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The Summit

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The Summit

By: Pemba Gyalje Sherpa, Pat Falvey
Narrated by: Pat Falvey
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About this listen

On 1 August, 2008, 18 climbers from across the world reached the summit of K2, the world's second-highest and most dangerous mountain - a peak that claims the life of one in every four climbers who attempt it. Over the course of 28 hours K2 had exacted a deadly toll: 11 lives were lost in a series of catastrophic accidents.

Over the course of three days, a Nepalese Sherpa called Pemba Gyalje, along with five other Sherpas, was at the center of a series of attempts to rescue climbers who had become trapped in the Death Zone, unable to escape its clutches and debilitated by oxygen deprivation, chronic fatigue, delirium and a terrifying hopelessness.

The tragedy became a controversy as the survivors walked from the catastrophe on the mountain into an international media storm, in which countless different stories emerged, some contradictory and many simply untrue.

Based on Pemba Gyalje's eyewitness account and drawing on a series of interviews with the survivors which were conducted for the award-winning documentary The Summit.

The Summit: How Triumph Turned to Tragedy on K2's Deadliest Days is the most comprehensive interpretation of one of modern-day mountaineering's most controversial disasters.

©2014 Beyond Endurance Publishing (P)2014 Beyond Endurance Publishing Travel Writing & Commentary Survival

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All stars
Most relevant  
this was my first ever audio book. I loved this story and it was very easy to follow all the different characters in audio. at first I was worried I might not understand well, since I am not native English speaker, but that was not the case at all. it is very accessible. And the book itself is amazing. Great respect for Pemba!

Great story and easy to follow in audio

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The Summit is a really good story but the author should of given the job of narration to someone else. I found it a struggle to understand his broad accent, and the speed at which he read meant I needed to skip back on occasions to pick up what had been said.
I'm an armchair adventurer so can't criticise the climbers but there were times when I was saying 'turn back' or ' what are you thinking' !
The author showed his friend ( who died on the mountain ) real loyalty in telling the account that he did. The K2 tragedy is another incident that requires us to see all sides of a story instead of apportioning blame or telling half truths.

really good story but......

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found it hard to get into as the narrators performance was quiet poor i felt.

I love this subject but the narrator ruined it

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The story of one of the biggest tragedies on K2 comes to life. Having watched a number of documentaries on the tragedy, this book gives first hand accounts of what happened on that fateful day when K2 claimed 11 climbers. When the tragedy first began to unfold in early August 2008 there were many false reports and rumours circulating in the media and this story seems to set the record straight in my mind on a number of those events. This story pays tribute to those who died (some in very unfortunate cirvumstances) doing what they loved the most and also to a number of hero's who helped save lives and prevent even more tragedy.

Truly gripping story

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All disaster books have a voyeuristic element but I felt this lacked anything to lift it above that level.

Into Thin Air is brilliant in its description of a total failure in leadership. Touching the Void is about survival and extremes of bravery. Summit disects a disaster in a very comprehensive manner, but I found it offered little more than a close up view of what went wrong at the serac.

Loads of better mountaineering books available.

Rubber-necking at the serac

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Don't belive all the haters about the narrator, his voice takes a little getting used to granted but he still had me hooked on a enthralling story.

Excellent story

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If you have a interest in extreme sports this is a good listen
You will find yourself questioning what you would do to reach your summit
Would you could you abandon your morals for that moment of glory

It’s does get a little hard to follow and the Narrator is not the easiest of people to listen to
But overall I would recommend this book if the subject is one that your interested in

Good listen

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I am no expert but I do know quite a bit about this story. I was looking forward to hear Pemba’s account. But the narrative was hijacked and full of errors. Joselito was a member of a Serbian team but not a Serb! Like many other books on the topic, there are no shades of grey. Disappointing.

Full of factual errors and horrible narration

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this is a great story but the narration let's it down. very hard to listen to. hard to understand sometimes

Great story terrible naration

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Where does The Summit rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Excellent story-telling.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Summit?

It's interesting how much we learnt about the sherpas and the eye-witness account of Pemba is what makes this book - and audiobook - extra special.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's a long listen so ideal for a journey or a chapter a night.

A gripping journey!

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