2008-07-28 Another side of the story

Having read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, I read The Climb thinking that it would complete the picture and give me a balanced view of what happened on Everest in 1996, when storms hit a number of commercial expeditions resulting in the deaths of eight climbers. It did so to a degree, and the account by Boukreev the climb and of his rescue of three members of his expedition is certainly gripping, but there were aspects of this book that spoiled it a little for me. The most interesting part of the book is the first part, which describes the expedition and Boukreev's heroic rescue of three of his fellow climbers. The Mountain Madness debriefing transcript at the end is almost as interesting, but in a different way. In between these is sandwiched a lot of argument about Jon Krakauer's account and his criticisms of Boukreev. I found this irritating, distracting, unnecessary and undignified. The Climb is tilting at windmills here. After all, Krakauer is not unreservedly critical of Boukreev. He describes Boukreev's rescue efforts and gives him credit for them. He does also question the wisdom and motives of some of Boukreev's actions, but I think this fair enough; he wrote his account very soon after the events, and admits to the incompleteness of his knowledge. He is also critical of the Everest 'industry' in general, and most of all of himself.

The Climb is not such an engaging read as Into Thin Air. Perhaps this is because Boukreev was not a writer himself and his command of English was poor, so he had to collaborate with someone who could write, but who was not an eyewitness to the events. Krakauer has the advantage of being both a participant, an eyewitness and a good writer, so his account, while it may have gaps and inaccuracies, is much more compelling. It certainly gives one a greater feel for the atmosphere and the characters involved. If you want to read just one account of the events described in this book, then I would recommend Into Thin Air. You may then feel compelled to read The Climb for the sake of balance. This review seems rather more negative than I intended it to be, so let me finish on a positive note. The Climb tells a gripping story of true life drama, tragedy and heroism. You will want to know how it ends. Boukreev, although he describes himself as a 'difficult' person, comes across with great humanity, honesty and heroism.