Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 4,107 ratings

Price: 17.46

Last update: 01-07-2025


Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible from start to finish
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2024
This book is gripping and won’t let you put it down. Rarely have I read a mountaineering book so well written and captivating. A must have.
Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting.
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
Thanks.
Constant Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book and A Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2012
This is a wonderful book, well researched, carefully documented, absolutely accurate and beautifully written and edited. It is a true adventure that takes the reader into the world of climbing Nepali Sherpas and Pakistani High Altitude Porters (HAPs), a world seldom experienced and little understood by westerners. We usually only hear about the westerners on the mountains and even in death most Eastern Sherpas and HAPs are not identified by name in news reports. The book weaves a true tale of tragedy, courage, and humanity about the most skilled climbers in the world who carry the rest of us to the top of unforgiving mountains inhabited by their goddesses. It is also the story of their culture, their families, and physiologically why they are especially adapted to climbing at high altitudes. This book leads us into their world.

My husband and I have a personal interest in this story and have carefully followed the books published about the 2008 tragedy on K2 as Jumik and Tshering Bhote, Nepali Sherpa friends of ours, were on that mountain. They are brothers of Pemba, our lead Sherpa on our visits to Nepal. They have cared for us, driven us, guided us, and befriended us, as Sherpas do. Jumik lost his life when a serac fell on him. Tshering survived but will be forever marked by that terrible event as will his family, also friends of ours. I wish that I could say Jumik died in a place where he wanted to be doing what he loved; but, truthfully, he was doing what he could to provide for his family. People in that part of the world mostly live in abject poverty. Money can be made in the mountains, risky as climbing is. Jumik, and the other HAPs and Sherpas, do not climb for the love of climbing. They climb for money. Jumik was doing honorable work for honorable reasons, and this book honors his memory as well as all of those Sherpas and HAPs who were on the mountain that day. It tells the story of terrible death and great heroism and why these skilled mountaineers climb. It introduces us to their humanity as well as ours.

I urge you to enter this world through the eyes of Amanda and Peter. You will be glad you did.
Khumbu0609
5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Worthy of the Highest Praise
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2012
Although not much of a climber myself, I have an intense love of mountaineering literature, and I read the genre almost exclusively. During the Himalayan climbing season I follow a number of climbing Web sites and I'll never forget the drama that was unfolding on K2 the night of August 1, 2008. The news was grim. Several climbers had reached K2's summit at sunset. Anyone who read "Into Thin Air" will remember that the cause of many problems on that disastrous day in 1996 on Everest was due to late summits and ignored turnaround times. One would think these lessons would be a warning to the climbers on K2 that fateful day. But Summit Fever is hard to shake. A huge amount of money, physical effort and discomfort feed the fever and overpower common sense. Once you've fought your way to Camp IV, you're not inclined to turn around, no matter what the conditions. But this day conditions were excellent. However, the high altitude sun loosened the giant serac overhanging the crux of the climb. It didn't take long for word to get out that avalanches had scoured away the fixed lines leaving climbers stranded high on this extremely dangerous mountain.

I've read several books about this disaster, so I already knew who lives and who dies. But that didn't detract from the gripping drama that unfolds in Peter Zuckerman's and Amanda Padoan's superb narrative. They have fleshed out the story in more vivid detail by focusing on the Sherpa and Pakistani points of view. These men were interviewed in their native languages--a crucial element since they were participants and eyewitnesses, adding excruciating but vital details. The story is tragic, heroic, poignant, and heartwarming.

I was particularly delighted by the COLOR photos, all of which I had never seen before. I give this book two thumbs up AND five stars! Not only is it a page turner, it is a story that is not easily forgotten.
RTM
4.0 out of 5 stars Mountaineering from the Sherpa's Perspective
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2019
This book offers an unique perspective on what has unfortunately become a familiar story: too many people, from different countries, with varying levels of skill and experience, attempt to climb a famous but very dangerous mountain (in this case K2) at the same time by the same upper route to the summit. In 2008, nearly 40 climbers made this choice to take advantage of a narrow window of good weather. 11 died during a 24 hour period, and many others barely escaped with their lives. The well-written narrative is hard to put down, as the climbers try to make decisions and work together in this extreme high altitude environment. What makes this book different is that the authors focus most of this book on two of the climbers, Nepalis from the Sherpa people, giving their life stories in detail. Driven by a desire to escape poverty, achieve status, and support their families, they first serve as porters for climbing expeditions, then become skilled, accomplished climbers themselves. The authors provide interesting information about the Sherpa people, and their involvement in mountaineering. The reader also learns about the complex, unstable political situation in Nepal during their Civil War, which drove many rural families to the cities (primarily Kathmandu). While reading this, I thought about the great changes Western climbers have brought to the Sherpa people, both good and bad. 94 Sherpas have died on Mt Everest alone. More and more non-Nepali climbers will seek the summits of the world's highest mountains. Many of these people will depend on Sherpas to make their dreams a reality.

Best Sellers in

 
 

Ben & Me: In Search of a Founder's Formula for a Long and Useful Life

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 18
17.71
 
 

Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-Three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 652
17.5
 
 

Travels

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 1030
21.88
 
 

Not Without Peril (Tenth Anniversary Edition): 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 627
21.83
 
 

The Outlaw Ocean: Journeys Across the Last Untamed Frontier

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1120
19.69
 
 

The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 143
15.3
 
 

Peter Mayle's Provence: Including 'A Year in Provence' and 'Toujours Provence'

3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 6
13.12
 
 

Notes from a Small Island

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 9048
11.8