No Way Down | Litsy

No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 | Graham Bowley

so-so

I wanted to love this book, since the 2008 K2 tragedy is what sparked my interest in reading about mountaineering. Bowley paints the picture as well as he can, but there‘s a lack of emotion (which you can find in the documentary ā€The Summitā€¯).

4 likes

tricours

No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 | Graham Bowley

so-so

Interesting, yes, but books about real events trying to come across as fiction (going into people's feelings at particular moments and pointing out how beautiful the two female climbers are, for example), annoy me. So many American books are like this and it really makes me crave some no nonsense, stick to the facts books. I knew this would bother me already in the introduction, same as with Close to Shore and Isaac's Storm. ā¬‡ļø¸

tricours This kind of mountain climbing is insane though. You have to be pretty self-absorbed to engage in it, especially if you are married and have children. Many of the mountaineers do seem like assholes though, and many seem poorly prepared and obsessed with fame. I can't help but question the morality of dragging locals along who risk their lives because the pay is tantalizingly good and they have few other options. 7y

tricours Oh! Forgot to mention that the author isn't very good either. He's not very skilled at keeping "characters" apart (too many 'he's when basically everyone is male is a bad idea), and some more people should have edited and proofed the text for confusing passages and poor writing. 7y

27 likes2 comments

tricours

No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 | Graham Bowley

25 likes2 stack adds

tricours

No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 | Graham Bowley

Morning, Litsy! I hope to finish this one today so that I can get started on my scary reads š¦‡

Cathythoughts What a lovely start to the day š‹. (edited) 7y

30 likes1 comment

tricours

No Way Down: Life and Death on K2 | Graham Bowley

I understand hiking in the mountains, it's more or less obligatory when you live in Norway, but this kind of mountain climbing? Nope.

Texreader š‚ True. It's hard to go anywhere in western Norway without going up or down a mountain. š‡³š‡´ 7y

tricours @Texreader exactly! It was interesting to read a 18th century travelogue from Norway when traveling on the west coast meant constant risk of death, before roads and fancy boats. 7y

30 likes2 comments