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 Incredible mountaineering history. A Classic. Jun 09, 2010
One of the best books I have read. An incredible, original, first-hand account of one of history's great expeditions.
The book was written during the 1950s in French and reflects the style of its day and the challenges of translation.
It has been criticized for glossing over conflict within the group and for telling the story from only Herzog's perspective. Well, I think those are both pretty obvious characteristics of the book and the reasonably sophisticated reader will look between the lines, realizing that there is always more than one perspective in a story. This is a primary historical source, not a meta-account of the expedition carefully compiled after exhaustive interviews. When read with an educated mindset, it remains a great book.
 A classic tale of alpine conquest Feb 24, 2010
I enjoyed this book a lot. It read well for being a translation. I have not read accounts from other members of the expedition, so I can't speak to criticisms of its accuracy. As a climber, I can sympathize with Herzog's ambitions to go on in the face of danger - it takes a great deal of self control not to. I think He is too gracious to be called self gratifying and his arguably wreckless decisions are probably defensible given the ethics of his day. While I would not suggest cannonizing Annapurna as a definitive history of mountaineering book, it is certainly worth the read. If you are interested in reading an accurate book about Himalayan climmbing, read No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viestuers first. If you want a good story and aren't offended by subtle Francocentric biases, Annapurna is still highly recommended!
Excellent mountaineering literature. Nov 21, 2009
I consider "Annapurna," by Maurice Herzog to be an excellent read about mountaineering. Although I would generally recommend this book to anyone, I consider it an essential part of a mountaineers literature collection. For climbers, learning the lessons secondhand from Herzog rather then coming home from an expedition with fewer extremities than you had when you left seems to be the preference. This is a great book to study the mountain of Annapurna as well as to check yourself and your practices while high on your own mountains. After reading "No Shortcuts To The Top," by Ed Viesturs, I found that Viesturs continually referred to this book while he was enduring his quest to climb all of the 8,000+ meter peaks to keep himself in check. Viesturs admits that some of his practices on expeditions, such as always having two pair of mittens, as well as only using mittens that actually attach to his down suit, may be the cause that he climbed all 8,000 meter peaks without frostbite.
A couple of things to consider is that this book was translated from French, as well as written in the early 1950s. Herzog's climbing team were primarily Chamonix guides. Because of this, there are some small and certainly manageable grammar errors, as well as an overall general different way of saying things. I personally didn't mind this and consider it to have perhaps even strengthened my literary capabilities. In fact, I would often find myself quite humored by the grammar peculiarities. Perhaps they even aided in conceptually creating the environment and time period of the book.
I would also say that I didn't observe the excessive self praise by Herzog that was mentioned in another review of this book. Although only a fool would expect a personal account of anything to be completely objective, it felt generally objective to me, and I felt that Herzog applied most of his praise to his team's abilities rather than his own.
A mountain shrouded in mystery Oct 27, 2009
The year 1950 doesn't seem that long ago. But in terms of mountaineering, 1950 is ancient history. Mount Everest had not yet been climbed. The use of oxygen on high peaks wasn't common. And some of the highest mountains in the world were still shrouded in mystery.
In 1950, a French expedition ventured into Nepal hoping to be the first to climb a peak over 26,000 feet. But with bad maps and no aerial photographs to guide them, they spent weeks just trying to get close enough to a mountain to climb it. The one they finally chose, Annapurna, turned out to be doozy.
"Annapurna" is an accounting of this expedition by its leader, Maurice Herzog. It's not a particularly well-written book, but it still has some fascinating history and exciting moments.
If you're only looking for climbing adventure, there's much in the book you can skip. Fast forward to the summit attempt by Herzog and Louis Lachenal. On the way down, they and two other climbers get lost in a storm and struggle to stay alive. This gripping section is the best part of the book.
Still, it's interesting to read other parts of the expedition as well. Today, mountain climbing has become almost ruthlessly efficient as small parties summit fast and get down as quickly as possible. The 1950 expedition, by contrast, had nine Frenchmen and employed scores of Sherpas and porters to move goods and supplies in a series of camps. It took it months from start to finish.
While Herzog does fine recounting events, he doesn't do well portraying the people of the expedition. The Frenchmen are all portrayed as hard-working team members who barely, if ever, complain. It's hard to tell them apart.
The relationships between the French and the Sherpas and porters is interesting, though sometimes uncomfortable for today's reader. Herzog has high praise for many of them. But there's a section near the end where the expediton forcibly employs local men to help them carry their supplies. Herzog rationalizes that they all get well-paid in the end.
If you stumble over some of the mountaineering lingo ("bergschrund," "cagoule") in the book, take note that there's a glossary in the back. I didn't discover it until after I was done reading!
The most influential mountaineering book ever featuring exploration, the exhilirating summit, and the nightmare descent Sep 18, 2009
My second favourite Mountaineering book of all time! This is the most widely-read and influential mountaineering book ever published. Annapurna was the first 8000m mountain to be climbed, with Herzog becoming a national hero.
Because the maps at the time were incorrect, the team initially floundered looking for a route to either Dhaulagiri or Annapurna. Deciding that Dhaulagiri was too difficult, they found their way to the North Face of Annapurna. They quickly, and luckily, raced up the mountain. On June 3, 1950 Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal reached the summit of Annapurna without oxygen.
The descent turns into a nightmare, and is better than any fictional writer could dream up. Herzog loses his gloves and his hands become frostbitten and Lachenal's feet become frostbitten. Both barely make it back to camp. Lionel Terray and Gaston Rebuffat help them, but the weather turns into a white-out. They wander around helplessly before finding a crevasse to spend the night. They were caught in an avalanche. The medical treatment they received by the expedition doctor was unbelievable and almost primitive.
"The summit was a corniced crest of ice, and the precipices on the far side which plunged vertically down beneath us, were terrifying, unfathomable. Our mission was accomplished. But at the same time we had accomplished something infinitely greater. How wonderful life had become! What an inconceivable experience it is to attain one's goal and, at the very same moment, to fulfill oneself. I was stirred to the depths of my being. Never had I felt happiness like this - so immense and yet so pure."
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