The Climb

A mountaineer's account of the fatal 1996 Everest climb which killed eight people.

The Climb is an honest and gripping account of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, as told by experienced mountaineer Anatoli Boukreev. In May 1996, several expeditions attempted to climb Everest via the Southeast Ridge. As they neared the summit, twenty-three climbers, including the expedition leaders, were caught in a ferocious blizzard. Disorientated, out of oxygen and depleted of supplies, they struggled to find safety.

Boukreev led an exhausted group back to base camp before returning to the storm to help others stranded on the mountain, rescuing a number from certain death and emerging a hero.

The Climb contains interviews with surviving climbers, medical personnel, Sherpa guides, and families of the deceased. This edition includes the transcript of the Mountain Madness debriefing, recorded five days after the tragedy, and G. Weston de Walt's response to Jon Krakauer. An unflinching look at an unforgettable mountaineering disaster.