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This gripping and triumphant essay follows a living legend of uttermost 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 when it comes to the man who would become the introductory American to achieve that goal as it is with regards to his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn amongst the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he may 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 assert the life of one climber for each two who reached it is summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto, “Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” It is with this system of belief that he vividly describes fatal faults in judgment made by his fellow climbers as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the primary 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 numerous amusive moments revealing the goodfellowship amidst climbers. It is more than the basi full account of one of the staggering attainments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and consecrated family man and his beliefs that shaped this most perilous and splendid pursuit.
From Publishers WeeklyIn the opening scene of Viesturs's essay of his quest to become the firstborn American to climb the 14 mountains in the world higher than 8,000 meters, he and a friend closely 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 veritably seems at risk, as his intense focus on safety is in general successful. "Getting to the top is optional," he warns. "Getting down is mandatory." That lesson comes through most forcefully when Viesturs recounts how he closely attempted to reach the summit at Everest the day before the group Jon Krakauer wrote in regards to in Into Thin Air, but backed out because it just didn't feel right. His skillfulness adds a compelling eyewitness perspective to those tragic events, but the main focus is distinctly 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 almost pleasurable sensation of fright of seeing it through. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistFor closely two decades Viesturs has been living his dream: to scale the world's 14 tallest peaks--the 8,000ers, as they're known, the 14 mountains taller than 8,000 meters (26,247 feet). All of them are in Nepal, Pakistan, and Tibet, and none is easy to conquer. Viesturs, who has stood atop Everest half a dozen times, is amongst the world's most accomplished climbers, and even he admits it's no picnic dragging yourself up to those heights. With coauthor Roberts, a veteran mountaineering author, Viesturs turns his quest to conquer the 8,000ers into a compelling story of dedication, desperation, danger, derring-do, and devotion (physical and spiritual). Fans of extreme-sport books, specially tales of high adventure, will want to add this one to their collections. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review"Ed Viesturs is not plainly one of our firmest mountaineers; he’s also one of the most remarkable. He’s demonstrated that it’s possible to climb the world’s most eminent peaks without taking reckless chances, and without sacrificing one’s honor or integrity. He has never hesitated to aid other climbers in need, even when it meant putting himself in peril or sacrificing his own probability to achieve a summit. Ed, merely put, is a authenti American hero.” —Jon Krakauer "From the drama of the peaks, to the struggle of making a living as a professional climber, to the basic how-tos of life at 26,000 feet, No Shortcuts to the Top is arousing and attention holding reading."
—Aron Ralston, author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place
"Ed Viesturs—the basi American to climb all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks without bottled oxygen—is an animal. A humane animal blessed with enormous strength balanced by intelligence, honesty, and a heart of gold. And besides, HE IS A NICE GUY.
This is a outstanding read for those of us who climb, those who want to learn to climb and live to tell with regards to it, and those who like great adventures." —Jim Whittaker, firstborn American to climb Mount Everest “Ed Viesturs was an inspiration to me personally and to the Seahawks team in 2005. I highly commend reading this account of one of America’s heroes.” —Mike Holmgren, coach of the Seattle Seahawks |
Most helpful client reviews 40 of 41 persons found the following review helpful.
 adventure addiction
By Daniel B. Clendenin
There are 14 mountain peaks in the world that tower to 8,000 meters (26,247 feet), and when Ed Viesturs in the end conquered Annapurna, a peak on which one climber dies for each two who try, he joined an elite group of five humans who have accomplished that feat without using supplemental oxygen. He's the only American to have done so. It took 18 years and 30 expeditions to the 8,000ers; on 10 trips he turned back short of the summit, once when he was only 100 feet away, exercising extraordinary willpower to follow his "deepest article of faith" that "getting to the top is optional; getting down is mandatory." Not bad for a man who in 1992 at the age of 33 had quit his exercise as a vetinarian, was living in a windowless basement apartment, had $25,000 of school debt, and was banging nails as a construction worker to make ends meet.
No Shortcuts is a fun read because it is regarding more than mountain climbing, which, of course, closely none of his readers will ever attempt. But every one has their personal Annapurna, as he says in the final pages of the book, whether battling cancer or conquering a fear. Failure, perseverance, passion, patience, danger management, teamwork, self-sacrifice for others, endurance and death are all life lessons that effortlessly emerge from the book. His chapter on the 1996 disasters on Mount Everest when a dozen people died, including world class mountaineers Scott Fischer and Rob Hall, ads his personal perspective to Krakauer's Into Thin Air. In the last few pages Viesturs reflects upon whether his pursuit was selfish, adventure addiction, growing older and realizing he can not climb like he could twenty years ago, sentiment letdown after such a remarkable accomplishment, and how climbing has impacted his marriage. For movie versions see the IMAX film Everest (the most eminent grossing IMAX movie ever made) or the documentary Everest: The Death Zone. 35 of 38 humans found the following review helpful.
Endeavor To Read This Book
By K. C. Huseonica
We in the long run got a copy of the much anticipated Ed Viesturs memoir. Endeavoring to read it cover-to-cover and absorb all the drama, low and high altitude adventure, and very personal perceptivenesses - we weren't disappointed.
Ed and David Roberts have given the reader a never before look into the climbing and personal life of America's icon of mountain climbing. This includes the mental methods of climbing with respective partners, dealing with circumstances outside of the sphere of control, and the conclusions impacting self and family.
An added surprise is Ed's views on epic climbs by other climbers that were highlighted in media, movies, and books. It surely gave us reason to review our own views of the events.
A valued buy with b/w photos.
50 of 57 humans found the following review helpful.
 A reasonable essay of adventure on the high peaks
By Jon Eric Davidson
I have followed the adventures of Ed Viesturs and his pursuit of the 14 summits with great interest over the years. Though I am not a mountaineer in the least, it is a subject that I have been fascinated by ever since I was a youngster and saw a presentment by a man who had attempted to climb Everest. I was enthralled by the challenge and the seeming overpowering and inherent risks. Then, years later, I was fortunate sufficient to see a activity of formally presenting something by Jon Krakauer for the duration of his tour in help of the outstanding "Into Thin Air".
Another reason I followed the mountaineers like Mr. Viesturs and Mr. Krakauer - among others - is that they convey a sense of respect and sanity when it comes to climbing these high peaks. In this new era where highly unqualified people are attempting to summit peaks like Everest and ethical dilemmas more ofttimes overshadow the achievements, it is the reasoned voices of these climbers who may hopefully reverse the trend.
With that said, I was excessively affected emotionally to see that Mr. Viesturs published "No Shortcuts To The Top". I ordered it almost as soon as it came out, and couldn't wait for the chance to read it.
Mr. Viesturs provides a finelooking finish picture of his life to date. He nicely summarized his childhood, but fortunately held it short to focus in on the things that drew him to climb. He does a outstanding occupation of relating the sacrifices he had to make - particularly financially - in order to pursue this passion. The reader gets to totally comprehend that climbing is not the type of "hobby" where you may just pick up from your occupation on a weekend and head to the hills.
More significantly - like Mr. Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" (though perchance not as dramatically so) - Mr. Viesturs takes the reader with him on his climbs to show the a great deal of risks and possibleness for death that perpetually surround you at those great heights. "No Shortcuts To The Top" does a great occupation in relating the ceaseless challenge of weighing the desire to push for the summit versus sustaining one's safety. Time and again, Mr. Viesturs relates his motto, "Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory." At times, this repetition gets to be a bit annoying, but then you start out to grasp that climbers have to repeat that to themselves each time they head up a peak.
Those looking for yet another account of the 1996 disaster on Everest may be disappointed. I think Mr. Viesturs (rightly) assumes that too much has been written regarding those days already, and in some cases, the story has been better captured by other authors. So, we do get his perspective as a fellow member of a team following the ill-fated expeditions, but without a outstanding deal of detail.
Probably the most pleasurable percentage of the story involved his repeated attempts to at long last summit Annapurna. Given his relation of the climb and weather that goes with it, this sounds like the most difficult of the 14 most eminent peaks in the worlds.
As the book progresses, we likewise see that the "high-adventure" mountain climbing community is a pretty close-knit one. Mr. Viesturs many times encounters these select few that are challenging the world's most eminent peaks. Some he is friends with, galore are rivals, some have massive egos, and a lot of are very down-to-earth. But all possess the desire to climb and challenge themselves.
A criticism I have of this book is that Mr. Viesturs at times gets very technical in his descriptions of gear and climbing, to the detriment of his recollections of his summits. That seemed to bog the book down in places. Also, while I realize it is necessary to relate to the reader the type of instrumentation one is climbing with, he occasionally seemed to go into a little too much detail. I wouldn't have minded so much, except for the fact that he didn't actually go into a lot of detail in regards to galore of his climbs. So, it closely indicated a sense that he was leaving things out to talk more regarding boots, parkas, and tents. I could overlook this penchant for the overly technical and exuberant information, but the casual reader would in all likelihood get bored with it or become uninterested.
You will note as you read this review that by and large, my review is finelooking positive, yet I am rating it with 3 stars. I wrestled with that rating. If I were basing it rigorously on how I liked it, I would in all probability give it four stars. But, as I alluded to above, I think the exuberant technical lingo and detail would put off the casual reader who may not be rather as enthralled by mountaineering as I am.
I am glad that Mr. Viesturs wrote "No Shortcuts To The Top". I may have hoped for a little more, but it's good to have this account of his successes on the mountains. I hope he proceeds to be a prominent voice in the mountaineering community for a little "reform" in today's expeditions, so that safety and experience doesn't get lost in the face of deep-pocketed persons who foolishly believe that cash equals a guarantee of an easy transit to the summit of an Everest or other high peak. See all 91 client reviews... |
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