After the Wind: Tragedy on Everest - One Survivor’s Story

Lou Kasischke was perhaps the last person to turn around on Mount Everest during the infamous storm on May 10th, 1996. Of the various accounts of the disaster (8, I believe), his I is a breath of fresh air. Of the five I've read previously, most focus on freak accidents of weather as well as ill-advised person decisions. While Kasischke tends to these to the best of his knowledge, the enormous difference between his perspective and others is his willingness to criticize decisions made by expedition leadership, namely Rob Hall. Kasischke explains Hall's perfect safety record of decision-making on Everest was one of the reasons he (Lou) joined the expedition in the first place, and the business-driven decision to include an on-duty journalist may have swayed his argument at more than one critical moment. Kasischke is equally critical of the equipment choices of the expedition, saying he chose not to use the particular oxygen system provided. He points out that some of the more experienced Himalayan climbers turned around the day of the disaster, and speculates what rescuers from other expeditions must have thought when watching Hall and Fischer's climbers through telescope and listening to radio traffic.Perhaps hindsight is 20/20. Kasischke just published his account in 2015, 19 years after the incident. Aside from being able to mull it over day after day, that is absolutely enough time to convince one's judgment in one direction or the other, which is probably an advantage when publishing, essentially, a response to others' accounts, or at least an alternate conclusion. While I enjoyed the other perspectives, especially Gammelgaard's and the first half of Weathers', I have never been approached convinced that any one account had nailed the exact moment(s) when things went wrong. Kasischke's arguments are well-formulated and convincing, although admittedly it's difficult to say 20 years later whether or not they are the most accurate.Personally, I believe this account is the most informative to the inquisitive climber who is also a dedicated student of leadership and group decision-making. I would not recommend this book as the only account of Everest 1996, as I feel that it works best in comparison and I would speculate that it was intended to be this way. I did not recommend this book to my mother for her book club when she asked for something about Everest 1996 incident; I told her they should go with Krakauer for a general good read.

This writer recorded his thoughts but waited 20 yrs after he wrote them to publish. I enjoyed this book more than any other book I read about that tragic season. It is written as if he was talking to you - or like you or I might tell it. Very personal and gives little details I've never heard any other writer give! I read all these books about mountaineering, about tragedies on these mountains.In warning - It is written Only from his and his team's experiences/perspective with Facts, he writes about Rob Hall's team.Doesn't speculate or intrude on the privacy of Scott Fischers team or attempt to fill in his knowledge with other people's versions, just what his team experienced.I've read all the books about that tragedy - This book put everything together in a way none of the other did.Thank you to Mr. Kasiscke for this book. It was inspiration for me.

In 1996 eight people from three expeditions perished when trapped by a storm on Mount Everest. Included in the dead were the leaders of two of the expeditions, Rob Hall and Scott Fisher. There have been a lot of books written covering the tragedy, exploring exactly what went wrong.Survivors have written books telling the tale from their own perspectives. These accounts do not always agree. I think it safe to say that if you were not there yourself, there is no way to know who is and who isn’t correct. Therefore I believe in taking everyone at their word that their story is what they experienced.This is the story of Lou Kasischke. In the horror that descended on the mountain that day, Lou’s inner voice saved his life. With climbers still headed for the summit, Lou turned around knowing this was his only shot at Everest. Yet Lou came home from the mountain without severe injury. Others who summited never left the mountain…Lou’s story of what happened rather than assign blame cites mistakes made for which there is no good answer. He had joined Rob Hall’s Adventure Consultants Expedition based on Rob’s success and his impeccable safety record. The year prior, Rob had turned his team around in sight of the peak when he felt conditions were not conducive to a safe summit bid.Things didn’t go as planned in 1996. Rob’s usual all-star crew had prior commitments, so he had to replace them with men without the same experience. None of the new guides felt comfortable about making decisions without Rob. Rob’s inflexible turnaround time was ignored in favor of getting the most people to the summit. The sudden storm was the final blow.Lou doesn’t discount sacrifices made to help rescue climbers lost in the storm and darkness. The questions he asks are about ways the tragedy might have been avoided altogether. Once disaster struck, efforts made to rescue the climbers were partially successful. One man survived after being left for dead. But five died including Rob and Mountain Madness Expedition leader Scott Fisher. Three more died from an expedition climbing Everest from the opposite side. Lou could have been among them except for obedience to that inner voice…I give this book five stars…Quoth the Raven…

I read the After the Wind and also The Climb by Anatoli Boukriev , and Touching my Soul by Tenzing Norgay and so have a much more generous impression of this tragic climb. I felt really disturbed by the part Jon Krakauer played, albeit unwittingly, and really didn't want to read his book Into Thin Air especially after reading the account by Anatoli Boukriev. However I am very glad that I did go on to read Lou Kasischke's book as it showed a more positive, helpful and perhaps more balanced account of the part Jon Krakauer took in the tragedy and his story was more gentle, more to do with human frailties and a well rounded account . Tenzing Norgay put it so aptly when he said that Everest should never be climbed when primarily driven by desire to make money and as an exercise of Ego; it has to be climbed with an attitude of utmost respect and humility. I am so glad I read all three books about this complex tragedy.

One criticism I have of many of the books that have been written about the 1996 Everest Debarcle is that they were written very soon after the trip and rushed onto the marked before the dust had settled and thoughts has been fully gathered.This book does not fall into that category.At the start of the book you get the impression that Kasischke did not want to embark on the project as he knew that it would expose old wounds, which it certainly does.It is very much his personal story of the whole trip and why he is still alive, where many of the other climbers are not. With this in mind it is a brilliant piece of work about when you should (or more importantly when you shouldn't) carry on. Like on many of these trips the people who return are different from the people who set off and Kasischke's narrative explains the problems that can be called by so-called "Summit Fever". This leaves you with the old mountaineers quote of "You never conquer a mountain, it merely tolerates your presence".1996 was a turning point in Everest history as there followed a move towards better organised commercial trips.

This book is terrible. I hate to say it because Kasischke had a very tough time of it during that fateful season on Everest but the problem is, he's just not a very good writer. The book is repetitive ("the raging wind..."), with random bits of spiritual musing and occasional incoherent finger pointing, all laid out with the literary panache you might expect of a corporate lawyer. It's at its best when he just sticks to what happened on the climb but his poor grasp of narrative constantly weakens what could have been a really gripping story. Did he have an editor? There are a clutch of books about the '96 tragedy and it's a shame, but this is the least of them.

Having read several of the 1996 accounts of the Everest disaster this one has the emphasis on risk and risk assessment as the prime cause. Despite a careful climbing plan Rob Hall chose to ignore his own plan in place of personal gain. This goes to show how even the most experienced leaders can become obsessed with one goal at the expense of all others and throwing safety to the wind. Thanks Lou, as a non climber I found your account as different and intriguing as the others I have read.

Amazing story and well-written. I wasn't there so I can't judge, but it seems like the team leader Rob receives a very raw deal in this book from the author. Lou went through hell and returned, so he has my total admiration, but the reliance on constantly referrring to the love of his wife becomes a little tiring after a while. Even so, amazing story and worth a read.

Book is good reading. Dissappointing that there were no picutres, but drawings which were ok but not great. Also, the "new" book I bought looked as if it was home made. The edges of the pages looked as if they had been cut with a handsaw. A lot of money of a book that is poor quality.

What a genuine account of what clearly must have been an horrendous experience. God bless you Lou and Sandy. X

I loved this book as it is a personal account of Lou’s trip to Everest in 1996. I found this to be one of the few books that raises questions on the 1996 distaster and tries to give an unbiased explanation.

Very interesting views on Rob Hall's decisions...quite strong views from someone who was there! Bit too heavy on the "I love my wife" angle for me, but overall a good read.

This book captures the very essence of fear and danger yet the writer gives God the glory in everything. Even in the strongest person lies the absolute frailty of man against that which is outside his control.

Just that, really. I felt the story could have been told in a third of the volume of the book. I'm glad I read it though as it had some good insights into how humans cope with adversity.

A well written book form a man who was there. Another side of the Everest tragedy.

Okay but repetitive in parts

Really Inspiring read about the 1996 Everest expedition from a very personal and moving perspective.

First class account of the '96 disaster. Highly recommended