Beyond the Mountain [Hardcover]

Steve House (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Winner of the 2009 Boardman Tasker Prize for mountain literature and the Banff Mountain Literature Award! What does it take to be one of the world's best high-altitude mountain climbers? It takes raising funds for an expedition, negotiating some of the world's most dangerous countries, suffering freezing-cold bivouacs and enduring the discomforts of high altitude. It also means learning the hard lessons the mountains teach. This book explores those lessons. He has been dubbed by Reinhold Messner as "the best high-altitude climber in the world today." Steve House's story chronicles his experiences in the worlds highest mountains, each chapter revealing a different aspect of mountaineering.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

 

"[Beyond the Mountain is] a rare and profoundly personal glimpse of the drive, dedication and focus behind today's light-and-fast ascents." --Michael Kennedy, editor-in-chief, Alpinist

“House's Beyond the Mountain is raw, funny, and tragic, but never forced. Above all else, this is a story of goals fueled by energy, rewards, and triumphs meshed with soul-baring confession.” –The Daily Camera

 Winner of the 2009 Boardman Tasker Prize for mountain literature

Winner of the 2009 Banff Mountain Literature " Best Book" Award

 

About the Author

Steve House, along with Vince Anderson, pioneered a new direct route on the Rupal Face of Pakistan's 8,126-meter Nanga Parbat. He also spends time pursuing climbs in the Alaska Range, the Canadian Rockies, and the European Alps. Steve has been particularly prolific in the Canadian Rockies in recent years, having opened big new routes on many of the major faces in the range including: Robson’s Emperor Face, the North Face of Mount Alberta, the North Face of North Twin, the East Face of Howse Peak, and the East Face of Mount Fay. He has worked as a Patagonia alpine ambassador since 1999. Now an independent guide, he has guided for Exum Mountain Guides, the American Alpine Institute, and North Cascades Mountain Guides. Raised in La Grande, House now is based in Central Oregon, near Bend.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 285 pages
• Publisher: Patagonia Inc.; First Edition edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097906595X
• ISBN-13: 978-0979065958
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #263,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding Beauty in Pain, Partnership, and Purpose, October 17, 2009

By 

Tim Ternstrom (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beyond the Mountain (Hardcover)

When most of the accomplishments in mountaineering are so summit oriented, alloyed with sponsorship and even reality TV, how can you not be pleased to read the account of someone whose accompishments are purity of the opposite? The value of the climb, the route, and the unique experience of successful climbing partnership are lost to all except the climber. Steve House brings this all back to its proper value and vividly in his own words. This book is an act of Alpine art in itself. No Sherpa support, no supplemental oxygen, only minimal equipment, and nothing left on the mountain!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, October 16, 2009

By 

Brad S. Williams (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beyond the Mountain (Hardcover)

In Beyond the Mountain, Steve skillfully plots his career with a series of truly amazing stories. Mostly we are treated to gripping descriptions of climbing at the edge of human ability, in which his relentless drive risks his life for reasons he struggles to identify. But there are also understated love stories here -- not of romance, but of the partners and others who have meant the most to him personally in his vertical pursuits. Steve seems to have put all of himself into this work, writing with a psychological honesty that is uncommon, reliving for us his victories and moments of clarity, but also his intense inner struggles with the desire to succeed and the fear of failure, the love of the sport and the crushing despair over fallen friends, the will to risk everything and the nagging question of why he does this given the intense personal costs. It is because of his brutal honesty, with others but mostly with himself, that what Steve gives us here is truly a gift, a glimpse into another man's soul, so that ironically this biography of the uber-athlete is the story of Everyman. You will start to read it because it is the must-read of the year for everyone who has ever felt the thrill of going on belay, but you will blast through it and then dwell on it for days because Steve has not tried to oversimplify or falsely dramatize or glorify, but only to describe his lifelong quest to answer with his body the fundamental question of how one should find meaning and fulfillment.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars compelling, honest, October 21, 2009

By 

Mark E. Postle (East Terrebonne, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beyond the Mountain (Hardcover)

Beyond the Mountain is a must read for anyone interested in alpinism and the motivations and sacrifices of those who practice it at its highest levels. Steve House obviously went through a lot of soul searching to write this account of his career to date leading up to his successful ascent of Nanga Parbat. The result comes off as an honest and heart felt tale which is a pleasure to read and left this reader with as many questions about personal motivation and accomplishment as it did provide answers. Highly recommended.