Dark Summit

The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season

By: Nick Heil

Narrated by: David Drummond

In early May 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall's death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter.

If David Sharp's death was shocking, it was not singular: despite unusually good weather, ten others died attempting to reach the summit that year.

In this meticulous inquiry into what went wrong, Nick Heil tells the full story of the deadliest year on Everest since the infamous season of 1996. He introduces Russell Brice, the outfitter who has done more than anyone to provide access to the summit via the mountain's north side---and who some believe was partially responsible for Sharp's death. As more climbers attempt the summit each year, Heil shows how increasingly risky expeditions and unscrupulous outfitters threaten to turn Everest into a deadly circus.

Written by an experienced climber and outdoor writer, Dark Summit is both a riveting account of a notorious climbing season and a troubling investigation into whether the pursuit of the ultimate mountaineering prize has spiraled out of control.

©2008 Nick Heil (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Here is humanity itself, personified in exemplary fashion by Nick Heil, addressing the Everest culture's lack of compassion and coming up with the right answers." (Bob Shacochis, author of The Immaculate Invasion)
Through rock-solid reporting and vital prose, Heil leads us up into this rarefied world, step by hypoxic step." (Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers)

Hard to follow

As a reader of all books Everest I felt could jump into this book with both feet but I was wrong. The author bounces from the 2006 tragedy to the 1996 tragedy and then back to the 1920s. His attempts to intertwine the history of finding Everest, measuring it, climbing it and dying on it falls flat on the listener. Anyone knows a book about Everest will contain a ton of charaters but its up to the author to make the book flow through to the end. Narration was fine but the book was lacking some "flow"

Good book in its genre. Well written and good research. I would recoomend this book to all armchair mountaineers

Good book in its genre. Well written and good research. I would recoomend this book to all armchair mountaineers

Excellent book!

Great book, narration was perfect; would purchase a hard copy to really read it and hopefully have some pictures. This book is definitely worth reading.

Great story

Great factual story and delivery. A very very interesting season on Everest & Very well told

An amazing story

I heard about this book while listening to the podcast "Macbreak Weekly" and am very glad that I listened. Prior to hearing this I knew nothing about mountain climbing or the history of Mount Everest for that matter.

The book is very well read and I did not find that the book dragged at any point. I would have liked a little more information on a few of the climbers, but that is a very minor complaint. I highly recommend this book and especially if you are like me who knew nothing of it before hand.