The Summit

By: Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, Pat Falvey

Narrated by: Pat Falvey

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

On 1 August, 2008, 18 climbers from across the world reached the summit of K2, the world's second-highest and most dangerous mountain - a peak that claims the life of one in every four climbers who attempt it. Over the course of 28 hours K2 had exacted a deadly toll: 11 lives were lost in a series of catastrophic accidents.

Over the course of three days, a Nepalese Sherpa called Pemba Gyalje, along with five other Sherpas, was at the center of a series of attempts to rescue climbers who had become trapped in the Death Zone, unable to escape its clutches and debilitated by oxygen deprivation, chronic fatigue, delirium and a terrifying hopelessness.

The tragedy became a controversy as the survivors walked from the catastrophe on the mountain into an international media storm, in which countless different stories emerged, some contradictory and many simply untrue.

Based on Pemba Gyalje's eyewitness account and drawing on a series of interviews with the survivors which were conducted for the award-winning documentary The Summit.

The Summit: How Triumph Turned to Tragedy on K2's Deadliest Days is the most comprehensive interpretation of one of modern-day mountaineering's most controversial disasters.

©2014 Beyond Endurance Publishing (P)2014 Beyond Endurance Publishing

Summit Audio Review

Exciting book and well told but I prefer American narrator. Although narrator speaks well, he can't say his "th" in English words such as the word thought.

amazing

Glad I didn’t listen to reviews regarding narration. I would have missed a gripping story and fantastic perspective of this tragedy on K2. Highly recommend.

Not the Best Narrator

Great book about the K2 tragedy. However, the narrator had such a heavy accent that it detracted from the story. At times I had to rewind to try and figure out what he had said. I’ve never once complained about a narrator, it was a first for me to have to grind through the reading of what is a fascinating story.

Sad story well written and read

This was a well written and read story. It was interesting to learn about the complexities of coordinating multiple teams ascending K2, how things can go wrong, and the different reactions people have when they do.

Incredible story of endurance to survive!

This is an amazing story! Unbelievable what they all went through and the will to help others and to endure to save their own lives as well.

Moving story

This rendition of the events on K2 in 2008 was riveting. While I was at times distracted by the narration, it was not enough to detract from the story.

Good, unbiased account

My only hesitation in recommending this audiobook is the author/narrator’s strong Irish accent. This story needed a neutral voice. Imagine listening to a book like Kon Tiki read by a person with a deep Southern accent. It would be jarring, just as this narrator’s accent was. He also couldn’t pronounce the th sound, which, if I was simply conversing with him wouldn’t bother me at all. However, as the narrator of a story about climbing K-2 it became distracting and even annoying.

Thick accent

I enjoyed the book, but I really struggled to maintain a presence during the story. I suffered an inability to understand a great amount of the wiring due to the thick accent. That was a bummer

Great account of the 2008 K2 tragedy.

Really enjoyed the book and having the views and perspective of a Sherpa, rather than a westerner, for one. But the narration was tough. After two attempts at listening to the audio book, I gave up. And will finish it by reading the Kindle version instead.

Good book, narration wrecks it

The story is true and well written from a different perspective, if you read Buried in the Sky which is about the same expedition, this account gives some detail which is revealing. Overall I liked Buried in the Sky better and the author's decision to narrate this book just ruins it. He has a heavy Gaelic accent which is difficult to understand and doesn't go well with the overall feeling of the book. If you are a hardcore mountaineering book reader, this one will probably interest you, otherwise skip it.