Arlene BlumRezensionen

This book has amazing ratings here and at Amazon so I'm compelled to explain why I was not as enamored of it. But I'll start by saying that the author does make her case: 1) Women are as good (and in some ways better) than males at high-altitude climbing. 2) Women are not shown respect by male climbers. I also enjoyed reading about the interactions with the Sherpas. So those were the strengths of the narrative.

However, I felt it difficult to learn much about the women individually and so, even though they had different names, the names weren't very useful for 90% of the book. Only near the end of the book as each gave up or had some sort of medical issue did they become recognizable and memorable individuals. However, even the remaining women that summitted seem indistinguishable. For example, it wasn't clear which were in great shape and which were in denial of their terrible condition.

In that sense, the book seemed like it was written more for friends (who already knew some of the women) than for complete strangers.

I would have liked a lot more detail. For example, there were several incidents of frostbite however the coverage of these were too brief. Similarly, there was very little explanation about use of oxygen tanks. And almost no coverage of high-altitude sickness. Even the summit episode was too brief.

The book became rather confusing after reaching base camp, particularly where each person was on the mountain. Would have been nice to have diagrams on each page showing which women (and sherpas) were at each camp at that moment. (The book had huge margins - plenty of empty space that just went to waste could have been used for illustrative purposes.)

On the other hand, there were things I really enjoyed. The coverage of the planning and management of the climb was very good. The incident with the geese was a nice touch.

One comment that really has nothing to do with the writing. The description of the frequent avalanches on Annapurna convinced me that the women were completely nuts. It was like they were rolling the dice with their lives. (Did they not research this before selecting this route up Annapurna?) Several other topics also had me questioning their rationality such as the idea of rescue by helicopter. I've read enough other books to know the problems with that.

In summary, I wasn't too thrilled by this book and wouldn't recommend it. There are thousands of books written by climbers. (600 books alone just about trips up Everest!) This is far from the best although if the all-womens nature of it is compelling, then this is the book for you.

Nonfiction doesn’t get much more interesting than this. A group of 13 women decided to form an all-female climbing team to get to the top of Annapurna. The leader of the group wrote this enthralling book about the joys and struggles, detailing the entire process. From arguments with Sherpas to the food they ate, each aspect of their lives on the mountain made me feel like I was right there with them. So much of the climbing experience, especially the weather, is out of their control. It was a harrowing and fascinating read.

Blum charged ahead in many fronts of her life; from women's rights, mountaineering, to scientific research, she really pushed the envelope. While the mountaineering portions do not achieve the Krakauer level of intensity, I appreciated the brutal honesty throughout. it was probably the most emotionally invested memoir I've read. From her humble beginnings to her achievements, she is a rare, true hero.

It felt quite fitting to read this book during the first substantial snowfall of the year. I could look out the window at white coldness and imagine being among the Himalayan heights. Annapurna tells of the American Women's Himalayan Expedition that in 1978 attempted the summit of Annapurna I, the world's tenth highest peak. At the time, no woman had ever climbed a 8,000 meter peak (26,200 ft. Annapurna is 26,540 ft.)

I really had no idea what mountain climbing is like before reading this book. The amount of planning, logistics, manpower and supplies was staggering. The ten-women team had to overcome male prejudice, disagreements among themselves, fatigue, frostbite, altitude sickness, and disgruntled porters. The colorful character of Nepal contrasted sharply with the austere beauty and danger up on the mountain. The last twenty pages were particularly gripping. I was frightened just reading about the dangers they faced. Why exactly do climbers put themselves at such risk? Blum makes it clear that mountain-climbing is not just about the challenge, thrills or proving that women can do it. There is a serenity and peace to be found at high altitudes- they climb because they love to do so, in spite of how difficult it is. I particularly liked this quote at the front of the book:

You never conquer a mountain.
You stand on the summit a few moments,
Then the wind blows your footprints away.

from the Dogear Diary

In [Annapurna] Arlene is a genuine leader of an expedition, but there's no back story. This is the autobiographic work, and it matches Annapurna in drama and story-telling as she recounts her personal struggle with gender stereotypes. A great read both by and about an inspiring woman.

I love it when you expect a book to be good, and to have some interesting stories and scenery, but it turns out to inspire you in ways you didn't know you needed.

This is one of those books.

I have been a fan of mountaineering books since I first scratched the surface of this literature with Into Thin Air. Many years later and many books later, I think Arlene Blum's memoir is a great addition to that literature. One of her early stories captured my attention. She wanted to prove that she could keep up with the guys and ended up tearing up her rear end when she was ill-equipped and ill-prepared for a fast descent. Later in the book when she leads the all-women climbs, I was fascinated by the dynamics of women climbers and the power of her tale. While her story is about climbing, it is also personal.

Having read lots of the 'Boys' Own Adventures' type climbing stories, and thoroughly enjoying them, I might add, I was looking for something from the experience of my own gender. I liked the book, and there were only a few minor things that grated. The particularly 1970s type feminism, in all its naivete and idealism was amusing at times. More offensive was the at times patronising tone towards the porters and sherpas (I am looking forward to reading Sherri Ortner's book about Sherpas). The gung-ho-ness of some of the women (we don't need porters, we don't need sherpas) was interesting but a bit cringe-making.
Unfortunately, at the end we had an update on the lives of the survivng members, but nothing further about the Sherpas. This is despite Blum having half-Sherpa children and spending much of her time in the Himalayas, and mention that one had divorced the Sherpa cook. So Blum one might imagine, might have had the resources to do an update on the Sherpa people on the expedition as well. Did any of the women they mistakenly involved ever make it back on an expedition?

The quality of production is good. I particularly like that the photos are integrated into the text, so it comes together as a whole, with illustrations right at the point of narration, rather than the more usual photo prints gathered together as plates once or twice in a book . It does give a slighty peculiar "text-book" look to it, but I think it works well. "Ghosts of Everest" is another book that achieves this, with very high quality colour pics. I liked the pics recording every day things around the camps.

All in all, a good read and enlightening about an activity in which I am an armchair fellow-traveller.