Everest: Alone at the Summit (Adrenaline)

Initially published as Everest: Kangshung Face. This book starts off almost as a guide book for the trek to the little known and little climbed Everest East, or Kangshung face. The trek is spectacular, with the culmination being the best mountain view in the world in my opinion: Chomolonzo, Makalu, Kangchungtse, Petangtse, Shartse, Lhotse Shar, Lhotse, the South Col, and the dramatic snow covered Everest East Kangshung Face.The 1988 climb itself is dramatic and dangerous, illustrated with spectacular photos, like one showing a Tyrolean traverse across an enormous crevasse. Stephen Venables reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 12, 1988, only the second summit from the Kangshung East side. Venables descent from the summit in a blizzard is as chilling and frightening as Maurice Herzog's Annapurna, with Stephen having to bivouac just below the summit. At one point in his descent, he sits in the snow and considers just staying there and dying.The story is very exciting. The photos are excellent.

Very well written and very enjoyable. If you love high altitude climbing books, this one is s keeper! Loved it!

Stephens Venables has a writing style that expresses his personality...carefull, exact and disciplined. He makes you feel his experience as if you are with him.

The story

Venables is one of my favorite writers/experts on all things mountaineering. Haven't read anything he's written that I didn't enjoy.

"Alone at the Summit" is an enjoyable read. The first 1/3 is a little slow, but I was totally drawn in as Venables and his team mates move up the mountain. Venables includes a history of Himalayan climbing at the back. The history is interesting and provides good perspective for understanding both the philosophy behind this 1988 expedition and its historical context.If you like to read climbing expedition books, I recommend that you read "Alone at the Summit."

There are a few types of mountaineering expedition books, and to me, this falls in with a lot of great ones that tell the good and bad of the expedition, but not in order to generate or take advantage of controversy. Stephen Venables doesn't hold back describing his mistakes, or the petty squabbles or even selfishness that is involved with t a group of ambitious climbers wanting to summit Everest - especially a first ascent of a new route.But the occasional uncharitable thoughts or words he shares with us in no way reflect how he feels about his teammates. He genuinely respects and likes his three teammates, as well as the support crew and Sherpas aiding the team. So we have a very detailed blow-by-blow description of the expedition. Sometimes the narrative runs a little slower, but never to the point where you want to set the book aside, and the adventure works up to a crescendo of excitement and drama as they work towards their summit push..We even get a good look at what is celled "summit fever" and the realities of it sometimes being every man for himself while under duress and near exhaustion at high altitude.The pictures are all black and white and some of them weren't very illuminating for me, perhaps because I am unfamiliar first hand with mountain landscape, but there are a lot of them that work.So I think this book joins the canon of excellent mountaineering expedition books, up there with Tasker and Boardman and many others.

I gave this book as a gift to an outdoor sportsman. I'm sure he will enjoy reading it very much.