Call number
796.522 BOW
Collection
Publication
Harper Perennial (2011), Edition: Reprint, 288 pages
Description
"A dramatic account of the worst disaster in the history of mountain climbing on K2, the world's second highest peak"-- Provided by publisher.
User reviews
LibraryThing member BlackSheepDances
"Above the Bottleneck was the serac-the blunt overhanging end of a hanging glacier-a shimmering, tottering wave frozen as it crashed over the moutainside, a suspended ice mountain six hundred feet tall...and about half a mile long. It was smooth in places but large parts of it were pitted with
Journalist Graham Bowley created an intense narrative of the infamous tragedy on K2 in 2008 in this new release No Way Down. Despite being smaller than Mt. Everest, at 28,251 feet, K2 is reputed to be the most terrifying to climb. Twenty-seven members of eight international teams progressed from Base Camp One to Base Camp Four as their bodies adjusted to the increasing lack of oxygen. Then, on a beautiful clear morning they began their final ascent on K2, in a planned order that the groups had agreed upon. They planned to reach the summit and plant their national flags, document the excitement with photographs, and return to Base Camp Four, all by nightfall. No one wanted to be on the mountain after dark.
Then everything went wrong. A series of bad decisions and unexpected events changed the plan, resulting in the loss of eleven lives, as well as lifelong injuries for two more. Some climbers had to spend the night on the frightening mountain, hanging on lines and wondering what the morning would bring.
This is not a simple disaster story, and there is no happy ending. What is unique is that while Bowley wasn't there, he was able to interview most of the members of the various teams, getting insight on what they were feeling and how they addressed proceeding through disaster. Additionally, he interviewed families of the survivors and those who died, getting their impressions and insight. This creates a fast paced read that isn't simply one eyewitness account but rather than unbiased compilation of many voices, a fuller picture that demonstrates both the power of nature and the desire of man to conquer it. Reading it exposes more than just the climb, it explores the personalities and reasons why some choose to explore such danger.Half-way through the book is a photo section that would have been better placed at the front, just to put a name with faces. Seeing the photos made the tragedy more personal. Included is a group picture at Base Camp Four who were determined to ascend the following day.
"They had broken out of comfortable lives to venture to a place few of us would dare go in our lives. they had confronted their mortality, immediately and up close."
Reading this makes you shiver from the cold and the suspense, even if you know the ending. This would be a great summer read, just for the chilling effect it would have on a hot day! It'll make you ponder the whole concept of how you identify 'adventure'.
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cracks and crevasses....This was the way to the summit."Journalist Graham Bowley created an intense narrative of the infamous tragedy on K2 in 2008 in this new release No Way Down. Despite being smaller than Mt. Everest, at 28,251 feet, K2 is reputed to be the most terrifying to climb. Twenty-seven members of eight international teams progressed from Base Camp One to Base Camp Four as their bodies adjusted to the increasing lack of oxygen. Then, on a beautiful clear morning they began their final ascent on K2, in a planned order that the groups had agreed upon. They planned to reach the summit and plant their national flags, document the excitement with photographs, and return to Base Camp Four, all by nightfall. No one wanted to be on the mountain after dark.
Then everything went wrong. A series of bad decisions and unexpected events changed the plan, resulting in the loss of eleven lives, as well as lifelong injuries for two more. Some climbers had to spend the night on the frightening mountain, hanging on lines and wondering what the morning would bring.
This is not a simple disaster story, and there is no happy ending. What is unique is that while Bowley wasn't there, he was able to interview most of the members of the various teams, getting insight on what they were feeling and how they addressed proceeding through disaster. Additionally, he interviewed families of the survivors and those who died, getting their impressions and insight. This creates a fast paced read that isn't simply one eyewitness account but rather than unbiased compilation of many voices, a fuller picture that demonstrates both the power of nature and the desire of man to conquer it. Reading it exposes more than just the climb, it explores the personalities and reasons why some choose to explore such danger.Half-way through the book is a photo section that would have been better placed at the front, just to put a name with faces. Seeing the photos made the tragedy more personal. Included is a group picture at Base Camp Four who were determined to ascend the following day.
"They had broken out of comfortable lives to venture to a place few of us would dare go in our lives. they had confronted their mortality, immediately and up close."
Reading this makes you shiver from the cold and the suspense, even if you know the ending. This would be a great summer read, just for the chilling effect it would have on a hot day! It'll make you ponder the whole concept of how you identify 'adventure'.
Show Less
LibraryThing member umachan
On August 1, 2008, eleven climbers lost their lives climbing K2. This is the story of the events of that day. I've read quite a few books on high altitude climbing, mostly about Everest and mostly by climbers. I'm not sure if it's because Bowley isn't a climber, but I just didn't feel connected to
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the story as I have with other accounts in the death zone. The author conveys a sense of "why do they do it" through much of the book, without ever understanding and that lack of understandin ...more On August 1, 2008, eleven climbers lost their lives climbing K2. This is the story of the events of that day. I've read quite a few books on high altitude climbing, mostly about Everest and mostly by climbers. I'm not sure if it's because Bowley isn't a climber, but I just didn't feel connected to the story as I have with other accounts in the death zone. The author conveys a sense of "why do they do it" through much of the book, without ever understanding and that lack of understanding leaves the reader feeling separated from the narrative. Show Less
LibraryThing member jan.fleming
"It's the summit of K2, 1 August 2008. An exhausted band of climbers pump their fists into the clear blue sky - joining the elite who have conquered the world's most lethal mountain. But as they celebrate, far below them an ice shelf collapses and sweeps away their ropes. They don't know it yet,
In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, journalist Graham Bowley re-creates one of the most dramatic tales of death and survival in mountaineering history, vividly taking readers through the tragic 2008 K2 ascent that claimed the lives of eleven climbers, severely injured two others, and made headlines around the world.
With its near-perfect pyramid shape, the 28,251-foot K2--the world's second-highest mountain, some 800 feet shorter than the legendary Everest hundreds of miles to the south--has lured serious climbers for decades. In 2008, near the end of a brief climbing season cut even shorter by bad weather, no fewer than ten international teams--some experienced, others less prepared--crowded the mountain's dangerous slopes with their Sherpas and porters, waiting to ascend.
Finally, on August 1, they were able to set off. But hindered by poor judgment, lack of equipment, and overcrowded conditions, the last group did not summit until nearly 8 p.m., hours later than planned. Then disaster struck when a huge ice chunk from above the Bottleneck, a deadly 300-foot avalanche-prone gulley just below the summit, came loose and destroyed the fixed guide ropes. More than a dozen climbers and porters still above the Bottleneck--many without oxygen and some with no headlamps--faced the near impossibility 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.
Based on in-depth interviews with surviving climbers and many Sherpas, porters, and family and friends of the deceased, "No Way Down" reveals for the first time the full dimensions of this harrowing drama." Waterstones review
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but they will be forced to descend into the blackness with no lines. Of the thirty who set out, eleven will never make it back. Following the stories of climbers from around the world, "No Way Down" weaves a tale of human courage, folly, survival and devastating loss. The stories are heart-wrenching: the young married couple whose rope was torn apart by an avalanche, sending the husband to his death; the 61-year-old Frenchman who called his family from near the summit to say he wouldn't make it home. So what drove them to try to conquer this elusive peak? And what went wrong that fateful day?In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, journalist Graham Bowley re-creates one of the most dramatic tales of death and survival in mountaineering history, vividly taking readers through the tragic 2008 K2 ascent that claimed the lives of eleven climbers, severely injured two others, and made headlines around the world.
With its near-perfect pyramid shape, the 28,251-foot K2--the world's second-highest mountain, some 800 feet shorter than the legendary Everest hundreds of miles to the south--has lured serious climbers for decades. In 2008, near the end of a brief climbing season cut even shorter by bad weather, no fewer than ten international teams--some experienced, others less prepared--crowded the mountain's dangerous slopes with their Sherpas and porters, waiting to ascend.
Finally, on August 1, they were able to set off. But hindered by poor judgment, lack of equipment, and overcrowded conditions, the last group did not summit until nearly 8 p.m., hours later than planned. Then disaster struck when a huge ice chunk from above the Bottleneck, a deadly 300-foot avalanche-prone gulley just below the summit, came loose and destroyed the fixed guide ropes. More than a dozen climbers and porters still above the Bottleneck--many without oxygen and some with no headlamps--faced the near impossibility 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.
Based on in-depth interviews with surviving climbers and many Sherpas, porters, and family and friends of the deceased, "No Way Down" reveals for the first time the full dimensions of this harrowing drama." Waterstones review
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LibraryThing member Schmerguls
This is a study by a New York Times reporter of the events at K2--the second highest mountain in the world--on August 1 t0 3, 2008. The author did a good job researching the events, and there are many grippingly exciting pages. The early part of the book seems confusing, since there were so many
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climbers--43 actually reached the summit. The disaster was in the descent. Show Less
LibraryThing member willclose-ash
An amazing book! A great account of a truly tragic story, I couldn't put it down, finished it in two days!
LibraryThing member TCWriter
No Way Down is a well-researched account of yet another disastrous mountaineering expedition, this one on K2. It lacks the intensity of Krakauer's Into Thin Air and because the writer wasn't present - and eleven of the participants were killed - the account sometimes feels a little speculative.
As
As intriguing as the disaster itself are the responses of the different individuals and teams, and the South Korean climbing team comes off pretty poorly in this account.
Again, it's well written, but lacks the intensity, first-person perspective and followup offered by Krakauer.
As
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is typical on the K2 (the world's most dangerous mountain), the disaster is part of chain of small mistakes, and you can feel the tension building from the very first page. As intriguing as the disaster itself are the responses of the different individuals and teams, and the South Korean climbing team comes off pretty poorly in this account.
Again, it's well written, but lacks the intensity, first-person perspective and followup offered by Krakauer.
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LibraryThing member jan.fleming
"It's the summit of K2, 1 August 2008. An exhausted band of climbers pump their fists into the clear blue sky - joining the elite who have conquered the world's most lethal mountain. But as they celebrate, far below them an ice shelf collapses and sweeps away their ropes. They don't know it yet,
In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, journalist Graham Bowley re-creates one of the most dramatic tales of death and survival in mountaineering history, vividly taking readers through the tragic 2008 K2 ascent that claimed the lives of eleven climbers, severely injured two others, and made headlines around the world.
With its near-perfect pyramid shape, the 28,251-foot K2--the world's second-highest mountain, some 800 feet shorter than the legendary Everest hundreds of miles to the south--has lured serious climbers for decades. In 2008, near the end of a brief climbing season cut even shorter by bad weather, no fewer than ten international teams--some experienced, others less prepared--crowded the mountain's dangerous slopes with their Sherpas and porters, waiting to ascend.
Finally, on August 1, they were able to set off. But hindered by poor judgment, lack of equipment, and overcrowded conditions, the last group did not summit until nearly 8 p.m., hours later than planned. Then disaster struck when a huge ice chunk from above the Bottleneck, a deadly 300-foot avalanche-prone gulley just below the summit, came loose and destroyed the fixed guide ropes. More than a dozen climbers and porters still above the Bottleneck--many without oxygen and some with no headlamps--faced the near impossibility 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.
Based on in-depth interviews with surviving climbers and many Sherpas, porters, and family and friends of the deceased, "No Way Down" reveals for the first time the full dimensions of this harrowing drama." Waterstones review
Show More
but they will be forced to descend into the blackness with no lines. Of the thirty who set out, eleven will never make it back. Following the stories of climbers from around the world, "No Way Down" weaves a tale of human courage, folly, survival and devastating loss. The stories are heart-wrenching: the young married couple whose rope was torn apart by an avalanche, sending the husband to his death; the 61-year-old Frenchman who called his family from near the summit to say he wouldn't make it home. So what drove them to try to conquer this elusive peak? And what went wrong that fateful day?In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, journalist Graham Bowley re-creates one of the most dramatic tales of death and survival in mountaineering history, vividly taking readers through the tragic 2008 K2 ascent that claimed the lives of eleven climbers, severely injured two others, and made headlines around the world.
With its near-perfect pyramid shape, the 28,251-foot K2--the world's second-highest mountain, some 800 feet shorter than the legendary Everest hundreds of miles to the south--has lured serious climbers for decades. In 2008, near the end of a brief climbing season cut even shorter by bad weather, no fewer than ten international teams--some experienced, others less prepared--crowded the mountain's dangerous slopes with their Sherpas and porters, waiting to ascend.
Finally, on August 1, they were able to set off. But hindered by poor judgment, lack of equipment, and overcrowded conditions, the last group did not summit until nearly 8 p.m., hours later than planned. Then disaster struck when a huge ice chunk from above the Bottleneck, a deadly 300-foot avalanche-prone gulley just below the summit, came loose and destroyed the fixed guide ropes. More than a dozen climbers and porters still above the Bottleneck--many without oxygen and some with no headlamps--faced the near impossibility 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.
Based on in-depth interviews with surviving climbers and many Sherpas, porters, and family and friends of the deceased, "No Way Down" reveals for the first time the full dimensions of this harrowing drama." Waterstones review
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LibraryThing member sushicat
The book recounts events on K2 in 2008, the first day in that season where the summit could be reached. As a lot of climbers had been waiting for this opportunity, there were a number of expeditions pushing for the top that day. This lead to delays in climbing and eventually daytime ran out for
As the story unfolds and shifts in focus from one group or individual to the next, he introduces each person and gives us backstory on earlier climbs. The result is a well told account of events and a good insight into many of the people on the mountain and their personal struggles. There are hints throughout the book about personality clashes and rivalries, but those remain very much in the background as the story focuses on the progress of the men and women going up to the summit and returning down. They are trapped on the slopes, searching for a way down in the dark, hearing ice falls and avalanches close by, loosing track of friends or finding them again.
If I could not give this book 5 stars, it was due to the lack of immediacy and focus. The narrative was one of a neutral observer and though he did put me in the shoes of one individual or the other and gave me a good idea of the circumstances, that bit of distance remained. Whether it was due to the fact that he is no mountaineer or just was not there is hard to tell. On the positive side, there is also no personal animosity, he does not take sides or cast blame. The reasons for the delays on the way up are never really clarified. Anyway, every climber has to decide for himself where his limits are and if circumstances allow the pursuit of his goals. And some of the events were just pure bad luck.
All in all a good read that puts you on the slopes and gives a good insight into what mountaineering is all about.
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some of them on their way back to the highest camp. Graham Bowley, himself not a mountaineer, has interviewed most of the climbers on the mountain and written a gripping tale of the events on that fateful day when 11 died. Some testimonies were in conflict as perception after hours in the death zone had deteriorated. Nevertheless the account feels pretty consistent and there are extensive notes about the information sources at the end.As the story unfolds and shifts in focus from one group or individual to the next, he introduces each person and gives us backstory on earlier climbs. The result is a well told account of events and a good insight into many of the people on the mountain and their personal struggles. There are hints throughout the book about personality clashes and rivalries, but those remain very much in the background as the story focuses on the progress of the men and women going up to the summit and returning down. They are trapped on the slopes, searching for a way down in the dark, hearing ice falls and avalanches close by, loosing track of friends or finding them again.
If I could not give this book 5 stars, it was due to the lack of immediacy and focus. The narrative was one of a neutral observer and though he did put me in the shoes of one individual or the other and gave me a good idea of the circumstances, that bit of distance remained. Whether it was due to the fact that he is no mountaineer or just was not there is hard to tell. On the positive side, there is also no personal animosity, he does not take sides or cast blame. The reasons for the delays on the way up are never really clarified. Anyway, every climber has to decide for himself where his limits are and if circumstances allow the pursuit of his goals. And some of the events were just pure bad luck.
All in all a good read that puts you on the slopes and gives a good insight into what mountaineering is all about.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bluepiano
Do you know those books, invariably by tabloid reporters, that seem to come out within days of a massacre or the arrest of a serial killer? The ones I've seen are mostly padding, full of irrelevant information that is useful only to up the word count. This book is similar to them in that respect,
We learn the nickname of a climber's mother. We learn that another once lived in the States for a bit. We learn that the Serbian team made doughnuts with strawberry jam not plums and we learn that they were delicious anyway. We learn what DVD's some of the people watched in base camp. We learn Nepalese for 'I'm coming' and the Irish word for a hurley. We learn who's lanky, who wears blue, who has a wonderful smile.
We don't learn enough about how much and what sort of climbing experience these people had. We don't learn why team leaders failed to call a halt to the climbs of those who were in poor health or too slow. We don't learn why the fixed ropes were in a queer position. We don't learn whether enough oxygen tanks were carried out of Camp IV, nor whether porters did as Bowley implies leave behind important gear. We don't even learn for a certainty that the calving of a serac was the only non-man-made problem thrown at the climbers.
I read the book for the story, but the writing made me so grumpy that I don't know whether a good few of the climbers were the idiots they seemed or had judgement impaired from the start by hypoxia or whether my ill-temper made me feel uncharitable to them. But many of them did go for the summit when unwell or when it was far too late in the day and, when they summitted as night neared, stayed in place making satellite phone calls, videotaping each other making satellite phone calls, or waiting for other climbers in order to have a, ugh, 'group hug'.
Near the end is something that makes me very uneasy. A bereaved fiancee who apparently didn't understand the mental effects of hypoxia decided with no evidence that an Italian climber had lied about her intended's last hours. I'm not sure, given the lack of evidence, that this should have been mentioned at all; I do feel sure that, in light of that accusation, it was just plain wrong of Bowley to strongly imply that the Italian came across as shifty and evasive when interviewed. And there's something that makes me uneasier still: Bowley offers his imagined thoughts of a real person near death. I reckon that's so presumptuous as to be the downright distasteful.
End of rant, except to say that I've read other books on climbing, some of them by climbers for whom writing a book must have been an enormous challenge, and they were all better than this one written, incredibly, by a reporter for the New York Times.
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and it's maddening to read.We learn the nickname of a climber's mother. We learn that another once lived in the States for a bit. We learn that the Serbian team made doughnuts with strawberry jam not plums and we learn that they were delicious anyway. We learn what DVD's some of the people watched in base camp. We learn Nepalese for 'I'm coming' and the Irish word for a hurley. We learn who's lanky, who wears blue, who has a wonderful smile.
We don't learn enough about how much and what sort of climbing experience these people had. We don't learn why team leaders failed to call a halt to the climbs of those who were in poor health or too slow. We don't learn why the fixed ropes were in a queer position. We don't learn whether enough oxygen tanks were carried out of Camp IV, nor whether porters did as Bowley implies leave behind important gear. We don't even learn for a certainty that the calving of a serac was the only non-man-made problem thrown at the climbers.
I read the book for the story, but the writing made me so grumpy that I don't know whether a good few of the climbers were the idiots they seemed or had judgement impaired from the start by hypoxia or whether my ill-temper made me feel uncharitable to them. But many of them did go for the summit when unwell or when it was far too late in the day and, when they summitted as night neared, stayed in place making satellite phone calls, videotaping each other making satellite phone calls, or waiting for other climbers in order to have a, ugh, 'group hug'.
Near the end is something that makes me very uneasy. A bereaved fiancee who apparently didn't understand the mental effects of hypoxia decided with no evidence that an Italian climber had lied about her intended's last hours. I'm not sure, given the lack of evidence, that this should have been mentioned at all; I do feel sure that, in light of that accusation, it was just plain wrong of Bowley to strongly imply that the Italian came across as shifty and evasive when interviewed. And there's something that makes me uneasier still: Bowley offers his imagined thoughts of a real person near death. I reckon that's so presumptuous as to be the downright distasteful.
End of rant, except to say that I've read other books on climbing, some of them by climbers for whom writing a book must have been an enormous challenge, and they were all better than this one written, incredibly, by a reporter for the New York Times.
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LibraryThing member Castlelass
This book presents an explanation of the tragedy that occurred on K2 in 2008, during which eleven people died. The author provides an unbiased account of what took place, who did what, and why. Bowley exposes the many factors involved, including lack of communication, delays in the ascent,
The human drive to conquer conditions of extreme cold fascinates me: to explore, to test the limits of endurance, to prove it can be done. This book delivers on that score. Where it falls short is in presentation, such as numerous typos, lack of proper punctuation, and segments that appear to be poor English translations from another language. These annoyances detracted significantly from my reading experience and should have been caught before publishing.
I think any book on mountaineering benefits from the author having “been there, done that.” This is more of a factual account, which was fine, but I was expecting something akin to Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. This book suffers by comparison. Recommended to readers who want to understand why mountaineering tragedies occur in hope of preventing them in the future.
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questionable judgments, and bad luck. Once oxygen deprivation to the brain is added to the mix, it became the proverbial recipe for disaster.The human drive to conquer conditions of extreme cold fascinates me: to explore, to test the limits of endurance, to prove it can be done. This book delivers on that score. Where it falls short is in presentation, such as numerous typos, lack of proper punctuation, and segments that appear to be poor English translations from another language. These annoyances detracted significantly from my reading experience and should have been caught before publishing.
I think any book on mountaineering benefits from the author having “been there, done that.” This is more of a factual account, which was fine, but I was expecting something akin to Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. This book suffers by comparison. Recommended to readers who want to understand why mountaineering tragedies occur in hope of preventing them in the future.
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Awards
Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature (Shortlist — 2010)
Pages
288
ISBN
0061834793 / 9780061834790