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Buried In The Sky: The Extraordinary Story Of The Sherpa Climbers On K2's Deadliest Day (2012)

by Peter Zuckerman(Favorite Author)

4.01 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0393079880 (ISBN13: 9780393079883)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

W. W. Norton & Company

review 1: I have read many books on adventures that have turned tragic, particularly on Everest and K2. I understand that the author was trying to tell the story of this 2008 tragedy that claimed the lives of eleven climbers- I believe nine were high altitude porters/Sherpas. I did not enjoy this book as much as I have others in this genre. Seven Summits by Dick Bass and Frank Wells, was the best, and then there is always Jon Krakauer. Many of the descriptions of incidents and potential outcomes due to high altitude were incredibly grisly, which I usually don't mind, but I found myself skimming to get through these passages. The author didn't capture the human drama of these awful days in a compelling fashion for me. I did learn the history of high altitude porters and details a... morebout K2, which I did not know about in the past. The author ends this book with descriptions of the outcomes of the major surviving characters and the families of those who died on K2 which was a nice, final touch.
review 2: This is not your typical mountain climbing story. I've read many mountain climb stories that are pretty formulaic - this one includes the expected summit disaster stories, but what makes this book unique is that it includes a deep history and focus of the culture of the high-altitude porters on this particular K2 expedition. Very interesting perspective and information about the minority groups, especially in Nepal, that makes these climbs possible due to their skill. Of course, the riveting summit disaster narrative keeps the pages turning, too. Definitely recommended for anyone with an interest in Nepal mountain culture. less

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