High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed Book

A real page turner! Crime, selfishness, natural disasters, death, frostbite, summit fever...

I have two criticisms of this book that prevent me from giving it five stars. The first is its structure--Kodas chronicles two Everest summit attempts that take place in the same season but on different routes: his own Connecticut Everest expedition and the summit bid of Dr. Nils Antezana, an older climber. Chapters go back and forth between the two accounts--and not chronologically--with sidetracks into numerous other stories, background info, and previous seasons' climbs. All the info is highly compelling, but the sheer number of characters (I think there were 5-7 Davids alone) is confusing and the back and forth is jarring--just as I was totally engrossed by one story, the chapter ends and I had to re-gear for the continuation of a previously interrupted story.

My second problem with the book is Kodas' grievance with his climbing expedition partners seems to have compromised his objectivity. He recounts every injustice done to him, every hurled insult, every piece of equipment lost or unpaid for or unfairly acquired. I got a little bogged down in the telling of Kodas' summit bid because of this.

For me, the excellent part of the book is the tragic telling of the events leading to the death of Dr. Antezana. Kodas does a great job of portraying Dr. Antezana and his family, who come across as such humane, kind, loving people. Yet Kodas also is honest about how Dr. Antezana's lack of judgement and intense desire to summit Everest contribute to his downfall.

Kodas also does a good job of laying out all sides of the dilemmas inherent in guided high altitude climbing. Is a climber's first reponsibility his own summit bid (to say nothing of his own life) or to helping other climbers in bad to desperate situations? should the big expensive climbing outfits share their gear and expertise with those who show up unprepared and under-funded? No easy answers.