i'm gonna bag me some peaks...

[saturn]

Back in September (August?), Outside Magazine featured a cover story on the 10 year anniversary of the 1996 Everest disaster. I read Into Thin Air years ago but the article struck a cord so I picked it up again. The timing coincided with the release of Ed Viesturs' new book, No Shortcuts To The Top which I picked up on Monday and read over the past two days. Oh, my god, I'm hooked. I can't get over the drive to climb these mountains and the technical skill and flat out courage it takes to make the attempt. Viesturs' story is a particularly good read because of both his skill and, as he calls it, risk management on the mountain. I think Annapurna by Maurice Herzog is next on my list. Or maybe High Exposure. In the meantime, here are some photos from edviesturs.com. Can you believe this shit??