Himalayan Quest: Ed Viesturs on the 8,000-Meter Giants (Paperback)

~ (Author), Peter Potterfield (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For mountaineers, the 14 peaks above 8,000 meters-all located in the Himalayan range near the border between China and India-have a special status. In 1986, Austrian Reinhold Messner became the first person to scale all of them without the use of supplemental oxygen. Viesturs is currently on a quest to become the first American to reproduce this astonishing feat. This book presents photographs from his expeditions on the 12 tallest mountains in the world. A world-class climber, Viesturs is blessed with an "unusual physiology"; his body's ability to process oxygen extraordinarily well allows him to remain unusually alert and vigorous even at oxygen-scarce altitudes. That clarity of mind is amply demonstrated in these stunning photographs. Viesturs emphasizes the difficulty of taking pictures at such heights and even charmingly includes imperfect shots (from a technical perspective) that have special meaning to him. Standout images include the vast, ridged, snowy valley framed by Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse; the "maze of crevasses" of the Khumbu Glacier in the Western Cwm; and the carpet of clouds draped across the several peaks of Makalu, Lhotse, Everest and Cho Oyu taken from the vantage point of Kanchenjunga. Replete with helpful maps, this book almost doubles as a travel guide; the lack of hotels doesn't make it any less informative for the tiny number of people eager to see these staggering vistas for themselves. No book consisting solely of prose could ever produce gasps like the pictures contained herein.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A seasoned American guide much sought by organizers of commercial expeditions in the Himalayan Mountains, Viesturs has, when work permits, pursued a personal goal of ascending every 8,000-meter-plus peak in the range without using bottled oxygen. He will be the second mountaineer to do so if he succeeds in surmounting the only 2 on the list of 14 titans that have defeated him: Annapurna and Nanga Parbat. In the meantime, Viesturs offers this superb photographic record of his ascents since 1987 of Everest, K2, and the rest. Although he modestly disclaims being particularly skillful with the camera, Viesturs possesses an intuitive compositional appreciation for the grandeur of the scenery, for the play of sunrise especially. Moreover, his images viscerally show the vertiginous drop-offs at the summits. Viesturs' picture of Makalu shows his mates straddling its knife-edge top--standing would court an abyssal plummet. Admiring lowlanders will appreciate Viesturs' vistas. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic; illustrated edition edition (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792268849
• ISBN-13: 978-0792268840
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #555,696 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!, August 28, 2005

By	Amirah - See all my reviews

This is an incredible book. I finished reading it in 24hrs..I couldn't put it down. Its about Ed Viesturs journey climbing the worlds 14 highest summits..in his own words. Just incredible! The way the book is written its like Ed's right there sitting next to you ..telling you about his adventures. (very personable)The photography is just unbelievable..The way these climbers pack camera equipment and climb is beyond my comprehension. The photo of the climber "riding the ridge" Shishapangma..(pg 143) is jaw dropping!
I recommend reading this book!! Its a keeper!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not as detailed as I would hope, August 9, 2007

By	A. E. Vincent (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a gorgeously produced book, and the photos are phenomenal. That said, it was not as detailed as I hoped for it to be. The official Amazon writeup describes this as "replete with detailed maps" -- there are small drawings of a few routes to the top, but they go no more in-depth than pointing out each base camp. Each individual summit mentioned gets three or four paragraphs of copy at most (sometimes less), and this copy is more likely to focus on how Viesturs got the specific photographs shown than on anything else. Discussion of specific challenges on each climb, landmarks on the way, etc., is extremely minimal.

Don't get me wrong -- if outdoor photography is your passion, this is a treasure trove, and the book is beautifully done on its own merits. But I don't think those merits are accurately summed up in the Amazon review, and as such, potential buyers may be misled into believing that this is a more detailed climbing book than it is.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top of the world, January 18, 2007

By	David Pruette "Rancors Love to Read" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ed Viesturs has packed this book with magnificent photos of Himalayan mountains, particularly the peaks over 8,000 meters. His goal is to climb all of those peaks and to do it without auxiliary oxygen. Since the publication of this book, he has accomplished his goal. Mr. Viesturs is clearly a magnificent climber and Himalayan Quest gives you an extremely good idea of the ground he covered and the types of obstacles he had to overcome. Only a very few people in the world could have done what he has done. If you like spectacular mountain pictures, this is a book for you. If you are more interested in detailed descriptions of his climbs, read this book and move on to his new book No Shortcuts to the Top.