Customer Reviews

Himalayan Climber: A Lifetime's Quest to the World's Greater Ranges

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This is not a paperback. Nor is it a hard-cover. Rather, it is a coffee table book measuring 12" x 9.5". With this in mind, I can fully excuse Scott for filling 70% of most pages with stunning photos, and the rest with text. This is not "a read".

Not only does this volume aid in picking out lines on various large peaks, but it shows Scott as he truly is: an introspective hippie with a physique made for moutaineering. It stands to reason then, that Scott picks very hard and interesting lines on mountains all over the world, from snow and ice to big-walls, to high altitude.

If you are a mountaineer, you should have two books on your coffee table. This one, and Chris Bonington's "Mountaineer" in the same format. Then your friends might just understand why you climb.

As an avid reader of climbing books, I found this book to be written in an extremely boring style. The frightening overnight bivuac on the mountain is summarized in one sentence. The pictures are gorgeous, but if you want to feel like you are really on the mountain, read Addicted to Danger by Jim Wickwire or K2 by Jim Curran. Scott's book goes on the coffee table, but Krakaur goes on the bedside table. Scott is a great climber but a borrrrrring writer. Just my 2 cents.

Doug Scott was capable of taking me to a place I have never been before (for now). His writings skills may not be Hemmingway (nor mine), but in combination with the photographs, this book made my heart race with passion. My love for the mountains was established way before I read this book, but the book rekindled the flame. Unlike INTO THIN AIR's Jon Krakauer, Doug Scott is the superman of climbers. While you are reading, scenes appear, places with such beauty and excitement glare into your eyes and mind. Hey a picture is worth a thousand words. Doug Scott made this book a true LIFES adventure.

Experience the book and take a trip to the top of a mountain,

O

Doug Scott is known as a "pure, aesthetic" climber; he prefers a simple climb with a few friends, rather than a seige of 100 sherpas and 1000 oxygen bottles. He has also led an amazing life. Therefore, I really wanted to like this book.

The pictures are fantastic, but the problem with this book is Scott's writing. He is terrible at conveying what it really feels like to be way up in the freezing and isolated Himalaya, or hanging from a vertical rock.

A great writer like Jon Krakaur or Joe Simpson can spend pages explaining how their fingers were numb; their bladders were full, but it was too cold to do anything about it; the wind slammed the tent against their faces, etc., so you know what it really feels to spend a shivering night up in the mountains. In contrast, Scott will say, "and so we spent the night on the mountain and it was really cold. So, the next day......." The writing is cold [no pun intended], and rather boring.

For readers interesting in great mountaineering writing, I would recommend Into Thin Air by Jon Krakaur; Touching the Void by Joe Simpson and/or The Last Step by Rick Ridgeway, all well written. They cover less geographical ground than Scott, but they are all great reads.

This is very much a pictorial account of Doug Scott's long and impressive climbing career. The hundreds of photographs range from very good to spectacular, and benefit from the large format of the book. Not only are there fine shots from the Himalayas, but also from such far-flung areas as the Hindu Kush, the Cilo Dag mountains of Turkey, Chad, Baffin Island, and Australia. Wonderful as the photos are though, Himalayan Climber suffers from Scott's too brief and often bland descriptions of his climbs.

A wonderful book from a great mountaineer. One of the best I've come across in terms of visuals and layout. The writing is unadorned and accessible, and Doug Scott's experiences speak for themselves. A 'must' for anyone into mountaineering/mountain books.

Doug Scott is an icon on world climbing arena. This superb ilustrated book was an inspiring reading for the first to the yestarday reading. I am used to read it (or a part of it) at least once a month in the last 4 years. It is one ot the best climbing books I have ever read. The climb on Kangchenjunga North Face is the thing. Useless to say that I warmly recommend its reading.