Customer Reviews

No Way Down: Life and Death on K2

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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 .

This is a reasonably well-written, information-filled book. However, I have read other mountaineering related books that are better, such as "Into Thin Air".

There is really nothing wrong with the book, but I just didn't find it as good as other similar books. Also, while I hate to see anyone die, I find it hard to feel sympathy for some of these people who really shouldn't be on a mountain to begin with or who do things that aren't real smart while they are there.

If I had to pick just one mountain-disaster book, it would not be this one. However, if you want to learn what happened during this particular 2008 K2 disaster, this book is very good at describing the people and events that transpired. In fact, it is very, very good at giving the reader a picture of who did what and what happened when.

However, in the end, I think this is just an average book that I thought was informative but not really all that interesting.

Graham Bowley was given an epic task. He had a fascinating story to tell but one which has essentially been told by Into Thin Air. I do believe the story has tremendous potential but Bowley is so sparse in his telling of it that he leaves no room for us to fully understand which team consisted of which members and who was important and why. Furthermore, it was very difficult to determine which person was dying at which point and I often found that as a result of the confusing narrative, I had to switch back and forth between pages to try and keep pace.

Sadly this is a weak story which is a shame because the incident in question is quite gripping and I find myself getting more and more distressed with how weak and disorganized the writing is on this book. All in all, I would recommend passing on this book and reading Into Thin Air to see how a truly epic book is written.

After reading "Into Thin Air" I've read a lot of climbing stories and while this wasn't the worst of the lot, it isn't the best either. I would imagine that this is due to the fact that the author has never climbed nor was he a part of the events as they unfolded. There's many inaccuracies in the story including one where he says that one of the hikers knew that he saw another hiker in an avalanche because he saw his yellow snowsuit in the midst of all of the ice. Later on, it's stated that he wasn't wearing yellow. Things like that detract from the story as well as going back and forth between the story of the climb in 2008 and stories of past climbs. Once you get into the story, you don't want to read about other failed attempts. In my opinion, those would have been best at the beginning to set up the story, not interwoven throughout.

I have read just about every book in the "mountain disaster" genre.

Here are my problems with this book:

* The quality of the writing is poor.

* The author launches right in to the climb itself with almost no preliminaries about the personalities involved in the tragedy, their character strengths, weaknesses, quirks, motivations, histories, ties, rivalries. So, I did not feel invested in the characters, or "pulled in" the way I have been by other books.

* The author admits he had no prior interest in mountaineering, and it really shows. His lack of *expertise* does not bother me so much as his almost total nonchalance! He writes as if he wanted to just dive into this story and get it overwith and off his back as soon as possible.

I bumped this book from one stars up to two, based on the fact that the reporting seems to be unbiased. Good journalistic integrity.

But don't spend your money on this one, when there are so many fantastic alternatives for your reading pleasure! Here are just a few of the best:

Savage Summit (also about k2)
Touching the Void
Eiger Dreams
Annapurna - A Woman's Place
No Shortcuts to the Top
The Climb

Generally I don't mention anything about myself when composing a review. I will offer some information in this case since it is pertinent to understanding my perspective on the book.

I climbed for about a decade in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest. My most comfortable level of climbing would be called "intermediate". For example, on Mt. Hood I enjoyed The Cooper Spur and Sunshine routes a great deal even in tough conditions. I made a number of "advanced" ascents such as, on "Hood" the North Face Direct and Sandy Headwall. These were within my mental and physical abilities but I was very uncomfortable with the objective danger ( danger that cannot be eliminated....exposure to it can only be minimized ).

On these routes and many others I faced very steep snow and ice, mixed steep rock and ice, crevasse and avalanche danger. Some climbs went for as long as 18 hours nonstop. You might think this is bragging or self aggrandizement. No. That's not my point. I found my limit and stayed within it. It was "not worth" the additional risk doing advanced climbs. It's a motivation thing. Very few people actually enjoy being in mortal peril second by second for hour after hour. Some do but not many.

To the book: It meets it's objective 100%. It describes the particular circumstances leading to multiple failures of climbing practice and decision making plus other human factors that led to the large loss of life. It spoke directly to me, as a climber, reminding me of things I'd seen happen in the mountains. Three things kill people up high: 1/ Objective risks such as rock fall or avalanche, 2/ Weather, 3/ Human error to include group dynamics.

This is a five star book for any climber. But, the thing is, a climber can fill in the many gaps and , indeed, huge chasms in the narrative. The non climber may fail to see these gaps or only grasp them in a fleeting manner. I cannot know how I would rate this book without my climbing experience. I believe I'd finish it with only a dim hint of how truly bad conditions were and how what truly bad decisions were made by individual climbers and groups.



I knew many people who did "big high altitude" climbs such as Denali ( Mount Mckinley ) the Himal, and Andes etc. I knew I'd never enjoy it. Almost all climbing is , or should be, more like a military campaign than recreation. I eventually stopped because I wanted to smell the flowers and take a few photos. The constant "push" got old. I had opportunities to join high altitude climbs but chose to pass. It's called self knowledge. It's a good thing.

So,for the non climber my rating would be ( guessing now ) also a five star. It will please a naive reader as well. My advice to non climbers would be to read another book about K2 and/or other books about mountaineering if you wish to fully grasp this rather compact book.

In truth I respect the author's effort a great deal. That someone living in a place like New York City could accomplish this narrative says a lot about his ability to gather information and experiences and learn from them. I respect him as well for making the trek to base camp. He risked his life doing this. I suspect he'd tell you it was worth it. What "it" is may be another matter tough to define.

Specifically, to make the book speak with more authority to the non climber, a considerable amount of time should have been spent describing the two routes used to arrive, finally, at the "shoulder" and in proximity to camp four. From earlier reading and study I've learned that the challenges on the "lower" part of the two routes may , in fact, exceed those of the upper portions described in the book. Just getting to Camp Four is a hellish struggle.

In order not to have to issue a "spoiler alert" further comments will be general: There were several persons on K2 during this time of the sort I've met before. I am barely qualified or worthy to carry their ropes. It would be an honor to be in the same room with them. You will meet them and even non climbers will see them shining through the mediocrity.

The book will also describe for you, without judgment-that's for the reader to assign-,persons of grossly inadequate physical and mental condition to be anywhere near K2. That people like this were on the mountain at all is a sad commentary on what mountaineering has become in my lifetime. You will meet them.

My personal climbing was decades ago. We had no cell or satellite phones. When we committed to a climb....even a "baby" climb like Mt. Ranier ( compared to K2 ) we were on our own. This is the first mountaineering book I've read in a LONG time. A number of things appalled me: 1/ Reliance on the telephones and GPS as a substitute for knowledge and group cohesiveness. 2/ Failure of leaders to lead. 3/ Failure of followers to follow. ( success demands both leaders and followers as all cannot lead ) 4/ Gross errors in judgment by some. 5/ Gross breaches of what I knew as "climbing etiquette" regarding rope handling and equipment. 6/ Gross self centeredness on the part of both individuals and groups.

There's more but that's enough. Parts of the narrative made me physically ill mostly due to lack of individual and group discipline and the terrible outcomes.

As a climber ( and gravity is just as dangerous at 11,000 feet as 21,000 feet ) I'd consider at least half the climbers described in this book to have been unqualified to be on K2. The entire environment of so many people, such confusion, such crowding, such mixed levels of competency, and such gross misuse of climbing equipment and disrespect for it.....I would have probably left. Anyone with any serious climbing experience should have been able to "smell" the gigantic human factors risks even in base camp and certainly up high.

There is one gigantic sorrow I felt from one specific loss described in this book. My heart is with that person and I hope that person finds peace in their life in the future.

You'd find me up on my feet in your presence honored just to be near you. There was a core of people on K2 that August who belonged there. Had they been the only ones on the mountain the outcomes would almost certainly have been far different. As usual, it's the fools and ill prepared who sometimes cause the almost superhuman among us to fail.

I wish you peace that person I am thinking of. I wish you peace in your loss. The narrative tore at my heart.

To the reader of this review, when you've finished the book, see if for you, like me, ONE shining person stood above all the rest for you. You don't have to be a climber to get it.

To the Author....good work! A great job of empathizing. A great job of writing. My sincere compliments. You are still young enough.....come out and climb some of our volcanoes soon.....

I bought this book because I love these extreme adventure mountain climbing stories. Obviously, "Into Thin Air" is the best of the genre. "No Way Down" is not nearly as well written, or as suspenseful. That would be fine if that were the only problem with this book. Unfortunately, it could have done with a good proofreader. The flat writing is made more distracting by the grammatical and typographical errors. All in all, it was a disappointment.

Bowley tells us in the Prologue that K-2 is shorter than Everest but more deadly...its death rate was much higher than that of Everest climbers. With that introduction we begin to learn what went wrong in 2008 that led to the deaths of 11 climbers within one day's summit attempt on K-2. Having read Jon Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air" about the 1996 tragedy on Everest in which 8 climbers died, I wanted to read Bowley's book. In contrast to Krakauer, Bowley was not a climber and he was not on the mountain as was Krakauer when the 1996 tragedy took place. The result is that Bowley is more dispassionate in his choice of narrative language. He is less judgemental that Krakauer and writes in a straightforward narrative style.

In some ways, however, the stories are similar. In both incidents the summit attempts were slowed by the large number of climbers, the majority of the climbers summitted late in the day-later than intended, the majority returned after dark. On Everest, the climbers ran into a storm on the way down. On K-2, the combination of a serac's calving and wiping away fixed ropes made the descent after dark more dangerous due to K-2's ice and ridges. Through interviews with survivors, Bowley relates conversations which he tells us was quoted to him directly by the speakers involved. He did not rely on conjecture.

Bowley tells us each climber's story including that of the dead climbers. In the Epilogue, we learn that the surviving climbers attribute the losses to "bad luck." For example, the serac that collapsed and not only destroyed fixed ropes but also swept several of the climbers under its avalanche had been stable for a lengthy period despite its ominious look. However,the collapse occurred after dark while the climbers were returning. Had they summitted or turned back timely, they would have missed the collapse. And in fact some of the climbers did stop their ascent due to concern about the slowness and lateness of the ascent.

It is an easy to read story and engrossing from beginning to end. It reads like a novel in that all the loss of life is not known until the end.