There is a certain matter-of-factness that accompanies these sorts of accounts. Like, no completely sane person would choose to literally risk life and limb for the right to say, "I did that!" The ones who do, and succeed, are inevitably a very specific mix of skilled, ambitious, and very, very lucky. Or maybe not so lucky, hard to say. The pacing in this and the magnitude of what needed to be done to summit Annapurna really speak to the amount of preparation and technical skill that the team had, as well as the craziness that is human motivation. The first third or so of the book details their efforts to select between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna, and the challenges in even finding the peaks. It's really neat to see how this foundational work was done in the 50s, with comparative map drawings of what they expected to find and what they actually did. The second chunk is the actual ascent of Annapurna, which covers some pretty wild mountaineering. The final section details the agonizing descent and the aftermath. It's interesting in that there isn't that much rhetoric. This guy just really wanted to make it to the top. Like, really, really wanted to make it. His description of getting to the summit seemed less of a triumph and more sheer stubbornness to just Do This Thing in the face of severe altitude sickness and impending frostbite. Herzog's up there trying to snap photos of this moment while his partner Lachenal is insisting they go down because of legitimate safety concerns. The way he describes it is not particularly victorious. The entire last third is grim and is marked by intense human suffering. Herzog doesn't gloss over that either. On the descent, he fantasizes about just laying down and sleeping off the rest of his life. He is by turns blind, sobbing for hours during medical treatment, and, after he maxes out on horror, numb to the "trimming" that needs to be done to his gangrenous flesh. He spends weeks being carried by a porter, incapable of helping out and halfway to giving up. It's remarkably unromantic. Even the final-thoughts attempt to explain how this was worth it, how "there are other Annapurnas," doesn't quite hit the mark. From this book alone, I'm a bit surprised by the amount of apparent controversy. True Summit: What Really Happened on the Legendary Ascent on Annapurna is on the docket, just to see what the hullabaloo is all about. (And finally, a fun fact - Herzog and others on the expedition used Vibram shoes. I didn't realize how long a history the soles had!)
This story is of a true heroic mountaineering expedition. The conquest of Annapurna, while shadowed by that of the Everest, doesn't command much lower respect, given the harsh treatment meted out to the heroic mountaineers.Starting from the immaculate arrangements of a large scale expedition, to the strategic moves of exploration within a given time limit, the book initially talks only about how Maurice and his gang slowly discovered and decided the routes and plans. It seemed to take ages, but then author himself points out that expeditions of this nature aren't supported by prior explorations and plans.Once the actual assault began, things started being more fun while being more realistic too. Each danger, and the actual pain in climbing even one of the many obstacles they covered would be too realistic for some one without actual mountaineering experience at such terrains to imagine. But the writing is quite simple as it has been brought together from the first hand experience of the author and some other logs.I could feel the effort and the caution required to just overcome some of these. With a wrong twitch of the muscle, any one of them could cost many lives and an entire expedition. Against such overwhelming odds, the tough members of expedition, ploughed on selflessly. They didn't attack the mountain senselessly. The calm and purpose with which each move was made shows the underlying discipline in these champions of the Alps. The harsh conditions of the Himalayas proved quite fatal to them. But still they persisted, suffering greatly though. For such great personalities, even the humiliation of being looked upon with pity could be the most painful experience.Given the pride and grit with which the conquest was made, one couldn't stop feeling sorry for the disasters on the way back. The strong and able men reduced to wailing rags. It is unimaginable and hence tears ones heart apart to accept such notions. But when one thinks about what would have crossed their minds, you only feel great respect for them.No doubt, this is one of Himalaya's tragic adventures. But the spirit of adventure and the love for the mountains saved these men from death - both physically and morally. A great read for mountaineering and adventure enthusiasts especially.
Do You like book Annapurna (1997)?
I'm not a climber -- I'm a tea shop trekker. I've trekked - walked - in approx 50 of Nepal's 75 districts. I love any trek where I know there's a tea shop at least every couple of hours, and some place for a hot meal and a dry bed at the end of the day. Ice picks and crampons are not my thing. That being said, I enjoyed this book immensely. Even if your interest is more about Nepal more than the climbing, I'd recommend this book. It provides a pretty rare look into the Nepal of 1950, that is to say the Nepal that was not yet open to the world. No roads, no embassies (except the British Embassy), so very little exchange with the outside world. These climbers set out to climb the 8000 meter peak Dhaulagiri (and ended up on Annapurna I) without so much as a good map to show them how to get there. Half of their Sherpa/porter crew was carrying nothing but *coins* when they started out, because paper money was not accepted in the villages where they were headed. Sir Edmund Hillary who just died yesterday, didn't climb Everest til 1953; this climb was in 1950. It was a very, very different world back then. This book is as good a way as any to get a look.
—Dwight
A well-written and detailed account of the first ever successful summit of an 8,000 meter mountain. Herzog writes quite well, and the immensity of their accomplishment is fascinating. Herzog’s enthusiasm for climbing and his spiritual fascination with the mountains really shine through in his account, as well as his deep reliance on and respect for the other members of his team and the sherpas and coolies who accompanied them. It is a good read for anyone who is interested in mountain adventure stories. However, something about the account just lacks the full amazement of the best adventure stories that I’ve read – that could simply be Herzog’s refusal to exaggerate or embellish any part of his account, but it still means the book wasn’t quite as entertaining as “Into Thin Air” or “Touching the Void”, even though those books described much lesser accomplishments. Still, Herzog’s story is worth reading, and really brings home how much the world has changed in the last 65 years, especially in South Asia.
—Jonathan
Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world. In 1950, although Everest had been attempted several times without success, climbers from outside Europe were only beginning to explore other Himalayan ranges and individual mountains for the purpose of climbing them. A group of veteran French climbers under the leadership of Alpine guide Maurice Herzog approached the Himalayas east of Everest with the intention of climbing one of the less well known, but potentially more difficult peaks in the world, knowing that with success, they would be the first to ever reach the top of an “eight thousand meter” mountain. ANNAPURNA is the account by Herzog of that expedition, but it is much more. Herzog’s account of this journey is not just one of the classics of mountaineering literature, it is the gold standard, a touching, sensitive, yet powerful narrative of triumph, disaster, and human resilience.In addition to first seeking the route to the sixth highest peak, called Dhaulagiri, Herzog and his team discovered that existing maps of the entire region were wrong and sent out reconnaissance parties to determine the true layout of the mountains, rivers, valleys, and villages of the area. Upon finding that Dhaulagiri could not be easily approached, let alone climbed in the window of good weather left to them, the expedition turned its attention to Annapurna, which was the highest point of a long massif of ridges and “faces” across a river gorge from Dhaulagiri.The expedition could have been reckoned a success with merely having discovered the route to the foot of Annapurna, but after attempting what first seemed like safer but more inaccessible routes to the top, along the ridge, they took on the wild and dangerous north face. The story of the climb alone is worth the read, for those who do and even those who do not enjoy adventure books about mountaineering. Herzog and Louis Lachenal did indeed carry off a brilliant summit climb, but along the way, Herzog lost his gloves and his hands were severely frostbitten. On the way down, Herzog suffered further injury to his hands and at the base of the mountain, in camp, the expedition doctor, Oudot, amputated several of Herzog’s fingers. Herzog recounts this experience without self-pity, without proclaiming his own courage in facing the pain and danger he lived through to reach France again. Much more than an adventure story, ANNAPURNA is a moving and beautiful read.
—Stan McCown
