Customer Reviews

The Crystal Horizon: Everest-The First Solo Ascent

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great story, poorly translated, and bogs down in details you may not care about.

Reinhold Messner is clearly one of the great climbers of all time and maybe arguably the greatest. Having climbed all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters by himself without supplemental oxygen, this is the story of the tallest-Everest.

Like good fiction, the story has several dimensions that work together. The three basic themes include: · The story of the opening of Tibet · The story of climbing Everest · The story of a waiting love one

For the pure climbing enthusiast, much of this book is likely to be pretty boring. Approximately half the book is dedicated to the story of obtaining permission to climb Everest on the Tibetan side and his traveling through Tibet on his way to the mountain. Reinhold Messner has a deep love for Tibet and its people. For him this first trip through Tibet was as exciting as the assent of Everest. For someone less interested in this, the first half of the book is excruciating. Interwoven in this section is Messner's political agenda to free Tibet from Chinese domination.

The story of the actual climb is amazing. Undeniably one of the most amazing ascents ever, he climbed Mount Everest, alone, without supplemental oxygen, during the monsoon period! Obviously crazy, the accomplishment is undeniable. What was especially great is getting a sense of what it was like for him to make the climb, the obstacles he faced, and the nearly robotic drive to the top of the mountain. It is both inspiring and daunting. During the ascent, he finds himself in impossible positions like his having fallen into a crevasse or crack in the glacier. You know that he survives but you still find your self on the edge of your seat in total suspense. It was difficult to put the book down during this part of the book.

Throughout the story there are excerpts from the diary of his girlfriend. For the most part, I found this annoying and did not want to hear her story. At the same time, it was interesting to have the perspective of the loved ones who wait at the bottom to see if you come home. It certainly is hard for anyone who cares. At the same time, those climbing the mountain give the mountain everything and emotionally, mentally, or physically there is nothing left. Undoubtedly this is a major reason for Messner's previous divorce. While mountain climbing may be the art of suffering, this element of the book shows that it is also a part of the lives of the climber's loved ones.

The worst part of the book is the writing. I am not sure if it is on the part of bad English by Reinhold Messner or poor translation by an editor. In either case, those familiar with working with the Germans will recognize the sometimes-strange sentence structure, phases that do not make sense, and the occasional struggle to figure out what the heck he is trying to say. I look forward to my German improving so that I can read the book in German.

All in all, an amazing story and is well worth the time to read it. The reader that is able to skim through uninteresting parts will enjoy the book more. Otherwise it requires some amount of dedication to power through the parts that are of disinterest.

this guy, Reinhold Messner, is at least one standard deviation beyond the world's greatest mountain climbers. he climbed everest solo and in the alpine style: not relying on any artificial means such as bottled oxygen, or assistance from Sherpas or even a climbing partner. it was the first solo ascent of the highest mountain "by fair means". note: Reinhold Messner was also the first to climb everest without oxygen, with his climbing partner, Peter Habeler, previous to this solo ascent. it was such an incredible feat at the time that many people frankly doubted it. the man is physically gifted, has tremendous will, and the courage to attempt not just an act that had never been done, but one that most experts believed was impossible. he was a visionary. and, he made his attempt from the tibetan side, which is the more difficult route. plus, he was also not getting along with his girlfriend at the time which may or may not have made it easier. his literary talents are passable, but that's not important. most important is content. he comes across as genuine, and gives the reader biographical glimpses of his personality which opens him up to petty criticism from sources whose main accomplishments probably have been reading books. this man is a purist and a rare genius of extreme climbing whose unparalled feats of mountaineering did not receive adequate recognition. so be it. let history be the final judge of his deeds. he will come out on top.

This book demonstrates that Reinhold is not a master of the writing craft even though he knows a lot about mountain climbing and other extreme adventures. The writing (or at least the translation) is wooden -- compare these books to those of Joe Simpson or Greg Childs. Still, there was much that was interesting in this book and many good photographs. Some of the details on the journey to Everest through Tibet were intriguing. All in all, this book deserves three stars and would be worthwhile recommending to someone who really enjoys mountaineering.

This book tells the story of one of the greatest feats in high-altitude climbing history. It also tells the story of a human being coping with relationships and society in his own way. In my opinion this gives an interesting perspective to his great achievement (this is actually something I look for in all the climbingbooks I read, so far about 25). Together with his views on the politics in Tibet, this becomes a very interesting book. The writing isn't the greatest in the world, but considering the fact that this is a translation, it's not bad either.

I could not say anything less then that Reinhold Messner's "The Crystal Horizon" is a great book. It is not a usual climber's book, but rather a strange mix of history, politics, religion, geography, meteorology, personal history and world views of the man who is beyond doubt the greatest living mountaineer. The book deals with the first solo accent of Mnt. Everest, accomplished during the monsoon season. It is ravenously illustrated and photographed. It is an exciting adventure. It is a riot and a sad story of a man who escapes to the mountain to find peace. It is well worth you time.

One should forgive Messner (or rather his translator) some awkward sentence structures, punctuated by the action and verbal phrases put at the end of sentence, and quite frequent exercises in the obscure mix of native religion, Buddhist witticisms and Central European Christianity. I do however, applaud the honesty and occasional beauty of those philosophical excesses, particularly when he talks about feeling akin to Sisyphus when climbing and when he exhibits the diary entries of his girlfriend which does not always portrays him in the best light possible.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot.

This was a fantastic book. Having read at least a dozen other books on Everest and K2 it was nice to read a book that filled me in on the local people and cultures of the Himalaya region. Not only does Messner give a exciting detailed description of his solo climb of the worlds highest mountain(from the north side),but he also gives you knowledge of Tibet and the changes it has been through since the vicious Chinese takeover.Other people may feel that Messner "whines" about his stature as a mountainer, but I feel these are just examples of a person who is uncomfortable with our society simply being misunderstood. Messner is one of the worlds most prolific mountaineers,and deserves more respect thean the other reviews here give him. A fantastic book and highly recomended. Great pictures too!

This ought to be a great book. The first man to climb Everest without oxygen from the North at the height of the monsoon season. Messner was about to do solo, without any form of support whatsoever beyond advanced base camp.

But it's not as exciting as it sounds. If you want to finish this book without falling asleep or giving up halfway, you'd need to do a lot of skipping. Messner bores us with too many details, quoting chunks from publications, his mother and his girlfriends. It's really very badly edited and there are way too many "subplots" that only serve to disrupt the reader's flow of thoughts.

Skip through all the boring stuff, concentrate on his actual description of the climb, how he arrived at the conclusion that Mallory never reached the summit while climbing between the First and Second Step and how he finally struggled his way to the misty summit. It's actually quite a good read, but leave the rest of the story out.

This book should have been so perfect. It details Reinhold Messner's successful attempt to become the first man to climb Everest solo and without supplemental oxygen. What should have been so perfect, however, falls far short of the mark. Messner's writing style is just ho-hum, but I could have lived with that. What really makes this book a less-than-wonderful read is the fact that Messner complains about trivial and/or personal problems all the way through. He can't deal with fame. Well, I think if you ask 99% of the world who he is, they won't know. He was having trouble with his girlfriend. Who cares? Certainly not the readers of this book who bought it to learn of Messner's thoughts about Everest and his climb. Certainly not even Messner--anymore, so why immortalize the fights in this book? Reinhold Messner is still the world's premier alpinist and as such, this book offers a unique look at a very skilled man. The photos alone make it well worth the time and money.

This book is truly a mountaineering masterpiece, but it might not seem so to those unaccustomed to Messner's writing style. Much appears to be lost in the translation to any English first-time reader. But I've read nearly all of his books and have learned how to soak it all in. Hidden in the sometimes laborious writings are crystal-clear windows into Reinhold's experiences and thoughts. His solo, oxygenless ascent is generally considered one of the most impressive events in mountaineering history. Considering that the ascent was undertaken during the monsoon makes it all that much more incredible.

I agree that Messner's not a writer, but he has done an amazing job of opening up this trip and inviting the reader in. The machinations with the Chinese government, the permit hassle, the race to beat the other climber who wanted to try it, the Trek through Tibet to base camp - all of this shows the experience that he had. I'd suggest to those who say "he should have told more of this and less of that" that he told it perfectly, as what he told was HIS experience of the climb, which for him was the entire experience, from the planning to the paper hassle all the way to the top and back. I love the photographs as well; the very fact that they're not professional makes it seem more immediate - well, THIS is what he was interested enough to photograph. The spirit that performed this admittedly lunatic act is the spirit that took the first fire, that first took a boat past view of land, that crossed the Pacific in canoes, that brought the Spanish Explorers to the New World, that put a man on the moon. The final touch is the contrast between his writing and his girlfriend's diary entries, especially once they get to base camp. He portrays the inner life of a completely obsessed person, while she described how he appears to others. The contrast between her very conventional thinking and feeling and his single-mindedness is fascinating. I remember thinking how brave he was to let himself be portrayed the way he comes across in this book, then it occured to me that cowardice is probably not one of Messner's faults! At times, I almost felt I understood what it's like to live in that clean, cold, hard mind of no fear. I thank him for sharing himself.