Date finished 28 Nov 2020
Recommendation: 7/10
Take heart from the fact that no matter what life throws at you, you’ll never have it worse than being stuck halfway up a mountain alone, with your knee smashed to pieces.
The two climbers in this book took a stupid risk and nearly paid the ultimate price. What they went through though makes for one hell of a survival story. The first third of the book is boring for someone who doesn’t climb as it takes us on their ascent. Once Joe breaks his leg things suddenly get very tense, ramping up each time the situation gets more desperate. The emotions he goes through, the guilt of Simon who cut Joe loose, the ebb and flow of determination and hopelessness that got him to camp. It’s powerful stuff.