Customer Reviews

Solo: Nanga Parbat

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Right after Messner summited Everest without supplemental oxygen, he went back to Nanga Parbat to solo a new route. I found the book a good read. I was particularly amazed at the difficulty of climbing he attempted while soloing: especially downclimbing a new route after his route was destroyed by an earthquake when he was still on the face!

I read this book years ago and was much more impressed with Messner's feats than with his writing. He succeeds in giving a sense of what it's like to climb a Himalayan peak sans bottled oxygen, and it is fortunate to have someone who can tell us firsthand about Nanga Parbat's Rupal Face, but the writing (unlike the sheer faces Messner has climbed in record time) is of a low grade. If there is anyone in the world who needs a detailed biography written on him, it is Messner. He is indeed the Michael Jordan of climbing; no one is in his league. But man do I wish some good, talented, informed writer would do a bio on this guy. No more bios on Lady Di and Donald Trump--please! Messner is a subject ripe for someone willing and able.

I found this a great and interesting book. Messner accounts of his solo ascent with chronicled journal entries and excellent photo's and maps of his route. His story and struggle to solo a high peak like Nanga Parbat is enthrawling in the face of most mountaineering feats. I found myself baffled that Messner has lived through all of his attempts and victored in the face of loneliness and without the apparent safety of an expedition team. This climb never ceases to blow me away!