play out. The new revelations about Annapurna didn’t change the feelings I’d had decades earlier, when I’d first read Herzog’s book. It still seemed a heroic tale of struggle, camaraderie, sacrifice, and eventual success.
With the counterculture revolution of the late 1960s and the 1970s came a new trend in expedition literature. In the new narratives, the dirty laundry was not only brought out of the closet, it was put on prominent display. No two books more vividly embodied this tell-it-like-it-was aesthetic than Galen Rowell’s
In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods
and Rick Ridgeway’s
The Last Step
, which chronicled, respectively, the 1975 and 1978 American K2 expeditions. Rowell and Ridgeway not only highlighted every interpersonal showdown among their teammates, they remembered (or recreated) blistering dialogues to dramatize them. A sample from Ridgeway:
“I just talked to Lou,” Cherie said acidly. “I’m tired of hearing all this stuff about Terry being upset. Everyone whispering behind our backs. You’re all bastards. Bastards, bastards, bastards.”
“Look, we could care less what goes on as long as it doesn’t affect the team and the climb,” John said.
“What do you mean what goes on? I’m sick of all this gossiping,” Cherie started to cry.
After those two books were published, some of the team members—the ones portrayed in the most unfavorable light, of course—felt betrayed. But a younger generation of readers responded with gleefulenthusiasm:
So this is what really goes on during expeditions
. The elders of our tribe, the traditionalists, were aghast. I read Rowell and Ridgeway’s books when they came out, and I could relate to what they wrote. But I’d never publish the kinds of intimate details from my expeditions that they sprinkled on virtually every page of their books.
The debate persists today, although the tell-all school has gained a comfortable edge. I’ve never been exactly sure where on this spectrum my own views lie, though they’re certainly far to the right (if right is conservative) of Rowell and Ridgeway. Since I’ve never written a book-length account of any of my expeditions, I’ve never had to commit my beliefs on this matter to print. In
No Shortcuts to the Top
, there were certainly plenty of real antagonisms that I downplayed or even avoided mentioning altogether. At the same time, I’ve sometimes been accused of being too much of a “nice guy,” even of subscribing to that old motherly admonition “If you don’t have something nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything at all.”
I’d be the first to admit that the kinds of rows and resentments recounted by Rowell and Ridgeway are exactly what goes down on expeditions. The question remains, whose business is it beyond the members of the team?
What my friend pointed out was that in the privacy of my diary, I’m closer to Ridgeway than I might otherwise think. K2 in 1992 was undeniably an expedition fraught with conflict. It may be that the version of the story that I told in
Shortcuts
soft-pedals that conflict.
From the hike in onward, for instance, one of my teammates really bugged me. Let’s call him “Joe” to protect his identity. Here’s some of what I wrote:
Joe already split to go to base camp. I’m kinda glad because he’s starting to drive me nuts. He’s always gotta pipe into a conversation and add something. He’s already “conquered” K2 in his mind. He has no patience and he can’t keep his mouth shut.
Joe went up alone today [to Camp I] and is spending the night. That is a bit stupid in my opinion. He’s in a hurry for no reason. Climbing K2 is a marathon and he’s sprinting! He’s a bit of a lost soul and I think he’s looking for recognition and attention.
• • •
Joe talks & talks & talks. Sometimes it’s nice to have peace & quiet but he doesn’t know when. Scott & I keep on reading & Joe keeps on talking. He also keeps borrowing stuff.
With the counterculture revolution of the late 1960s and the 1970s came a new trend in expedition literature. In the new narratives, the dirty laundry was not only brought out of the closet, it was put on prominent display. No two books more vividly embodied this tell-it-like-it-was aesthetic than Galen Rowell’s
In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods
and Rick Ridgeway’s
The Last Step
, which chronicled, respectively, the 1975 and 1978 American K2 expeditions. Rowell and Ridgeway not only highlighted every interpersonal showdown among their teammates, they remembered (or recreated) blistering dialogues to dramatize them. A sample from Ridgeway:
“I just talked to Lou,” Cherie said acidly. “I’m tired of hearing all this stuff about Terry being upset. Everyone whispering behind our backs. You’re all bastards. Bastards, bastards, bastards.”
“Look, we could care less what goes on as long as it doesn’t affect the team and the climb,” John said.
“What do you mean what goes on? I’m sick of all this gossiping,” Cherie started to cry.
After those two books were published, some of the team members—the ones portrayed in the most unfavorable light, of course—felt betrayed. But a younger generation of readers responded with gleefulenthusiasm:
So this is what really goes on during expeditions
. The elders of our tribe, the traditionalists, were aghast. I read Rowell and Ridgeway’s books when they came out, and I could relate to what they wrote. But I’d never publish the kinds of intimate details from my expeditions that they sprinkled on virtually every page of their books.
The debate persists today, although the tell-all school has gained a comfortable edge. I’ve never been exactly sure where on this spectrum my own views lie, though they’re certainly far to the right (if right is conservative) of Rowell and Ridgeway. Since I’ve never written a book-length account of any of my expeditions, I’ve never had to commit my beliefs on this matter to print. In
No Shortcuts to the Top
, there were certainly plenty of real antagonisms that I downplayed or even avoided mentioning altogether. At the same time, I’ve sometimes been accused of being too much of a “nice guy,” even of subscribing to that old motherly admonition “If you don’t have something nice to say about somebody, don’t say anything at all.”
I’d be the first to admit that the kinds of rows and resentments recounted by Rowell and Ridgeway are exactly what goes down on expeditions. The question remains, whose business is it beyond the members of the team?
What my friend pointed out was that in the privacy of my diary, I’m closer to Ridgeway than I might otherwise think. K2 in 1992 was undeniably an expedition fraught with conflict. It may be that the version of the story that I told in
Shortcuts
soft-pedals that conflict.
From the hike in onward, for instance, one of my teammates really bugged me. Let’s call him “Joe” to protect his identity. Here’s some of what I wrote:
Joe already split to go to base camp. I’m kinda glad because he’s starting to drive me nuts. He’s always gotta pipe into a conversation and add something. He’s already “conquered” K2 in his mind. He has no patience and he can’t keep his mouth shut.
Joe went up alone today [to Camp I] and is spending the night. That is a bit stupid in my opinion. He’s in a hurry for no reason. Climbing K2 is a marathon and he’s sprinting! He’s a bit of a lost soul and I think he’s looking for recognition and attention.
• • •
Joe talks & talks & talks. Sometimes it’s nice to have peace & quiet but he doesn’t know when. Scott & I keep on reading & Joe keeps on talking. He also keeps borrowing stuff.
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