Steve House: Beyond the Mountain

If you are looking for some motivation for the upcoming season I highly recommend this book. Incredible story by an incredible climber with incredible pictures. As with most mountaineering books there are several references to NH and NH climbers.

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/Beyond_the_Mountain_Book?slc=en_US&sct=US&p=BK205-0-000

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Just finished it a few weeks ago. He's not the best writer, but the stories he tells about climbing in the Himalaya and Karakoram are just wild. Unfortunately, I missed BOTH his slideshows/lectures near me (NYC and New Paltz) in support of the book.

For any winter hikers and/or climbers out there, if you want to be shocked and amazed, go to YouTube and key "Steve House" into the search field and click on the Nanga Parbat gear selection video.

It's about 8 minutes or so (IIRC) where House goes through his gear bag and details what he took on his trip with Vince Anderson when they put up a the first ascent of the Rupal Face on Nanga Parbat a coupla years ago.

Talk about fast and light!

I take a bigger rack with me ice climbing in the Whites than he does putting up a FA on a 8,000m peak!!

Nice to hear a couple of endorsements for the book. I bought a signed copy when it first came out but newer books keep piling up on top of it on the shelf. I'll have to re-prioritize the pile now. I had read House's article in Alpinist Mag. Amazing stuff. Some great photos in the book as well.

Not to be picky but Reinhold and Gunther Messner made the first ascent of the Rupal Face in 1970 with Gunther dying somewhere on the Diamir Face during the descent. Perhaps the House-Anderson route is a variation of the original route or a different line altogether which might constitute a first ascent.

JohnL

JohnL said:

Not to be picky but Reinhold and Gunther Messner made the first ascent of the Rupal Face in 1970 with Gunther dying somewhere on the Diamir Face during the descent. Perhaps the House-Anderson route is a variation of the original route or a different line altogether which might constitute a first ascent.

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The Messners did do the FA of the Rupal Face. The House-Anderson is a new line on the Rupal Face that does join the Messner line very high up. It is a FA and it is definitively the first alpine-style ascent of the face and a mountain of that height.