Book SummaryThis book written with David Roberts, covers Viesturs quest to become the first U.S. climber to reach the top of all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks (peaks above 26,247 feet) without oxygen. It is also his biography as a world class climber although he did not originally set out to become one as you will find out.
"It's documentation," Viesturs says, "of what I did and how it all started. It's a book written for everybody, not just climbers. I wanted to tell some stories, give people some insight into why I did this, and how I did it. My intent was to be both informative and inspiring, to encourage readers to go seek out their own 'Annapurnas.'"
Of all the 14 highest mountains, it was Annapurna that gave Viesturs the most difficulty. He had made two attempts on the peak, notorious for it's objective danger. In both 2000 and 2002, he turned back in the face of unreasonable avalanche danger. Finally, in 2005, he and his longtime climbing partner, Veikka Gustafsson of Finland, reached the top of the dangerous peak.
"That mountain just never let up on us," Viesturs recalled. "It tested us on the way up, it tested our patience, and it tested us on the way down. The fact that an Italian climber was killed on the route just days after we left underscores that our caution was justified. It was a relief to finally summit Annapurna and come down alive. It was the fitting conclusion to a long quest, in fact in some ways climbing Annapurna symbolized the difficulties I faced climbing all the other peaks." (From a conversation with Ed Viesturs by Peter Potterfield, November 20th, 2006.)
Product DetailsPrice: $14.00
Paperback: 372 pages with black and white photos
Author: Ed Viesturs with David Roberts
Publisher: Broadway Books
Year Published: 2006, 2007
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-7679-2471-9
Includes: Ed Viesturs’ climbing resume, a decent glossary, and an index.
2007 edition complete with Epilogue detailing Veikka's success accomplishing all 14 highest peaks also and other items.
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Reviews
| silversummit | A must read! | | 
Voted 5/5 | As someone who now pants and puffs hiking my way up 10,000 foot peaks in nice weather I can’t imagine climbing cold mountains over 26,000 feet without supplemental oxygen. Ed has done that more than 14 times and with his wife managed to keep together a family and run a successful business. He writes in a simple, straight-forward style and with feeling; you can’t help but be drawn in as he describes having to decide between working as a veterinarian and climbing full-time. And we know which choice he made! Eminently readable and full of info about what it takes to climb high. | | Posted Oct 3, 2009 8:49 pm |
| icypeak | A very enjoyable read... | | 
Voted 5/5 | ..was hard to put down. | | Posted Oct 12, 2009 6:43 pm |
| stepho | an increadible book | | 
Voted 5/5 | I read this a couple of years and once I picked it up it I couldn't set it down. An excellent book of Viesturs incredible adventures. Very motivating book. | | Posted Nov 24, 2009 3:21 pm |
| alpinelight | Great climber Super author | | 
Voted 5/5 | Not to be missed. | | Posted Feb 10, 2010 3:02 pm |
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