Death Zone

This is a gripping account of the deadly storm that engulfed Mt. Everest in May 1996 and left a trail of dead bodies in its wake on the mountain. In this first person chronicle, originally released under the title "The Other Side of Everest", the author writes about the storm as experienced on the north face of Everest, in which death came calling. The author provides many details of his expedition's ascent which is sure to fascinate and delight all Everest junkies. The narrative is compelling and absorbing. The tragic deaths of three members of the Indian team who reached the summit, only to become engulfed by the storm during their descent down the precipitous north face of Everest, trapping them over night, is heartbreaking. The callousness of a Japanese expedition who, on their ascent to the summit the following day, passed the Indian climbers, still alive but near death, and refused to aid them in their extremis, is truly shocking. The author also rehashes the effect of the storm on the south face and the heavy toll of life it exacted there. Jon Krakauer, however, does it better in his gripping book "Into Thin Air", which chronicles the devastating impact the 1996 storm had on the south face of Everest. In the final analysis, the author, Matt Dickinson, a novice climber who first ascended Everest that May 1996, comes across as a self-absorbed, selfish sort of lout. Notwithstanding his own personal shortcomings, however, his book still makes for an absorbing read.

Matt Dickinson sets out to rescue his faltering career & find some sort of resolution of the wanderlust that is breaking his marriage apart. The independent TV producer chooses to make a film about the British actor, Brian Blessed, who's fascination with Everest & the mystery of Mallory & Irvine, tempts the actor to the summit........... the date, 1996, one of the deadliest years in Everest history. The reader's fore knowledge of what was to happen sits like a dark cloud over the earlier pages, the happy times, the jubilation of getting the project all together, the growing thrill of anticipation. Like a corpse at a banquet The Death Zone already casts it's long shadow.The book benefits from Dickinsons background as a TV producer, he knows how to construct a narative as well as how to keep accurate notes for later re telling. I read this book after "Into Thin Air" & I have to say "Death Zone" is far superior as a result.One of the best features of the story, to my mind, is that our Matt is definitely one of us. He's not a mountaineer, unlike Krakauer. He's also very honest, relaying all his hopes & fears, the darkest workings of the mind, when faced with such a daunting & possibly deadly challenge. You can really get the feeling of what it would be like to go to Everest yourself & it is not a pleasent proposition. The vomiting, the mind scrambling effects of dehydration & lack of oxygen, the burned skin cracked & infected, the frostbite, the sheer terror of setting foot in places that could snatch away your insignificant life in an instant. And all of this is the normal fare of Everest, not including the impending disaster that was to unfold.As Dickinson gets higher the story gathers pace, but it is as if you view it through a veil. Things get misty, confused, he's having trouble thinking, making notes, talking. And the film he's trying to make starts to unravel as things just go wrong, the unexpected is the norm on this mountain & he desperately tries to save his project from turning into a disaster.Then, incredibly he finds himself at the top of the world, something he had absolutely no intention of doing when he first planned the expedition. This inexperienced, unfit, man in the street suddenly finds himself summiting, the final stumbling, shuffling footsteps to the top being laid out on the page gloriously. If this was a Holylwood film script you'd think it was a sad & well worn cliche, but it is true.Then Everest shows its savage side. Nothing readies you for the ferocity unleashed & the team find themselves fighting for their lives. Many words have been written about what happened that day regarding why experienced mountaineers repeatedly made wrong decisions that were so out of character. But the truth lies buried in the snow with them & we will never know what went through their minds. Also there was much criticism of the able bodied climbers not helping those in trouble, but Dickinson manages to convey the total