Ed Viesturs may not be the most talented writer in the world, but his accomplishments more than make up for the lack of flowery language and stunning prose. Viesturs doesn't need stunning prose, he's stood atop the 14 most stunning vistas in the world. No Shortcuts to the Top details Viesturs quest to climb the world's 14 highest peaks, all without the use of supplemental oxygen. In doing so, he took on no shortage of personal risk, and I'm not just talking about the possible loss of life or limb that climbing these beasts necessarily entails - but personal sacrifice. Ed grew up in a middle class family in Rockford, IL, fell in love with the idea of climbing tall peaks after reading Herzog's account of the 1950 ascent of Annapurna, and so moved out west to pursue this hobby while completing undergrad and eventually going to vet school.Despite becoming a veterinarian with a job, Viesturs still felt pulled to the mountains. Unable to pursue both pursuits at the same time, he made a difficult choice - left the practice of vet medicine and focused on climbing full time. In the mean time, he lived in basements, worked construction and odd jobs - all to make his mountain climbing dreams a reality. It appears to be an endeavor he's suited for. Indeed, medical tests have found his lung capacity and oxygenation are above average, allowing him to climb these peaks without the assistance of bottled oxygen.No Shortcuts begins with Ed's most dangerous climb, his ascent of K2 in 1992, during which he ignored his instincts and continued with a summit bid even though the weather did not appear to be on his side. It's a story he details more thoroughly in his book about K2 (read that review here). However, that climb remained his touch stone as he later started to imagine being able to climb all 14 8000m peaks. It's why he failed to reach the summit twice on Annapurna before finally bagging the mountain in his final ascent of his Endeavor 8000 project. Meticulously committed to safety, Ed has been a reliable presence during other mountaineering disasters and a motivational speaker for corporations, sports organizations, and the general public. He manages to make one of the riskiest human endeavors seem doable (not by me, but probably by other people who like to push themselves to the limits of their physical and mental capacities). He also is a Rolex ambassador, because the dude is dope.
Ed painfully recalls the 1996 Everest disaster that claimed the lives of so many and has been so well chronicled in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air (review here) and the 2015 film, Everest. It's a tragedy that claimed the lives of his friends Scott Fischer and Rob Hall, both of whose bodies he had to pass just a few short days later on his way to the top of Everest. I'm certain this climbing 8000m mountains is not for me. But I'm glad someone like Ed Viesturs is around to share his triumphs and his preparation. Easily the greatest American climber of all time, Ed is known not just for his climbing feats, but also for being an all around likeable guy and selfless human being. He was willing and did give up several of his own summit bids to assist climbers in need. He's exactly the kind of athlete that inspires with both his skill and attitude.
4/5 Stars.
I knew once I read Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" (you can read that review here) that I would never have the desire to climb crazy high mountains. Don't get me wrong. I like mountains. I prefer them to oceans. I think they're beautiful. I want to ski down them. I want to watch the snow line move down them. I want to climb to the top of ones that I can get all the way up and down in a day. So the idea of spending a couple months for the right window to risk my life and limb to get to the top just isn't in my blood. But it is in Ed Viesturs blood. And you can tell in his writing that it always will be.
In K2, Viesturs details the many triumphs and tragedies that have taken place on the slopes of this beautiful and unforgiving mountain. Beginning with the most recent (to publication) 2008 tragedy and then going to the beginning and forward. It's good that Viesturs is coming from a place of knowledge in writing this. He can compare and contrast the equipment and tactics used by the various parties to discuss what went wrong and what might have gone wrong. All in all, it seems he's lucky to be alive, when so many others have tried to make it to the top of all 14 8000-ers and met their fate on one or the other. Viesturs closest call may have come on K2 and so he understands the dangers - obvious and hidden lurking on the mountain.
I'm going to pick up a copy of his "No Shortcuts to the Top" next, but I'll probably switch to the printed version (I listened to the audio version of this one) because I want to see all the pictures of these mountains I'll never have the courage or desire to see in person.
4/5 Stars.
NOTE: I found this review in my Goodreads profile from March 30, 2011. Having just finished K2 by Ed Viesturs (you can read that review here) I thought I should post this review for context on the blog.
I really enjoyed Krakauer's narrative voice in "Under the Banner of Heaven" and again I enjoyed it in "Into Thin Air." His tone is conversational and straightforward. I thought Banner was a slightly more polished book than Thin Air, but it was more a matter of seeing the writer developing his craft over time. One of the criticisms of Krakauer is that he jumps around in chronology in a way that can be confusing. I've never had that problem with him, but I noticed more in this story that he tended to jump around.
Some critics of the novel also claimed Krakauer was too hard on some people and too light on himself. While I never think Krakauer will get the proper journalistic distance from this subject matter that may be necessary to tell the story, I did find that he was more than willing to accept and note his own failings in the events leading up to the tragedy.
I don't believe I have any kind of perspective on whether or how to criticize any of the actions of the actors in this book. You can never really know what you would do, at high altitude, having not slept in over 48 hours. I think Krakauer does a wonderful job of identifying all the things that went wrong, and will continue to go wrong with the inherently dangerous business of climbing the world's highest peak. When ordinary people attempt to do the extraordinary, it is no wonder that failure can have such far rippling effects.
So many of the climbers on the mountain that day showed equally great feats of human strength, and human weakness.
4/5 Stars
