Graham Bowley

Do you know those books, invariably by tabloid writers, that seem to come out within days of the arrest of a serial killer? The ones I've seen are shallow and padded with irrelevant information that serves only to up the word count. This book in the same vein, and it's maddening to read.

We learn the nickname of a climber's mother. We learn that another climber once lived in the States for a bit. We learn that the Serbian team made doughnuts with strawberry jam not plums and we learn that show more they were delicious anyway. We learn which DVDs people watched in base camp. We learn Nepalese for 'I'm coming' and the Irish word for a hurley. We learn who's lanky, who wears blue, who has a wonderful smile.

We don't learn enough about how much and what sort of climbing experience these people had. We don't learn why team leaders failed to call a halt to the climbs of those who were in poor health or too slow. We don't learn why the fixed ropes were in a queer position. We don't learn whether enough oxygen tanks were carried out of Camp IV, nor whether porters did as Bowley implies leave behind important gear. We don't even learn for a certainty that the calving of a serac was the only non-man-made problem thrown at the climbers.

I read the book for the story, but the writing made me so grumpy that I don't know whether a good few of the climbers were the idiots they seemed or had judgement impaired from the start by hypoxia or whether my ill-temper made me feel uncharitable to them. But many of them did go for the summit when unwell or when it was far too late in the day and, when they summitted as night neared, stayed in place making satellite phone calls, videotaping each other making satellite phone calls, or waiting for other climbers in order to have a, ugh, 'group hug'.

Near the end is something that makes me very uneasy. A bereaved fiancee who apparently didn't understand the mental effects of hypoxia decided with no evidence that an Italian climber had lied about her intended's last hours. I'm not sure, given the lack of evidence, that this should have been mentioned at all; I do feel sure that, in light of that accusation, it was just plain wrong of Bowley to strongly imply that the Italian came across as shifty and evasive when interviewed. And there's something that makes me uneasier still: Bowley offers his imagined thoughts of a real person near death. That's presumptuous and that's distasteful.

End of rant, except to say that I've read other books on climbing, some of them by climbers for whom writing a book must have been an enormous challenge, and they were all better than this one written, incredibly, by a reporter for the New York Times. show less

"Above the Bottleneck was the serac-the blunt overhanging end of a hanging glacier-a shimmering, tottering wave frozen as it crashed over the moutainside, a suspended ice mountain six hundred feet tall...and about half a mile long. It was smooth in places but large parts of it were pitted with cracks and crevasses....This was the way to the summit."

Journalist Graham Bowley created an intense narrative of the infamous tragedy on K2 in 2008 in this new release No Way Down. Despite being show more smaller than Mt. Everest, at 28,251 feet, K2 is reputed to be the most terrifying to climb. Twenty-seven members of eight international teams progressed from Base Camp One to Base Camp Four as their bodies adjusted to the increasing lack of oxygen. Then, on a beautiful clear morning they began their final ascent on K2, in a planned order that the groups had agreed upon. They planned to reach the summit and plant their national flags, document the excitement with photographs, and return to Base Camp Four, all by nightfall. No one wanted to be on the mountain after dark.

Then everything went wrong. A series of bad decisions and unexpected events changed the plan, resulting in the loss of eleven lives, as well as lifelong injuries for two more. Some climbers had to spend the night on the frightening mountain, hanging on lines and wondering what the morning would bring.

This is not a simple disaster story, and there is no happy ending. What is unique is that while Bowley wasn't there, he was able to interview most of the members of the various teams, getting insight on what they were feeling and how they addressed proceeding through disaster. Additionally, he interviewed families of the survivors and those who died, getting their impressions and insight. This creates a fast paced read that isn't simply one eyewitness account but rather than unbiased compilation of many voices, a fuller picture that demonstrates both the power of nature and the desire of man to conquer it. Reading it exposes more than just the climb, it explores the personalities and reasons why some choose to explore such danger.Half-way through the book is a photo section that would have been better placed at the front, just to put a name with faces. Seeing the photos made the tragedy more personal. Included is a group picture at Base Camp Four who were determined to ascend the following day.

"They had broken out of comfortable lives to venture to a place few of us would dare go in our lives. they had confronted their mortality, immediately and up close."

Reading this makes you shiver from the cold and the suspense, even if you know the ending. This would be a great summer read, just for the chilling effect it would have on a hot day! It'll make you ponder the whole concept of how you identify 'adventure'. show less

K2 is shorter than Everest but in a class of its own for it is considered more dangerous and deadly for it is farther north, colder, steeper, and with unpredictable weather. Thousands have successfully summitted Everest but only 278 have done so on K2 with 66 dying in the attempt, 24 while on their way down after a successful summitting. This book is about a date with destiny on 5 Aug 2008 when 15 expeditions, including solo climbers, with 73 clients and guides made their attempt to summit show more K2. Some 24 were there for a “serious attempt” while the rest were there for practical experience; ready to turn back if weather, physical deterioration, spirit, or misadventure made it impossible to continue. Regardless of their aspirations, eleven would die on the mountain, and the rest would suffer physical and mental breakdowns. The author uses a fictional reality conversation by the climbers to others or to themselves derived from interviews with the deceased climbers’ friends. There’s a reason why K2 is nicknamed the “savage mountain.” The book was so engrossing, I had to put a limit on reading time otherwise it would have been read through the night. show less

This book presents an explanation of the tragedy that occurred on K2 in 2008, during which eleven people died. The author provides an unbiased account of what took place, who did what, and why. Bowley exposes the many factors involved, including lack of communication, delays in the ascent, questionable judgments, and bad luck. Once oxygen deprivation to the brain is added to the mix, it became the proverbial recipe for disaster.

The human drive to conquer conditions of extreme cold fascinates show more me: to explore, to test the limits of endurance, to prove it can be done. This book delivers on that score. Where it falls short is in presentation, such as numerous typos, lack of proper punctuation, and segments that appear to be poor English translations from another language. These annoyances detracted significantly from my reading experience and should have been caught before publishing.

I think any book on mountaineering benefits from the author having “been there, done that.” This is more of a factual account, which was fine, but I was expecting something akin to Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. This book suffers by comparison. Recommended to readers who want to understand why mountaineering tragedies occur in hope of preventing them in the future. show less