Dark Summit: The True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season

Viking, 2008. Softcover. Very Good. 0x0x0. Signed by Author. Gift inscription by and signed by author; scarce thus. The inside story of the deadly 2006 climbing season on Everest On May 15, 2006, a young British climber named David Sharp lay dying near the top of Mount Everest while forty other climbers walked past him on their way to the summit. A week later, Lincoln Hall, a seasoned Australian climber, was left for dead near the same spot. Hall’s death was reported around the world, but the next day he was found alive after spending the night on the upper mountain with no food and no shelter. If David Sharp’s death was shocking, it was hardly singular: despite unusually good weather, ten others died attempting to reach the summit that year. In this meticulous inquiry into what went wrong, Nick Heil tells the full story of the deadliest year on Everest since the infamous season of 1996. He introduces Russell Brice, the commercial operator who has done more than anyone to provide access to the summit via the mountain’s north side—and who some believe was partly accountable for Sharp’s death. As more climbers attempt the summit each year, Heil shows how increasingly risky expeditions and unscrupulous outfitters threaten to turn Everest into a deadly circus. Nick Heil first wrote about the 2006 climbing season for Outside, where he worked as a senior editor from 1999 to 2006. Now a freelance journalist, his work has also appeared in Men’s Journal, Skiing, and other publications. Based in Santa Fe, he has worked as a climbing and skiing instructor, and has travelled extensively in Europe, Asia and North America.