Mountain Madness:
Scott Fischer, Mount Everest, and a Life Lived on High
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
“An extraordinary life.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A fitting homage to one of the great outdoor extremists.”—Kirkus Reviews
Legendary climber Scott Fischer found in Mount Everest a perfect landscape for his fearless spirit. Scaling the world’s highest peak tested his skills, his courage, and his endurance. His legendary final expedition—and its tragic outcome—are portrayed in Everest, the 3-D movie adaptation starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Scott Fischer. Robert Birkby, one of Scott’s close friends, captures in this intimate and stirring portrait who Scott Fischer really was and what led him to climb to the top of the world—before he left it altogether.
“A personal, uncritical biography that rounds out the portrait of Fischer sketched in Krakauer’s best-seller Into Thin Air.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A much fuller picture of a climber widely critiqued in the high-profile coverage after the Everest tragedy.”—Seattle Post Intelligencer
“A vivid portrait of a superb athlete whose love of mountain climbing drove everything he did.”—Ed Viesturs, author of No Shortcuts to the Top
“Birkby succeeds in illuminating the power mountains can exert over the human soul.—Publishers Weekly
Updated with a New Introduction and Epilogue
Plus new photos exclusive to the digital edition!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mountaineer Scott Fischer and outdoors expert Birkby (author of trail maintenance standard Lightly on the Land) were friends and trekking companions from their 1982 meeting until Fischer's tragic, controversial death on a 1996 expedition up Everest, leading a tour group from his Mountain Madness adventure travel business (from which his clients all descended safely). Combining his memories with those of Fischer's family, friends, fellow mountaineers and other alumni of the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyo., where Fischer worked, Birkby chronicles Fischer from his New Jersey childhood through his years teaching with NOLS, his drive to perfect his skills and reach the highest peaks, and the struggles to establish his travel company. The obsession indicated by the title is what Birkby most wrestles with, attempting to understand the passion that drove Fischer higher and higher; especially in his climbing scenes, Birkby succeeds in illuminating the power mountains can exert over the human soul. He's also adept at capturing powerful ties of love and friendship, of which Fischer had plenty; his charisma, charm and open embrace of adventure suffuse the narrative. This warm remembrance should strike a powerful chord not just in climbers, but in anyone who has lost a dear friend to untimely death. 16 pages of color photos.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic
Moving, detailed and thrilling account of the author's relationship and experiences with one of mountaineering's Giants.