Jim Curran's "K2: Triumph and Tragedy" is a solid account of the disastrous 1986 climbing season on K2, the world's second highest mountain. That year, 13 climbers from a variety of expeditions died on the mountain's infamous slopes.

Curran, who was on a British expedition as a filmmaker and did not climb much higher than 7,000 meters, watched from base camp as several people marched off to their deaths, including one of his closest friends. His pain is palpable during some of the later parts of the book and he concludes that successful high altitude mountaineers are the kind of people who push themselves to the brink precisely because it has always worked out before -- until it doesn't.

Curran is a middling writer... his early chapters get bogged down in a sort of name dropping scenario where he starts tossing around the names and accomplishments of climber after climber. Even though many of the names were familiar, it was just too much to take in at one time. The later chapters of the book are better, but more tragic as Curran waits at base camp for friends that will never return.

I've read a lot of mountaineering books over the years and found this one to be good over all, but not one of my favorites. I'd recommend it only to readers who are already fairly familiar with climbing and technical terms as Curran does not take a lot of time for explanations. ( )

This book gives an invaluable account of how people deteriorate when stranded at high altitude. The more determined of the group retain the will to live and the drive to extricate themselves from the trap into which they have fallen. Other proven and determined climbers curl up in a ball and surrender themselves to the fates and ultimately death itself: a high quality mountaineering study, not to be confused with the light weight reading mentioned below. K2 retains it's reputation as a formidable climb and reminds climbers not to take it for granted. ( )

The author's original involvement in this British expedition was for the purpose of making a film. His focus shifted, however, to trying to understand how this climbing season turned so deadly. The author's introspection, as well as his portrayals of the others involved, came across as honest and heartfelt. I found myself struggling along with him, trying to understand why certain decisions were made. His speculations seemed well-founded, and were documented with interviews of the other mountaineers at K2 that season. My only frustration wtih the book was that there was a good deal of mountaineering lingo and slang, and it would have been helpful if a glossary had been included. Overall a worthwhile and thought-provoking read. ( )

Not as riveting as Into Thin Air, but a compelling and balanced look at a mountaineering tragedy. ( )