No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 [Hardcover]

Graham Bowley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 2010

In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, journalist Graham Bowley re-creates one of the most dramatic tales of death and survival in mountaineering history, vividly taking readers through the tragic 2008 K2 ascent that claimed the lives of eleven climbers, severely injured two others, and made headlines around the world.

With its near-perfect pyramid shape, the 28,251-foot K2—the world's second-highest mountain, some 800 feet shorter than the legendary Everest hundreds of miles to the south—has lured serious climbers for decades. In 2008, near the end of a brief climbing season cut even shorter by bad weather, no fewer than ten international teams—some experienced, others less prepared—crowded the mountain's dangerous slopes with their Sherpas and porters, waiting to ascend.

Finally, on August 1, they were able to set off. But hindered by poor judgment, lack of equipment, and overcrowded conditions, the last group did not summit until nearly 8 p.m., hours later than planned. Then disaster struck when a huge ice chunk from above the Bottleneck, a deadly 300-foot avalanche-prone gulley just below the summit, came loose and destroyed the fixed guide ropes. More than a dozen climbers and porters still above the Bottleneck—many without oxygen and some with no headlamps—faced the near impossibility of descending in the blackness with no guideline and no protection. Over the course of the chaotic night, some would miraculously make it back. Others would not.

Based on in-depth interviews with surviving climbers and many Sherpas, porters, and family and friends of the deceased, No Way Down reveals for the first time the full dimensions of this harrowing drama.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bowley relies on a copious study of the events and interviews with survivors and families to artfully and assiduously piece together an account of a fractious day in brutal real time. Fatality by fatality.” (Holly Morris, New York Times Book Review )

“Unputdownable.... A portrait of extreme courage, folly and loss, leavened by a small dose of survival, as complete a version of the calamitous story as will probably ever emerge. . . . [A] step-by-faltering-step recreation of the thin-air fight to survive, bristling with cinematic immediacy.” (Justin Marozzi, Financial Times )

“Brisk and engrossing. . . . Mr. Bowley reveals a deep sympathy for his characters and their quest. . . . Entertaining.” (Michael J. Ybarra, Wall Street Journal )

“[A] fascinating tour de force…. Bowley wove his tale together after hundreds of interviews with dozens of people, and the result is a triumph of storytelling.” (Malcolm Ritter, Associated Press )

“A page-turning, utterly fresh take on the mountaineering experience, an Into Thin Air for a new century.” (Doug Stanton, author of Horse Soldiers )

“A compelling narrative from interviews with most of the survivors. . . . The most complete report of the tragedy to date.” (Grayson Schaffer, Outside magazine )

“Both a gripping read and a clear-eyed investigation, No Way Down provides a compelling education in the game of climbing on the world’s highest mountains to readers who have never tied into a rope, and is an essential addition to any mountaineer’s bookshelf.” (Michael Kodas, author of High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed )

“Bowley takes readers right onto the mountain…. As avalanches shear away ropes, darkness falls and rescue attempts succeed and fail, the book becomes impossible to put down….. The vivid story will captivate readers. No Way Down doesn’t just tell a harrowing adventure story-it will also make you think.” (BookPage )

“The most comprehensive account of the mystifying chain of events leading to the catastrophe that we shall ever have. It’s a gripping story, full of hope and heartbreak, folly and heroism.” (David Roberts, co-author with Ed Viesturs of K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain )

“Through dogged reporting and vivid storytelling, Graham Bowley reconstructs K2’s 2008 climbing season, one of the most disastrous in history. I read this book in a single, sweaty-palmed sitting, and not because I intended to. I simply couldn’t put it down.” (Nick Heil, author of Dark Summit )

“A fascinating account that does justice to the history, allure and heartache of K2.” (Kurt Diemberger, author of The Endless Knot )

“Riveting and powerful; an extraordinary story of an extraordinary tragedy. Reading No Way Down is the closest you can come to being on the summit of K2 on that fateful day.” (Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Explorer and Author )

“Graham Bowley’s No Way Down does a great job of putting you on the mountain. It is a refreshingly unadorned account of the true brutality of climbing K2, where heroes emerge and egos are stripped down, and the only thing achieving immortality is the cold ruthless mountain.” (Norman Ollestad, author of Crazy for the Storm )

“An astonishingly dramatic and sad tale of disaster on K2. Bowley expertly puts together the complex story of what happened as eleven people died high on the summit slopes of K2 in August 2008.” (Joe Simpson, author of Touching the Void )

“Harrowing.” (Jan Gardner, Boston Globe )

“Harrowing. . . . Bowley is an intrepid journalist and gifted storyteller. . . . Thrilling and wrenching. (Kirkus Reviews )

About the Author

Graham Bowley is a reporter for the New York Times. He grew up in England and lives in New York with his wife and three children.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (June 29, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061834785
• ISBN-13: 978-0061834783
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not comprehensive, July 17, 2010

By 

S. Robertson (Tucson, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This book is about the events of August 1-4, 2008 on K2. The author interviewed most or all of the other people on the mountain and produced this narrative by assembling and reconciling their accounts.

The story is told almost entirely through their eyes. The result is a interesting and absorbing book but not one that draws conclusions. For example, no one actually saw the icefall that caused the tragedy and so it is never really described; the reader is allowed to piece together what happened based on some basic information about ice formations and on what the witnesses did see or hear. And no blame is cast but those of us whose climbing experience consists of reading books about it are left to spot what seem to be common problems -- delays going up, weak individual climbers, questionably-set ropes.

The epilogue reveals that the author did ask his interviewees about blame, so perhaps they did not adequately agree or perhaps an editorial decision was made that that information did not fit this sort of point-of-view storytelling. The epilogue also frankly acknowledges that others have put the evidence together differently; their versions put some individuals in a better light but do not basically change what happened.

The book's scope is limited to what happened to certain people at a particular time near the top of the mountain. It is not for those more interested in a comprehensive review of what went before, or of what went wrong, or of K2 mountaineering in general.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling Reality, July 5, 2010

By 

Paul Mark Provencher "ppro" (Morgantown, WV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I have always been fascinated by stories of mountain climbing. And I have always been afraid of falling from great heights. So for me a life that included technical climbing was never in the cards.

Notwithstanding, I enjoy a connection with the outdoors and love all seasons. I love the stark beauty of extreme weather and high places. This story teaches us a little about those people who are willing to chance their life to reach the worlds most extreme environments and extreme elevations. For me it is one of the only ways I will ever experience places like K2.

The story takes us through the final stages of ascent to the summit and return trip down. A number of individuals are described and their individual personalities are revealed, though at times it's a little difficult to keep them all straight.

But the account of the final climb to the summit was so compelling to me that I found it hard to put this book down. The author managed to make me feel cold, feel the fear of falling off the mountain. I could imagine the desolation, desperation and dispair that the people must have felt, and even the elation of achieving the goal of reaching the summit.

One thing this story made clear for me was that reaching the summit of a peak like K2 really is just one part of the whole picture. Getting back down in one piece is quite another. In this story we are taken into the expedition and learn in detail the many ways the return trip can go wrong in the blink of an eye.

As a result of reading this story I will never again see my own outdoor exploits as anything even remotely approaching the "extreme". An assault on K2 ranks right up there with trying to reach the moon.

I liked the author's self-revealing introduction where he admits his almost total lack of prior experience with the world of mountain climbing, and at the end of the book the great detail he shares about how the book was written, based on interviews, historical and expedition accounts published by others. All this really helped put the account into perspective and enriches the basis of the story.

I would have liked to have seen some illustrations showing the layout of the landmarks in the story, and the routes taken by the climbing teams. Not familiar with K2 it was a little hard to put the proportion of the climb into perspective.

The part of the story before the teams reached the fourth camp is also a bit thin, leaving out perhaps a lot of mundane information, but I suspect that climbing up to the last camp was itself no easy feat and must have had some interesting elements to be told, for certainly many who reached the last camp did not attempt the summit.

Overall I found this a very satisfying read, even to the point of making me feel a little like wishing I was young enough to learn to climb, overcome my fears, and only then consider an expedition of a lifetime (literally) like this.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another and better perspective ., August 16, 2010

By 

Gerald R. Adams - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 (Hardcover)

Everyone who found "No Way Down" interesting should also read "One Mountain Thousand Summits " by Freddie Wilkinson for further insight into the events at K2 in August 2008 . While Graham Bowley's "No Way Down" contains a very helpful chronology and is an admirable attempt at presenting a balanced view of the participants ,his obvious ignorance of climbing simply hampered his ability to tell the whole story . Freddie Wilkinson is an experienced climber and because of that is much more able to understand and communicate the signifcance of the events and how Himalayan climbing has evolved to the point that a disaster like K2 in August 2008 could happen in the first place . That is why Jon Krakauer in "Into Thin Air" was able to interest the non-climbing public in a way non-climbing authors couldn't . I'm glad I read Mr. Bowley's book first but found that it left too many unanswered questions about too many things .