Customer Reviews

Savage Summit: The Life and Death of the First Women of K2

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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Savage Summit by Jennifer Jordan is a must read for those who appreciate true-life adventure stories. As a non-climber who lives vicariously through the adventures of others as told in their books, I can't attest to what really goes on during an expedition or the ins and outs of the social-politics of the climbing community, especially high altitude climbers. I can say that Jordan's book seems to be well researched and recounts the adventures of the five subjects in the manner that made me feel a part of their lives and their climbs.
As a collection of adventure stories the book did not disappoint me in the least. I will admit that I was expecting a book about the first five women who climbed K2 that was written by a woman would be heavily slanted with a sexiest bias against the mostly male community of mountain climbers. Instead I found the book to be about 5 people who have that special inner drive to climb who also happened to be women. In telling the stories of these special people, Jordan also describes the bias and prejudice that some were faced with as they joined expeditions led by experienced men. This is especially true in the telling of Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz's adventures when women were a rare sight in climbing and as Jordan tells Wanda's stories and the stories of the other women she acknowledges that each was a person in her own right with their own strengths and weaknesses. Putting gender aside, Wanda Rutkiewicz had a personality that alienated many outside of a handful of people who understood her and even those closest to Wanda admit she could be difficult on an inter-personal level.
In telling the story of Chantal Mauduit Jordan clearly acknowledges that Mauduit, a happy-go-lucky sort who enjoy much luck climbing 8,000 meters peaks, used her feminine and sexual attributes to her advantage and thus enjoyed an advantage as she manipulated the males on her teams to carry the heavy loads and break routes that she could easily follow on her summit attempts.
The stories of Liliane Barrard, Julie Tullis and Alison Hargreaves were all exciting recounts of their climbing careers and their ultimate climbs to the summit of K2. Each of these women were beloved by friends and family, each recognized the dangers in high altitude climbing and each of them struggled with the pull of their loved one against the pull of the mountains. Ultimately, the mountains won and each died as accomplished climbers, not women, doing what they were drawn to do.
Bottom Line: Savage Summit is a great adventure read about 5 people who loved climbing and were eventually drawn to the attraction of solving a problem that is much greater than the well worn routes of Mt. Everest on the world's second highest peak, K2.

Savage Summit is essentially a biography of women mountaineers who have climbed K2. A number of world famous female mountaineers are celebrated extensively including Wanda Rutkiewicz, Chantal Mauduit, Alison Hargreaves, Julie Tullis and Liliane Barrard. The book was extremely well-written and extensively researched. It see-saws from uplifting to grievously sad. All the women met their deaths in the mountains between ages 33 and 49 leaving a trail of grieving parents, siblings, friends, lovers, husbands and children. Jordan captures their emotions, as well as her own, in a page turning exhibition of outstanding writing.
Bravo!

I read all the books offered here related to Everest and K2 and, to be honest, this one was pretty low on my wish list. As it turns out, "Savage Summit" is one of my favorite mountain books. What sets it apart is the quality of the writing. If you open it you will more than likely read it straight through. Highly recommended.

This is a beautifully written book which tells the true stories of the five women who had successfully sumitted K-2 at the time of its publication. Although it covers five separate and distinct accounts, they are all interconnected by chronological events, and the result is that the book reads more like a continuing tale of one singular adventure. The author did a masterful job of weaving the challenges of each woman's personal life in with the major events of their climbing lives. Often times, one set of circumstances directly affected the other in a very positive or very negative way. Again, the author did an extraordinary job of weaving one into the other. Each woman came across to me as two different personalities - the woman she was with her family, friends and lovers, and the person she became when she stepped onto the mountain. A thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish, more like a fictional novel than true life.

I took the time to write a review because I was astounded that there are only seven reviews posted here. One does not have to be interested in mountain climbing to enjoy this remarkable book.

This is an excellent account of the 5 women that reached the summit of K2 as well as their extensive backgrounds. Each of the women was from a different walk of life, from women who were nationally sponsored to a house wife who had to live out of her car and bring her children to base camp with her. But one thing was present in all the women, the desire to climb mountains and the draw that the mountains had when they went back to their "normal" lives. The author's research is apparent in the numerous sources for her accounts of the lives of these women, from climbing partners to children, journals to radio transmissions, her writing is filled with accuracy. But this is also an adventure story that you won't want to put down. While you already know the outcome, you want to learn how these 5 women lost their lives to the mountains. An excellent adventure story.

Great book. A well written account of six great women mountaineers, their travails and the agony and ecstasy of climbing the world's second highest mountain. Very highly recommended .

I've read over a dozen books on high-altitude climbing in the past six months, some wonderful stories -- classics and newer releases, but this one made my heart ache. I couldn't wait to get back to it, and I hated for it to end. Great history, great biography, beautifully written. I shed more than one tear for these brave, unique women, all of whom, it seemed, deserved much more of life than they got. This is a wonderful book, even if you have no interest in high-altitude climbing or about K2.

In the end, you could feel Jennifer Jordan's genuine sorrow for her subjects, and you want to share her pain and give her a hug for her labors. The best written mountaineering story of all I've read.

Why are the deaths of women disproportionately higher on K2 when compared to men? Is it that the women lack skill? Are less physically adapted to the challenge? And why are women criticized for leaving their families to attempt such a risky climb when men aren't? Jennifer Jordan explores these issues while telling the intensely personal stories of the first five women to summit K2.

Jordan's writing style pulls you into the stories of these five incredible climbers. As flawed as these women are, we identify with them, cheer for them, grieve for them. We learn about their careers in the mountains, their personal lives, their love lives, their quirks, and for the two survivors, what they did after K2. The story of Wanda Rutkiewicz' death on Kangchenjunga in 1992, six years after her summit of K2, was particularly moving.

I could not put this book down. The only thing that would make this book better would be an update that includes the story of Edurne Pasaban, a Spanish climber who summitted K2 in 2004 and Oh Eun-Sun who summitted in 2007. I would be particularly interested in Jordan's take on the competition between these two women to become the first female to conquer all 14 of the 8,000+ meter summits. The controversy that resulted could even become a book that stands on its own, and Jennifer Jordan would be the ideal writer for that book.

I lived and breathed this book in my waking hours. I am a fairly slow reader but I could not put this book down!
I loved and admired all these women for different reasons. Some of their lives paralleled in being in unhappy relationships and I believe the mountains and their challenges provided refuge. Others were groundbreakers and pioneers, breaking into the world of a "man only" sport. They had something to prove and were so determined to do it, they sacrified their very lives. I could write a ton on this book but I encourage all to read it, both men and women. It gives a bittersweet piece of history that I for one am proud of.

Jennifer Jordan is an incredible storyteller and gives a great background on each of the climbers. I didn't agree with some of their ways but I cannot sit in judgement, all I know is that they were not of this world and they all broke ground in their unique and heartbreaking way.

Cynthia M. Andersen - Golden, CO

Easy read. Gives an interesting insight into the lives of these women, however it does not always paint a good picture of them. It does show how sexism plays a large part in mountaineering. Heartbreaking to read about the way they lived and died and the choices that they made.