Savage Summit by Jennifer Jordan is a must read for those who appreciate true-life adventure stories. As a non-climber who lives vicariously through the adventures of others as told in their books, I can't attest to what really goes on during an expedition or the ins and outs of the social-politics of the climbing community, especially high altitude climbers. I can say that Jordan's book seems to be well researched and recounts the adventures of the five subjects in the manner that made me feel a part of their lives and their climbs.
As a collection of adventure stories the book did not disappoint me in the least. I will admit that I was expecting a book about the first five women who climbed K2 that was written by a woman would be heavily slanted with a sexiest bias against the mostly male community of mountain climbers. Instead I found the book to be about 5 people who have that special inner drive to climb who also happened to be women. In telling the stories of these special people, Jordan also describes the bias and prejudice that some were faced with as they joined expeditions led by experienced men. This is especially true in the telling of Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz's adventures when women were a rare sight in climbing and as Jordan tells Wanda's stories and the stories of the other women she acknowledges that each was a person in her own right with their own strengths and weaknesses. Putting gender aside, Wanda Rutkiewicz had a personality that alienated many outside of a handful of people who understood her and even those closest to Wanda admit she could be difficult on an inter-personal level.
In telling the story of Chantal Mauduit Jordan clearly acknowledges that Mauduit, a happy-go-lucky sort who enjoy much luck climbing 8,000 meters peaks, used her feminine and sexual attributes to her advantage and thus enjoyed an advantage as she manipulated the males on her teams to carry the heavy loads and break routes that she could easily follow on her summit attempts.
The stories of Liliane Barrard, Julie Tullis and Alison Hargreaves were all exciting recounts of their climbing careers and their ultimate climbs to the summit of K2. Each of these women were beloved by friends and family, each recognized the dangers in high altitude climbing and each of them struggled with the pull of their loved one against the pull of the mountains. Ultimately, the mountains won and each died as accomplished climbers, not women, doing what they were drawn to do.
Bottom Line: Savage Summit is a great adventure read about 5 people who loved climbing and were eventually drawn to the attraction of solving a problem that is much greater than the well worn routes of Mt. Everest on the world's second highest peak, K2.

Savage Summit by Jennifer Jordan is a must read for those who appreciate true-life adventure stories. As a non-climber who lives vicariously through the adventures of others as told in their books, I can't attest to what really goes on during an expedition or the ins and outs of the social-politics of the climbing community, especially high altitude climbers. I can say that Jordan's book seems to be well researched and recounts the adventures of the five subjects in the manner that made me feel a part of their lives and their climbs.
As a collection of adventure stories the book did not disappoint me in the least. I will admit that I was expecting a book about the first five women who climbed K2 that was written by a woman would be heavily slanted with a sexiest bias against the mostly male community of mountain climbers. Instead I found the book to be about 5 people who have that special inner drive to climb who also happened to be women. In telling the stories of these special people, Jordan also describes the bias and prejudice that some were faced with as they joined expeditions led by experienced men. This is especially true in the telling of Polish climber Wanda Rutkiewicz's adventures when women were a rare sight in climbing and as Jordan tells Wanda's stories and the stories of the other women she acknowledges that each was a person in her own right with their own strengths and weaknesses. Putting gender aside, Wanda Rutkiewicz had a personality that alienated many outside of a handful of people who understood her and even those closest to Wanda admit she could be difficult on an inter-personal level.
In telling the story of Chantal Mauduit Jordan clearly acknowledges that Mauduit, a happy-go-lucky sort who enjoy much luck climbing 8,000 meters peaks, used her feminine and sexual attributes to her advantage and thus enjoyed an advantage as she manipulated the males on her teams to carry the heavy loads and break routes that she could easily follow on her summit attempts.
The stories of Liliane Barrard, Julie Tullis and Alison Hargreaves were all exciting recounts of their climbing careers and their ultimate climbs to the summit of K2. Each of these women were beloved by friends and family, each recognized the dangers in high altitude climbing and each of them struggled with the pull of their loved one against the pull of the mountains. Ultimately, the mountains won and each died as accomplished climbers, not women, doing what they were drawn to do.
Bottom Line: Savage Summit is a great adventure read about 5 people who loved climbing and were eventually drawn to the attraction of solving a problem that is much greater than the well worn routes of Mt. Everest on the world's second highest peak, K2.