Climbing High: A Woman's Account of Surviving Everest

by Lene Gammelgaard

Book Overview

On May 10, 1996, Lene Gammelgaard became the first Scandinavian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. But a raging storm and human error conspired to turn triumph into catastrophe. Eight of her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580050239
• ISBN13: 9781580050234
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Seal Press (CA)
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

I love climbing books

I never received the book, so I can' t really comment. I'll be going somewhere else to buy my books from now on. So sad.

Essential and sensitive personal observations from a participant

This is written from an infinitely more human perspective than anything else I've read on Everest in general and the 1996 disaster in particular. Ms. Gammelgaard's reflections and observations provide a dimension missing in other narratives. The book feels feminine compared to the ice-and-steel books on the same expedition. Very highly recommended. Obviously you'd want to read "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb" before or at same time as this book. The three ought to be sold as a set. You might also want to read "Mountain Madness" to better understand Scott Fischer. I'd consider "Climbing High" to be an essential book on the 1996 disaster.

Moving, personal journal of an adventure and a disaster

I'm surprised @ the negative reviews here. No, you wouldn't count on this book as a sole journalistic exposition of the May 1996 Everest disaster. But after you're devoured "Into Thin Air" and "The Climb" Ms. Gamelgaard's book does, in fact, perfect the symmetry of Everest's three faces with a graceful and heartfelt book. It's infinitely more human than anything else I've read on Everest in general. Her reflections and observations provide a dimension missing in other narratives. The book feels feminine compared to the ice-and-steel books on the same expedition. Very highly recommended. You might also want to read "Mountain Madness" to better understand Scott Fischer (shared ridgeline to Lhotse to extend that metaphor from above).

Opposing View

I seem to be the odd person out in that I liked this book. This is not a book that will cause controversy by laying blame on those who survived, or even more unacceptably on those who perished. This is a memoir by a woman who was qualified to be on the mountain. She raised sponsor money to make the attempt possible. She was not someone with more personal wealth than judgment that simply wrote a check for a thrill seeking adventure.Scott Fischer was an extraordinary mountaineer according to any book that I have read. He invited Lene Gammelgaard on the expedition, and also was interested in marketing his company in Europe via this woman's summit attempt. This woman was not a paid journalist; she was not the person who wanted to turn her climb into a media circus with a major American Network. If the expedition had not become a tragedy I doubt most non-climbers would even know her name. This was hardly the case with several others who were on the mountain at the same time. Lene summitted Everest, she survived the storm, she assisted others when they needed help, and she left the mountain with her body intact. One of the reasons for the last note is that she lacked the ego, or stated differently, had the good sense to talk to those who had climbed Everest, to inquire about what was most appropriate to bring, what their on the mountain experience had taught them. Far from being a sign of weakness it is an endorsement of her good judgment. Asking Anatoli Boukreev about the protection he uses for his hands on summit day is the kind of thinking that I would look for in a fellow climber. I would not want to be following those who were lugging satellite phones, computers and other nonsense to make daily appearances on national television.This is a book about her experience from well before she ever stepped on a plane to the Himalaya. It is a very personal book, and her style of writing together with her philosophies of life may not read like a thriller, however the facts of what happened in May of 1996 need no embellishment. To me these are factors that brought her to the top and back down safely. This woman is no thrill seeker, she is not deluded about what an attempt on Everest means, and she shared her experience, she did not write a book embellishing the horror of an event that requires nothing more than a statement of facts. She also refrained from taking apart the conduct of other climbers. She was not shy about expressing her opinion, however she was generally on the mark with her thoughts. And finally, far from taking the Sherpa guides for granted, she repeatedly spoke of them as critical to her success and her survival.For me, this was one of the better books I have read about that tragic May 1996 expedition.

Wonderful....but read after you've read Krakauer and Boukree

I'd read all the reviews of this book, which for the most part didn't sound too great, but I got the book anyway because I wanted all the information I could get and I am so glad I did! This is not the book to read for facts and critique - this is the book to read for how it feels to prepare for and then accomplish climbing Everest during this terrible tragedy. It is very personal and therefore I could connect with what it must have been like - connect from the heart level - not the head. And I disagree about it being arrogant or self-centered in a negative way. On the contrary. The deepest humility is to expose one's humanity with all its positive qualites and flaws and that is exactly what she does. She doesn't analyze anyone, she simply states her reaction to events as she felt them. It is a humble book - not because she wasn't determined or proud of what she did - but because she only spoke from her point of view. For the most part, she did not present her analysis of what happened. Her critiques are tempered with great understanding of how difficult climbing Everest is and how fallible we are as human beings. It is realistic and wonderful. I really understood the tragedy on a deep level and it is thanks to Lene Gammelgaard. Anyone can tell you what people should have done. It took Lene to tell us how it really felt to one climber - herself. She does not presume to speak for or judge the others. So, I loved it, and recommend it to anyone who is willing to connect with their own triumphs and ultimate powerlessness.

From Publishers Weekly, May 24, 1999

STARRED REVIEW in Publishers Weekly, May 24, 1999Climbing High: A Woman's Account of Surviving the Everest Tragedy Lene Gammelgaard, Seal, $25 (224p) ISBN 1-58005-023-9"Months before Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air conquered bestseller lists, Gammelgaard, a member of the 1996 Mountain Madness Mt. Everest expedition, wrote an account of the catastrophe that became a bestseller in Denmark and is at last available in English. Those who have followed the controversy surrounding the tragedy will welcome this even-handed version. A lawyer and psychotherapist, Gammelgaard intended to become the first Scandinavian woman to climb Everest. Her physical and mental training for a grueling ascent without oxygen (a publicity stunt that was later aborted) may have saved her life: she climbed quickly and reached the summit early. During the team's descent in the deadly snowstorm, she was also able to trade her full canister of oxygen for a weaker teammate's nearly empty one. Gammelgaard offers keen insights into the motivations and characters of the lead climbers and guides, and frankly discusses the "megalomania" that drove her to risk her life. Dismissing accusations that hers was a glamour expedition for wealthy amateurs, she emphasizes that her co-climbers were accomplished mountaineers and that the high price of admission paid for the best quality food, equipment and support team. Still, she has powerful regrets about the loss of life, confessing, 'I just didn't know how high a price the Mother Goddess of the World would exact to show us humans the consequences of hubris.'" Photos. 7-city author tour. (July)