Book Review: Dark Summit

Nick Heil’s Dark Summit:The True Story of Everest’s Most Controversial Season offers an excellent peek behind-the-scenes during the 2006 Everest climbing season.

The season was riddled with controversy because teams of climbers marched right by David Sharp on May 15, 2006, as he lay dying high up on the mountain without offering aid. A week later, Lincoln Hall was also left for dead high on the mountain. Hall survived, despite the fact his death had already been reported around the globe. Critics castigated the climbers who had not fought to rescue these men from the mountain, as they instead marched right by their almost lifeless bodies and up towards the summit. Many climbers countered that they had barely enough energy to rescue themselves, let alone embark on the massive rescue mission necessary to haul someone down from the “Death Zone” on the mountain.

Heil examines these climbers, their motivations, reasoning, as well as the state of Himalayan climbing in general, and the colorful characters who play pivotal roles.

The Discovery Channel had cameras high on the mountain for the 2006 season, filming a documentary series called Everest: Beyond the Limit. Camera crews documented the season, as well as some of Everest’s most controversial characters (including often-controversial New Zealander Russell Brice). Brice, owner of Himalayan Experience, and the main guide featured in the Discovery Channel series later wrote defending his team and their actions on the mountain that year.

This book is a great read for anyone who has ever had an interest in climbing a mountain, reading about an adventure, or simply delving into the world of human motivations and emotions. Heil weaves multiple people’s tales together to offer unique insight into life atop the world’s highest peak.