblige, un résumé de l'histoire de la conquête du K2. Mais c'est l'histoire collective, familiale, culturelle et sociale des travailleurs/porteurs de haute altitude qui sert de fil directeur au récit. L'ouvrage leur rend un hommage appuyé avec juste raison. Avec une compréhension rare, il les resitue aussi dans leurs contextes, Sherpas, Bhote ou Shimsalis et l'on apprend à connaître dans leurs subtilités, ces populations sans lesquelles la plupart des expéditions occidentales ne pourraient réussir. L'écriture de l'ouvrage a nécessité aux deux auteurs plusieurs années et de nombreux voyages dans l'Himalaya, afin de se rendre au plus près des circonstances du drame, mais surtout pour mieux connaître les protagonistes et appréhender leur environnement. C'est un travail qui force le respect, l'annexe qui liste les sources et les personnes rencontrées, qui explique comment les récits individuels ou articles de presse ont été recoupés, fait honneur aux auteurs et servira certainement de référence dans les écoles de journalistes. Ce qui mérite également d'être souligné, c'est que par petites touches et sans démonstration appuyée, ni jugement simpliste, le récit nous livre un point de vue sur le milieu et la pratique des expéditions extrêmes, avec ses grandeurs mais aussi ses petitesses, qui contribue à expliquer les circonstances de la catastrophe. Car, la chute de sérac seule n'aurait pas dû conduire à 11 décès, alors même que le temps était superbe. Il y a en effet dans le livre une analyse des circonstances organisationnelles et humaines qui ont conduit à un chiffre aussi élevé. De nombreuses cartes, très bien faites, et un cahier photographique facilitent la compréhension du récit. Un mot du style. Le livre se lit bien et le style est agréable. On voit que les auteurs s'adressent aux plus grand nombre, y compris à ceux qui ignorent tout de la montagne, car ils expliquent avec un souci pédagogique les aspects techniques de leur récit(*). Mais à mon goût il manque de personnalité. Il correspond, comme la construction de l'ouvrage, au standard journalistique américain moderne et je dois dire que je commence à trouver lassant de lire des ouvrages souvent conçus et rédigés de la même façon, notamment avec premier chapitre centré sur un épisode au suspens, puis flash back' Je trouve cela d''autant plus dommageable que les deux auteurs ont de toute évidence une personnalité qui mériterait d'être partagée avec les lecteurs. (*) Une explication qui m'a paru originale et probablement plus juste que ce qu'on lit habituellement : « At the extreme altitude, the percentage of oxygen in the air is the same as at sea level, but the air pressure is much lower 'the same volume of gas has fewer moleculesin it. A a result, the body can't extract enough oxygen from the air. (')"

Es un libro muy bueno e interesante, pero en él no encontraremos una literatura clásica de montaña, sino más bien una historia de la relación entre los sherpas o los pakistaníes con la montaña. Leyendo nos podemos informar de cuáles son sus ambiciones, por qué escalan, cómo se lo toman sus familias, qué ganan y qué pierden con el contacto con los occidentales, cómo es su forma de relacionarse con estos, y otras interesantes cuestiones. Sin embargo, la descripción de la tragedia del K2 no me ha parecido tan detallada y absorbente como la que se refleja en otro libro (NO WAY DOWN), que para mí logra captar más la atención y es un relato más puro de montaña. Recomendable para los interesados en el modo de vida de sherpas y pakistaníes de alta montaña. A los que busquen una narración detallada del desastre del K2 les recomiendo NO WAY DOWN.

What a read, so good, could not put it down, enjoyed it all, well surveyed and written, a real adventure, as sad as it sometimes is, congratulations.

Gripping book...hubby says its the best he's read in more than a decade.. and he's an avid reader. 10/10