K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain

Facing the world's second-highest peak, the Karakoram Range's K2 in Northern Pakistan, mountain climbers encounter incredible dangers, including a huge serac (an overhanging glacier), snow-obscured crevasses, whiteouts and avalanches that have killed even accomplished mountaineers. With clarity and compassion, renowned peak-scaler Viesturs recounts campaigns up K2's 28,000-plus feet from the late 1930s through the tragic 2008 season that saw 11 climbers die in the space of 36 hours. An American master of the climb, Viesturs shares secrets, inside jokes, history and lore such as the ""psychological protection"" afforded by clipping onto rope or handrails, the climbers' habit of ""looking up to see if anything's coming your way,"" and the ""miracle"" of ""one man with a single ax and a grip of steel stopping the otherwise fatal fall of six teammates and of himself."" Admitting to ""a disturbing fanaticism"" that's driven himself and others to tackle the world's fourteen 8000-foot-plus peaks, Viesturs's you-are-there narration communicates effortlessly the enormous effort, and high adventure, of scaling K2.