The Mountain

August 26, 2013
In this amiable history/memoir hybrid, noted high-altitude climber Viesturs discusses the joys and tribulations to be found on the world’s highest mountain and his successful quest to climb every peak over 8,000 meters. Few know more about Everest than Viesturs, who has participated in 11 expeditions there and spent over two years on its slopes. The author recounts his own experiences, as well as the struggles to conquer the mountain that began after it was first identified as the world’s highest point. While the stories of Mallory and Irving, Hillary and Norgay, have been told many times, Viesturs also addresses lesser-known attempts, and was himself present at the infamous 1996 disaster in which 15 climbers lost their lives. While he covers familiar ground here, Viesturs is a fount of firsthand knowledge and straightforward narration, and the book makes for a good read. Whether he’s discussing his own initial failure to summit Everest, or Jean-Marc Boivin’s demented paraglide down the mountain, he remains calm, measured, and informative. This can be a handicap, as readers might forget just how dangerous the mountain can be. As the only American who has summited the world’s 14 highest peaks without bottled oxygen, Viesturs has a different ruler than the rest of us by which to measure risk..

November 15, 2013

Viesturs (The Will To Climb: Obsession and Commitment and the Quest To Climb Annapurna--the World's Deadliest Peak) is one of the most successful and well-known American mountaineers, having successfully climbed all the world's mountains higher than 8,000 meters without supplemental oxygen, an extraordinary accomplishment. Here he describes his 11 expeditions to Mount Everest from 1987 to 2009; he summited seven times. His many Everest highlights include his first summit, which was with the 1990 Peace Climb organized by Jim Whittaker that featured climbers from China, Russia, and the United States. He was featured in the 1996 Everest IMAX documentary filmed amid that year's tragic climbing season. Viesturs also participated in a 1997 expedition covered by NOVA (PBS) that tested the effects of high altitude on climbers' physiology and mental acumen. Interspersed among his own expedition reports, Viesturs discusses other expeditions that range from nationalistic, military-style campaigns to conquer the mountain to the Alpine-inspired fast and light aesthetic to the crowded "destination" of today's base camp. He also covers the various routes attempted on Everest's Southwest and Kangshung faces and the unclimbed Fantasy Ridge. VERDICT Fans of adventure, mountaineering, extreme sports, and Everest history will thoroughly enjoy Viesturs's latest book.--Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Lib., IN

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