Customer Reviews

Beyond the Mountain

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Just finished reading "Beyond the Mountain" by Steve House. His story of alpine climbing and the personal struggles and sacrifices associated with it are real, undiluted and eloquent. Not a handful of people can do what he does physically, much less use the profoundest of prose to lay bare the essence of what it is to be human. I have received many levels of inspiration by reading "Beyond the Mountain". A heartfelt thanks to Steve for sharing his story with the rest of us.

This is a book with broad appeal. Whether the reader is an alpinist who guides for a living, a weekend climber who can't put down a climbing magazine until it is read cover-to-cover, or an Everest enthusiast who never plans to climb a mountain, this tale is a winner. Steve manages to give us a feeling of being in the moment that other climbing literature only touches superficially. His honest reflection on the emotions and decisions he makes, while climbing out on the edge of what is possible, is a true gift to the reader. I look forward to the next book from a gifted writer. Perhaps after a successful climb on Makalu's West Face?

Unlike a lot of memoirs written (or should I say ghost-written) by accomplished athletes, Steve House's memoir isn't an exercise in ego. Almost the opposite is true. This book seems to be, as much as anything else, an exploration of the egolessness and humility that the mountains taught him over nearly three decades of pioneering climbing. There is little that is "extreme!" in this book and there is none of the self-aggrandizing daredeviltry that has come to dominate the American action sports scene a'la the X-Games. Most surprising about House's story is his candid admission that summiting some of the world's great peaks is frequently a disappointing experience, underlining the refrigerator magnet platitude that is true however trite it might seem: the beauty lies in the journey.

Just to pile on here... This book is a masterpiece. It does not tell the story of "a climb." It does not tell the story of an approach to climbing. It tells the story of a man who climbs, one of the world's best climbers, and that makes this book unique from my experience of reading mountaineering literature. It's not just a biography. It is a confession, of the fears, hopes, shortcomings, and hard work of being Steve House. This is truly a unique and enjoyable book!

There has never been an American alpinist like Steve House. Fortunately for us, he is not only a skilled athlete, pioneering new routes in a stripped-down style at the cutting edge of modern alpinism; he is also an excellent writer, who bares all in his book Beyond the Mountain in thoughtful prose that is as smooth as his climbing. House takes us along on his journey from novice climber, through punk mountain shredder, to reach the maturity that led to his landmark ascent of Nanga Parbat with his partner Vince Anderson, a climb that few would even contemplate much less complete in such grand style. House not only describes the skills he developed as he took on increasingly difficult objectives, the beauty of the high mountains, and the athletic experience of climbing big mountains by elegant lines, he also lays out with brutal frankness the toll in pain, the death of friends, lost relationships, and the "artistic aesthetic [that] holds suffering in high regard." Why do mountaineers climb? What makes them continue to climb when to do so inevitably leads to pain and loss? House has the insight and the talent as a writer to let us in and shed light on the answers to these questions. Seldom has any mountaineer confronted the territory beyond the mountains so honestly. I highly recommend this book, not only for those interested in the sport, but it is also a great story that the general reader will enjoy of courage, persistence and overcoming obstacles in a never ending quest for excellence.

I've read hundreds of books about mountaineering. This is top 3.

It's a unique glimpse into the mind and heart of one of the world's premier alpinists. Reading this book gives you a feel for what it is like to climb at a high level, and why Steve chooses to do it.

I got a chance to see Steve speak at Amazon when he dropped by for a slideshow and a talk about his book. He was humble enough in that discussion to just talk openly and straightforwardly about his climbs. I really had no idea at the time of his accomplishments, his high achievements in alpinism. I loved this book. It was a page turning gripping read, one of the best books I've read in a long time. Honest, haunting; an exposition on the triumphs and the costs of his pursuit. I especially liked his exploration of why he climbs and the tough answers that he admits he often doesn't have. Highly recommended.