Savage Summit: The Life and Death of the First Women of K2

I really liked this book--a great amount of background on the female "Himalayan greats" (though I admit, I had not heard much of Alison Hargreaves before this book). Jennifer Jordan did a great amount of background work on her subjects, and provides insights about them that I had never heard of in other books. One thing that has been bothering me, however, is her conclusion regarding Chantal Maduit's death. Some spoiler space:******************Jennifer Jordan concludes that Chantal's years of mountaineering experience would make it highly unlikely that she would "allow" herself to be smothered in her tent in a snowstorm--that it would be a horrible "rookie mistake" for her not to know to shovel out periodically during the storm. However, Jennifer Jordan spends the bulk of the chapters about Chantal detailing how she was very good at manipulating her male teammates to do mountain work, relating stories from multiple partners (albeit male) indicating that Chantal never hesitated to sleep in and let the guy do the hard work (whether laying ropes, pitching tents, or going to a lower camp to pick up a sleeping bag). Chantal is a fantastic climber, but from the snapshot we obtain from the stories in the book, I can see it being highly probably that she and her friend Pemba Sherpa reached a camp spot, he no doubt did all of the work prepping it, and then she went in, let him make water, food, etc, and she promptly went to sleep secure in the belief that he would get up the multiple times necessary to clear the tent in the storm. Ms Jordan even notes how quickly one can suffocate in a closed tent. The simple mistake of Pemba Sherpa falling asleep could have doomed them both to a deayh from smothering, and then damage to the bodies by avalanche post mortem.In short, Ms Jordan didn't sufficiently build her case that Chantal had the adequate camp skills in order to save her own life in a storm. Climb an 8000 meter peak? Yes. But all stories of Chantal in camp, whether at BC or on the mountain, indicate how much she hated camp work and would leave it to others. Chantal was an excellent climber, but not a mountaineer, in my opinion. Because mountaineers actually live on the mountains whereas Chantal just climbed.

Why are the deaths of women disproportionately higher on K2 when compared to men? Is it that the women lack skill? Are less physically adapted to the challenge? And why are women criticized for leaving their families to attempt such a risky climb when men aren't? Jennifer Jordan explores these issues while telling the intensely personal stories of the first five women to summit K2.Jordan's writing style pulls you into the stories of these five incredible climbers. As flawed as these women are, we identify with them, cheer for them, grieve for them. We learn about their careers in the mountains, their personal lives, their love lives, their quirks, and for the two survivors, what they did after K2. The story of Wanda Rutkiewicz' death on Kangchenjunga in 1992, six years after her summit of K2, was particularly moving.I could not put this book down. The only thing that would make this book better would be an update that includes the story of Edurne Pasaban, a Spanish climber who summitted K2 in 2004 and Oh Eun-Sun who summitted in 2007. I would be particularly interested in Jordan's take on the competition between these two women to become the first female to conquer all 14 of the 8,000+ meter summits. The controversy that resulted could even become a book that stands on its own, and Jennifer Jordan would be the ideal writer for that book.

Jennifer Jordan does a phenomenol job detailing the lives of some of the 'leading ladies' of the climbing world. In addition to giving us a rare window on the specific challenges women face on the mountain, she does a thorough job of the challenges they face off the mountain as well. Although I love to climb and enjoy the outdoors, it's sad to see how this consuming, and often very selfish passion, and the drive to be the continue, whatever the cost, has ruined so many lives, chief among them the friends and families who don't share that passion for the mountains. At least some world class climbers, like Ed Viesturs, rationally assess the inherent dangers in climbing, and have developed rigid climbing principles that they always follow, leading him to state "The mountain decides whether you climb or not. The art of mountaineering is knowing when to go, when to stay, and when to retreat". Most of those climbers who understand and develop those type of conservative principles early on in their climbing careers, are the ones who are still around, spending their twilight years with loved ones.

I lived and breathed this book in my waking hours. I am a fairly slow reader but I could not put this book down!I loved and admired all these women for different reasons. Some of their lives paralleled in being in unhappy relationships and I believe the mountains and their challenges provided refuge. Others were groundbreakers and pioneers, breaking into the world of a "man only" sport. They had something to prove and were so determined to do it, they sacrified their very lives. I could write a ton on this book but I encourage all to read it, both men and women. It gives a bittersweet piece of history that I for one am proud of.Jennifer Jordan is an incredible storyteller and gives a great background on each of the climbers. I didn't agree with some of their ways but I cannot sit in judgement, all I know is that they were not of this world and they all broke ground in their unique and heartbreaking way.Cynthia M. Andersen - Golden, CO

This book made me angry.The premise is excellent, describing the efforts of the first women to summit K2, along with other background biographical information on each of them. The delivery though is melodramatic, overblown and assumes some sort of higher knowledge of how the women thought or what they said. Admittedly there may not be a lot of recorded material covering all their speech, thoughts and feelings, however that to me doesn't seem to be a good enough excuse for just making things up, even if you tell us in advance that this is what you've done.The assumption that any negative aspect to their expeditions were down to sexism may be a blanket explanation for something far more nuanced. I have no difficulty in believing that a male-dominated sphere like mountaineering has an element of implicit and explicit sexism, however this doesn't account for the fact that to be a mountaineer in the first place one has to have a certain type of character and that collecting single-minded, driven individuals together on a trip of extreme privation may cause sparks to fly.I've read a lot of books on mountaineering and I truly believe that there are great stories to tell about these women but this book does not do them justice.

I am a lover of non-fiction books on the great outdoors and climbing biographies and autobiographies in particular. The premise here is "why are the vast majority of mountaineering books about men and frequently by men?" The author sets out to look at 5 iconic female mountaineers through the lens of their lives and particularly their ascents of K2.I found the book well written and very interesting. Bear in mind that the explicit aim of the book is to look at issues that female mountaineers have with their male counterparts and vice versa so this is a running theme through the book. It certainly shines some light into the problems and indicted valid concerns on both sides. I did find that the author didn't hesitate in pointing out criticisms of the female mountaineers. I'd read a couple of autobiographical works by the women and this book will ensure I read more both on K2 and the people involved. A good book for anyone with an interest in the subject.

This is one of the best books of mountaineering I have ever read, Their are so many books on the conquering of these majestic mountains by men, But this is the first time I have ever read about women and their magnificent achievements, It tells the stories and lives behind each of these fantastic and brave ladies and what actully started them on the road to their unbelievable accomplishments, K2 is truly the savage summit and if like me you are obsesed by these hauntingly beautiful mountains this book is a must, The writing is spellbinding and I could not put the book down, It was so easy to envisage being on the mountain with each of the women and seeing and feeling the happiness and exuberance and then it all turning into disaster, A deeply moving book about very extraordinary women, Brilliant, Shelagh

I really enjoyed it. Events and stories about individuals seemed to be laid out before the reader without bias, simply stating facts rather than getting embroiled amongst any controversy. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it rose above it all giving a really good, un-biased overview.People set out to do something challenging, raise their heads above the parapet, and there is always some big mouth troll somewhere putting a spoiler on it, I have experienced this myself first hand. I was not surprised that the mountaineering world was no different, all those male ego's. That is what makes these women and their achievements even more remarkable as far as I am concerned.

This is a great and moving book which gets into the souls of these five mountaineers. I've read it three times and each time I've cried.It raises moral issues (is it right for mothers - and indeed fathers - to risk their lives?) without once being moralistic and shines light on the darker sides of human motivation without once being judgmental. The odd sentence or two are slightly overwritten but in the context of the storms, the heroism, the pain, and the death it is difficult to see how this could have been avoided. Never once did I think, oh come on, Ms Jordan. Indeed understatement is much more frequent.The novelistic technique when she gets inside the mind of her dead heroines is particularly well done.