No Shortcuts To The Top: Climbing The World's 14 Highest Peaks Download Free (EPUB, PDF)

                
              
No Shortcuts To The Top: Climbing The World's 14 Highest Peaks Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
This gripping and triumphant memoir follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time. For 18 years, Ed Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's 14 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go. A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto: "Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory." It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers, as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. No Shortcuts to the Top is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and the beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.
Audible Audio Edition
Listening Length: 12 hours and 42 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Books on Tape
Audible.com Release Date: October 27, 2006
Language: English
ASIN: B000K2VB1U
Best Sellers Rank:   #161 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Mountaineering   #200 in Books > Audible Audiobooks > Nonfiction > Sports & Recreation   #326 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hiking & Camping > Excursion Guides
I have followed the adventures of Ed Viesturs and his pursuit of the 14 summits with great interest over the years. Though I am not a mountaineer in the least, it is a subject that I have been fascinated by ever since I was a youngster and saw a presentation by a man who had attempted to climb Everest. I was enthralled by the challenge and the seeming overwhelming and inherent risks. Then, years later, I was fortunate enough to see a presentation by Jon Krakauer during his tour in support of the outstanding "Into Thin Air".Another reason I followed the mountaineers like Mr. Viesturs and Mr. Krakauer - among others - is that they convey a sense of respect and sanity about climbing these high peaks. In this new era where highly unqualified people are trying to summit peaks like Everest and ethical dilemmas more often overshadow the achievements, it is the reasoned voices of these climbers who can hopefully reverse the trend.With that said, I was excited to see that Mr. Viesturs published "No Shortcuts To The Top". I ordered it almost as soon as it came out, and couldn't wait for the opportunity to read it.Mr. Viesturs provides a pretty complete picture of his life to date. He nicely summarized his childhood, but fortunately kept it short to focus in on the things that drew him to climb. He does a great job of relating the sacrifices he had to make - especially financially - in order to pursue this passion. The reader gets to fully understand that climbing is not the type of "hobby" where you can just pick up from your job on a weekend and head to the hills.More importantly - like Mr. Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" (though perhaps not as dramatically so) - Mr.
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