The Climb

By: Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt

Narrated by: Lloyd James

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The Climb is a true, gripping, and thought-provoking account of the worst disaster in the history of Mt. Everest: On May 10, 1996, two commercial expeditions headed by experienced leaders attempted to climb the highest mountain in the world, but things went terribly wrong. Crowded conditions on the mountain, miscommunications, unexplainable delays, poor leadership, bad decisions, and a blinding storm conspired to kill. Twenty-three men and women, disoriented and out of oxygen, struggled to find their way down the southern side of the mountain. In the dark, battered by snow driven by hurricane-force winds, some of the climbers became hopelessly lost and resigned themselves to death. Anatoli Boukreev, the head climbing guide for the West Seattle-based Mountain Madness expedition, refused to give up hope. Solo, climbing blind in the maw of a storm that continually threatened his life, Boukreev brought climbers back from the edge of certain death.

©1997 by Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt (P)1998 by Blackstone Audiobooks

I appreciate the effort

I appreciate the effort that these writers made to clarify the chain of events on that sad day in 1996. I’ve listened to “into thin air” also and realize everyone has a point of view. This said, I find that this story shows a much more personal & human view of the events, you can almost feel Anatolia’s stress & pain during the long night in which he tried over & over to provide help . Very well executed!

The Climb very good

I really liked the book. I've read Into Thin Air as well and these 2 books go well together to tell the story of what happened in 1996. The Climb is much more detailed and technical. Filled in a lot of gaps that Into Thin Air didn't describe. Anatoli was a smart man and he did everything he possibly could to save others and himself that day.

Story of a true hero

A beautiful story of a true high altitude hero, a man that did his best to save others in 1996 Everest expedition. What a story!

Good sort, BAD narration

The story is as expected, the narrator has negative emotion. I will not listen to other books narrated by him.

The Climb, a nail biter!

Definitely better than Into Thin Air! Would highly recommend! Amazing book and fast read! 5 stars!

A different perspective from Into Thin Air

Reading different accounts from the 1996 Everest disaster from Krakauer to Ed Vistures I always felt like Boukreev got a bad rap in Into Thin Air. It was great hearing his first hand perspective on the events of those few days. Overall another great book in the dangers of Everest and mountaineering in general.

So Interesting, I listened twice.

I am; I admit; one of those armchair climbers. With neither the ability nor the means to ever climb anything more than a hill, I have been long fascinated by climbers, what motivates them? What leads to success? Why do they do it? After reading many books on Everest, I had been lead to wondering even "should we?"
I had read Into Thin Air more than once, and wanted another view of the story. Anatoli Boukreev, deeply respected climber takes us there in this fascintaing other view of the fateful climb of 1996.
This book is a must read if you've read Into Thin Air. This is a wonderfully written, wonderfully read account. I was so intrigued that I listened twice, to better understand the quietly stated things. Boukreev rarely points fingers, but he does defend the actions of some, including himself, who have been criticised. He does it by explaining conditions, "mountain thinking" and sometimes by shining a light into dark corners.
I concluded by thinking what a wonderful man Anatoli Boukreev must have been. And he even brought me around to an understanding of the oxygen /no oxygen debate.
The narration was great. Narrated well (a couple of slight mistakes ...but I blame the editing for those, they were mis speaks ) . The narrator gets out of the way, and allows the story to open up. One of the best buys in a long while.

Great read!

Incredible what the human body can endure. There was much detail which I liked. I just had trouble keeping the names and people straight.

Finally some facts

Finally I made myself to read Anatoli's side of the story of 1996 Everest disaster .
This is a must read to follow up of Into thin Air.
Anatoli is a hero and makes me upset to learn that Krakauer has never fixed his half trues /assumptions about Anatoli in his book after understanding what has happened. What a brave climber Anatoli was

Doesn't Compare to "Into Thin Air"

I read "The Climb" to get a different perspective after reading Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air". I was very disappointed by the lack of context and detail given in the book. It's a very straightforward narrative from the perspective of Anatoli Boukreev, but it doesn't do anything to elaborate on his experience, the experiences of the other climbers, or provide any explanation for why people acted the way they did. The narration was quite monotone and boring, which certainly didn't help the story. I don't think it's merely that it was boring because I already knew what happened either. I've read multiple books covering the same event before and often found things to appreciate about the different narratives and perspectives. But overall "The Climb" is quite lackluster. If you're looking for a compelling story about the '96 Everest disaster, look elsewhere.