No Shortcuts to the Top
Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks
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No Shortcuts to the Top
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Hoye
About this listen
For 18 years, Ed Viesturs pursued climbing's holy grail: to stand atop the world's 14 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go.
A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto: "Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory." It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers, as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air.
No Shortcuts to the Top is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and the beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.
©2006 Ed Viesturs and David Roberts (P)2006 Books on TapeListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, 2007
What listeners say about No Shortcuts to the Top
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- DownFall15200
- 09-08-21
Excellent insight into the world of 8000ers
Fantastic look into the mentality of one of the most accomplished mountaineers of all time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Buyer
- 02-02-18
Great Listen
Really enjoyed this book. Certainly one you have to listen to if you are interested in the 1996 disaster on Everest. Not because it covers what happened in detail, but because it gives you an insight in to just how small and unique the high altitude climbing scene truly was back then.
This story will leave get you motivated.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Shaun
- 01-08-16
An inspiration
After unknowingly passing Ed Viestures on Rainier as he was guiding a team up the mountain I decided to listen to his book.
He's a truly motivational character. A great book and a fascinating read (listen)!
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- jennifer
- 19-09-17
Loved it
I couldnt stop listening, what a great account of endurance, and wonderfully narrated. Absolutely fascinating, I was hooked!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Simon
- 25-01-15
Inspirational story from a great guy
This is a fantastic blend of detailed accounts of incredible expeditions in the high peaks, together with the back story to Ed Viesturs' upbringing and home life. One of the best climbing memoirs I have encountered.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Emma
- 04-02-07
Are you an 8000 m mountain nerd?
Breathtaking achievement. If like me you are obsessed about anything to do with mountain climbing you will love this. If you're not a 'mountain nerd' you will probably find this too long and too dry. Alot about this book is repetative, after all its a collection of stories about climbing 8000 m climbs, in essence its the same story over and over. Not for everyone but i loved it.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- S L Jones
- 20-04-21
A good listen but a bit “me, me, me”
Having read & really enjoyed a number of books on mountaineering I found this to be an enjoyable & incite-full listen for the most part. My only dislike were what felt like “self ego inflating” pockets from the author (who has undoubtedly achieved what many could not) but perhaps this could be put down to the delivery of the reader rather than content? Despite this I found myself taken on a journey that I have huge amounts of respect for and would recommend it to anyone interested in climbing.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- JB
- 13-01-17
Gripping
Knowing Viesturs by reputation led me to the book and it doesn't disappoint, truly fascinating and gripping...gives you a r
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- Anonymous User
- 15-02-21
Awesome!!
I wouldn’t usually review an audiobook, but this story of an absolute legend is incredible!
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- Anonymous User
- 29-06-19
Inspirational and humbling
Really loved this book. It was both exciting to follow events of different climbs (including 1996 events on Everest) and to learn from psychological knowledge Ed Viesturs gained in mountains. Truly inspirational because of his humbling attitude towards mountains and life in general.
Made me more proud to be Latvian (his father comes from Latvia)
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