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2. Thus, if you don't know anything about Ed Viesturs and want to read a great mountaineering book, then you might want to skip this. Thus, I like many Washingtonians, have admired Ed Viesturs for many years. Sorry, this is a book review and this book is not a well written book. 1.
The great biographical books delve into things unknown by most people, ie the inner workings of the person, relationship data etc. What distinguishes a decent biographical book vs a great biographical book is not just a cut and paste account of what happened / where / when etc. 3. However, as again--> this is a book review. is certainly extraordinary, the book itself, the way it is written, the narrative is basically. A final tangential thought that just came me: many folks would say that I'm being a bit too critical in regards to this book, especially since it is an autobiography. Although what Ed has accomplished, the type of person he is etc. 4.
I lived in Washington for many years and spent most of my free time hiking in Mt Rainier. On the otherhand, if you admire Ed and want to learn more about him, then it's well worth the read. An example of what I'm talking about is exemplified by Lou Whittaker's Autobiography (another world class mountaineer from Washington)--> which reads as a more honest, personal, autobiography. So what's up with my title assessment of this book. ordinary.
Lafaille on an earlier Annapurna attempt, which is described at greater length in Lafaille's book "Prisionero del Annapurna" - unfortunately the book is in French, this is an account that desperately needs to be translated to English. Lafaille endured a self-rescue as harrowing and desperate as Joe Simpson's in Touching The Void, if not more so given the extremity of the terrain. Viesturs is honest, polite (almost to a fault :), humble and amazingly experienced. It has been translated to German, but my mastery of either language is pitifully inadequate. After reading about Viesturs' climb with Lafaille on Annapurna, I find that Lafaille is a climber I would much like to learn more about. That experience is tempered with an uncommon degree of caution and willingness to compromise in the interest of safety - this is how climbing should be done. His account of the 1996 Everest calamity is moving, largely because of his close ties to some of the victims.Viesturs also briefly describes the trials encountered by J.C.
His brief love-affairs with women who have since passed away probably don't have a place here. Having read several climbing/mountaineering books this is a very inspiring story and interesting as Ed answers some questions such as how to pee on a mountain.however, I have enjoyed some other books more, notably Mountain Madness and Into Thin Air. Ed has accomplished quite a bit but there are moments reading the book where he is condescending and/or pretentious which diminishes his star-like quality.
It's an inspiring story that reminds us it's ok to dream, but it's better if we work to make those dream reality. "No Shortcuts to the Top" tells the tale of a man living his dream and pursuing his goals with diligence, focus and intelligence. At times, I actually shivered from reading about the subzero temperatures he experienced and felt dizzy with vertigo when he described the steep inclines.
He was only the 6th person in the world to accomplish this feat without the aid of supplemental oxygen. As a result, unlike many moutaineers, Viesturs never suffered frost-bite, never had to be rescued, and most importantly he lived to tell the tale. A few years ago, Ed Viesturs became the first American to climb 14 tallest mountains in the world, all of them over 8,000 meters high.
This book allows you to enjoy the ride to heights of the earth from the comfort of a warm easy chair." Visteurs and his co-writer bring the mountains to life. A step at a time, we can all climb summit our peaks and achieve great things. In this book, he recounts his journey and the lessons he learned during the 18 years he was pursuing this goal.
While his task was terribly dangerous, Viesturs benefited from trusting his gut and not being afraid to turn back and regroup when conditions were outside of his acceptable risk.
This accomplish is amazing on all facets because of the danger that is involved in climbing these peaks. Every day I am reminded of the beauty of the mountains living in Castle Rock, Colorado. These mountains are all over 26,000 feet. The book also inspires people to accomplish their personal goals in life, whatever that goal is it can be summited.
I enjoyed the book so much that now I am motivated to climb a 14,000 feet mountains, the biggest ones in Colorado. The mountain is Pike's Peak. This was one of the best books that I have read recently. He learned a valuable lesson that day.
The book chronicles his journey up and down the Goliath mountains. He was a smart climber, never going beyond his limits, except one frightful time on K2. During some surfing on Amazon.com, I ran across this book about climbing the 14 highestmountains in the world. Every mountain has a story and a lot of the mountains tell cruel stories of death and destruction, but through the narrative Ed continues to continue.
The story is interesting and excellent. The man who accomplished this task is Ed Viesturs, who was the first American to ever complete the goal. The book is an excellent read that causes the pages to be pushed forward at a rapid pace.
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