No Shortcuts to the Top

Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

By: Ed Viesturs, David Roberts

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

This gripping and triumphant memoir follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time.

For 18 years, Ed Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's 14 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.

A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto: "Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory." It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers, as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.

No Shortcuts to the Top is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and the beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.

©2006 Ed Viesturs and David Roberts (P)2006 Books on Tape

Excellent and inspiring

I can’t get enough of high mountaineering. The obstacles faced, the rigor, focus, love of the sport, beauty…thank you !

Inspiration!

Loved it! My second time through. One via hardback and now via audible. both times couldn't wait to read it every time!

Delightful

What a remarkable surprise! A wonderfully told story that keeps you coming back for more. Couldn't be more satisfied from a random book selection.

a great story from a great man.

This book got me into climbing mountains and I still find it very motivating for whatever you do in life. I wish it was Ed himself reading but this guy is good.

Amazing adventure!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Ed Viesturs is an amazing climber who brings self awerness to a very dangerous sport!

What other book might you compare No Shortcuts to the Top to and why?

Krakauer's Into Thin Air and Anitoli Bukriev's The Climb.

Narrator needs to learn pronunciation.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No. The book itself is good, audiobook notsomuch.

How could the performance have been better?

Narrator pronounced mountain names and climbers names incorrectly.

A thrilling Life

I loved the story, an amazing individual who did amazing things. If you like adventure, you'll love it. I completely disagree with the negative reviews that said he was self-indulgent I think everything he said sounds accurate even if it is somewhat self-serving at times ended in no way detracted from the quality of the book.

great triumph

Truly a great story, however the narrator in my opinion sucked. I do love Eds books though

Captivating

Many of the other reviews are concerned with the author being self-important and judging others, so I’ll address that first. I found this to be true particularly in the early chapters of the book, but things fall off quickly I feel when the book hits its rhythm. What many fail to understand about mountaineering is that questionable choices made on the mountain can have disastrous results for yourself and others. People can get away with these for a while, but it comes down to negligence at some point where those climbers are making it other people’s responsibility to rescue them. I find this commentary is actually quite helpful in framing the risk on the mountain as well as useful advice for others who spend time in the mountains. But I admit that at first it can have bad optics.

The real issue I had with the author was the constant objectification of women in the story. After every named female character is introduced, there is an immediate comment about how attractive she is, and often a vivid description of what their most attractive qualities are; especially if he ends up sleeping with her. He comments on many male characters, but there is a way he constantly talks about the women that feels off putting.

I think that these issues are products of their time, as the author is from an older generation than many of the readers. Once you get past these issues, there is a rich story about following dreams, responsibility, and humility. It is thought provoking and exceedingly captivating to follow. I find that the author respects the mountains, but reserves his respect for people who earn it. While he is more experienced a climber than I, I do think his assessment of personal risk to be lopsided. At one point, he claims that his chances of dying after climbing 20 Himalayan peaks to be less than 1%. While I do think that his statistic would be lower than others given his experience and training, 1% is delusional. He tries justifying this, but his response doesn’t account for his survival being over 99%. This leaves a feeling that he does think that he is better than other climbers and has a mastery of rescissions in the mountains that won’t be questioned, which is ironic as he talks about being humble in the same chapter.

Overall, the author gives an air of self-importance, but that belief may be required in order to even think of taking on all 14 8000 peaks. Once you get past these rough edges, this is truly a must-read for anyone that loves the mountains.

I’ve waited too long to listen to this

Just finished and I am shocked how long I let this sit on my wishlist. Great story, great narration, great climber