GLORIOUS FAILURES, The Mountaineers Anthology Series, Vol. 1; Mountaineers Books; fall 2001; 240 pages; $16.95
Mountaineers Books, which has published more than 500 books in the past four decades, has no shortage of material to draw upon for this new series. What it ended up with are 15 stories that fit perfectly under the theme "Glorious Failures."
Each is a compelling tale of trying to reach a mountain summit. The stories illustrate the human spirit and that the real failure in climbing is not coming home safely. Other than the book's last chapter on Mallory and Irvine's attempt to conquer Mount Everest in 1924, I'd never read about the other 14 accounts. And all accounts are preceded by a brief introduction that sets the stage.
The book opens with the tale of Belmore Browne and Herschel C. Parker coming within 150 feet of the summit of Mount McKinley in 1912 before being turned back by a storm. Since their trip required 160 miles of travel across snow, their decision to turn back was admirable. After all, they could have been the first ever to reach the summit.
"The game's up; we've got to get down!" Brown yelled at Parker.
The two also managed to avoid an avalanche, caused by an earthquake related to the eruption of Mount Katmai, 380 miles away.
(A later chapter in the book tells how Browne and Parker tried to be the first to climb Washington's Mount Olympus in 1907 but ended up climbing the wrong mountain.)
Another story tells how Bill Pilling overextended his knee, tore ligaments and ruptured an artery while trying to climb Alaska's Mount Vancouver in 1994. It took him and his companion 19 hours to descend the mountain and another three days to get back to base camp. They were rescued by a plane seven days after the accident.
One Austrian climber fell 150 feet in one accident but ended up worrying more about the condition of his pants more than his injuries.
Still another illustrates the death of Hermann Buhl in 1957 while climbing in Pakistan.
"We live and learn, and big mountains are stern teachers," one story states.
Climbing ethics, which in the 1930s meant you shouldn't leave your climbing partner, forced Fritz Wiessner to stop 750 feet short of K2's summit in 1939. His Sherpa climbing companion believed angry spirits inhabited the mountain after dark and was too scared to go farther. If he had continued, he would have been the first to reach the summit.
Climbing down, the two found their base camps mysteriously stripped of necessities. They never got another chance to climb the world's second-highest mountain.
Wiessner's expedition also raised controversy because four Sherpas left alone at base camps died.
The 15 chapters include plenty of death and suffering but showcase the strength and determination needed to tackle world-class mountains.
E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com