One Mountain Thousand Summits

It surprises me how much I like to read about mountaineers and mountain climbing.  About every six months I pick up a book on some disaster or story that seems so gripping...well, they have all been gripping.  One Mountain Thousand Summits has a subtitle: The untold story of tragedy and true heroism on K2.  I was sucked into the story right away.  Written by Freddie Wilkinson, a mountaineer in his own right, this book chronicles the 2008 K2 summer season and the deadly disaster that occurred there. 

The book is written in three parts and can be confusing occasionally.  Timing and knowing the people who are involved in different places is especially confusing.  But it really is worth the confusing parts to read of the true heroism parts.  The book contains a fascinating history of early mountaineering and the "discovery" of K2 and other mountains.  It contains an equally fascinating comparison between K2 and Everest.

As I read this narrative I felt that I was there.  I felt the confusion and the triumph and the desperation of the climbers.  Here is a quote from the end of part one:

"Even among those climbers closest to the event-those who had been on the mountain or in base camp and watched as the chaos engulfed their friends and teammates-there was no final understanding as to what had happened (p. 114)." 

That's how I felt too, as I got to that part.  Parts two and three follow the author as he tries to find people who were there, get them to talk about their experience and try to piece together what actually happened.  Shrouded slightly in mystery, you can follow the trail with the author as he meets and interviews the mountaineers and their climbing Sherpas and Bhotes to find out what truly happened. 

As I recall there is some language but not much.  Enjoy!