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Title details for No Shortcuts to the Top by Ed Viesturs - Available

No Shortcuts to the Top

Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

by Ed Viesturs
David Roberts
Audiobook
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This gripping and triumphant memoir follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time.
For eighteen years Ed Viesturs pursued climbing’s holy grail: to stand atop the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.
A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto, “Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
In addition to the raw excitement of Viesturs’s odyssey, No Shortcuts to the Top is leavened with many funny moments revealing the camaraderie between climbers. It is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and his beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 7, 2006

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780739349328
      • File size: 364967 KB
      • Duration: 12:40:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      A legend in mountain-climbing lore, Viesturs has summited Everest six times and was present in 1996 when three guides and several clients died in the tragedy made famous in INTO THIN AIR. Here Viesturs details his childhood in (flat) Illinois, his veterinary studies in Washington state, and his quest to climb the world's 14 peaks of 8,000 meters or more, a feat he calls "Endeavor 8000." Stephen Hoye zeros in on the focused but unflappable Viesturs. His voice glides over Nepalese names, and he describes avalanches, whiteouts, and even fatal accidents without overdramatizing. The Everest debacle, however, is recounted with a faster pace and more emotion; the lost guides were his friends and colleagues. J.B.G. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Projecting the same enthusiasm that he has for mountaineering, Ed Viesturs shares his tale of climbing the world's fourteen 8,000-plus meter peaks. From his inspiration for climbing to the completion of his feat, Viesturs recounts both the physical and emotional toll that professional mountain climbers face when challenged by these summits. Viesturs also explains why he is compelled to be a master of deadly terrain. In addition, he shares his insights about other famous mountaineers and writers he has met, such as Rob Hall and Jon Krakauer. Personalizing the adventure and spirit of mountaineering, Viesturs explicitly tells of both the dangers and thrills of summiting in this compelling account of his life's work. D.L.M. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 14, 2006
      In the opening scene of Viesturs's memoir of his quest to become the first American to climb the 14 mountains in the world higher than 8,000 meters, he and a friend nearly get thrown off the face of K2 when they're caught in an avalanche. It's one of the few moments in the story when his life genuinely seems at risk, as his intense focus on safety is generally successful. "Getting to the top is optional," he warns. "Getting down is mandatory." That lesson comes through most forcefully when Viesturs recounts how he almost attempted to reach the summit at Everest the day before the group Jon Krakauer wrote about in Into Thin Air
      , but backed out because it just didn't feel right. His expertise adds a compelling eyewitness perspective to those tragic events, but the main focus is clearly on Viesturs and his self-imposed "Endeavor 8000." From his earliest climbs on the peaks of the Pacific Northwest to his final climb up the Himalayan mountain of Annapurna, Viesturs offers testimony to the sacrifices (personal and professional) in giving your life over to a dream, as well as the thrill of seeing it through.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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