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

Boukreev was true hero on Everest. You will appreciate this through this account.

I read John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air before and felt that his portrayal of Boukreev was unjust. This is a critical read to better understand the full picture of a very complex situation in an incredibly difficult and dangerous place. In my eyes, Boukreev was a hero.

A classic

This book is a great mountaineering classic. It shares Anatoli's true story of what happened on Everest in 1996, unlike other stories that have surfaced (like Into Thin Air). It is honnest, and it helps understand what happened without blaming anybody and staying humble (once again, unlike Into Thin Air).

Must Read!

Interesting and entertaining, I've listened twice now. Must read to get full perspective of 1996 disaster. Much more believable account than that of 'Into Thin Air.' Boukreev should be remembered as a hero.

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.

Bedtime Story

This is a great account of this event but so much like a textbook, and the narrator's quiet monotone will lull you to sleep.

Excellent read. Good/fair account of events.

I throughly enjoyed the simplicity, style, unbiased, and factual re-telling of Anatoli's experience on Everest in the spring of 1996. Personally, I much prefer Anatoli's book to the judgmental, emotional, selfish and biased account of Krakauer in "Into Thin Air". I do love and quickly devoured both books.

Clearer version of the events of Everest Tragedy

This book explains Anatoli’s version of the tragic events that took the lives of Fischer and Hall and several others on Everest. Why climb magazine would not publish Anatoli’s letter is beyond me. The popularity of Jon Krakauer? Not sure. I’ve read three books on the events and it seems few were really ready for this climb.