I attended the Ed Viesturs book signing last night here in Austin. It was held over at Book People and the turn-out for the event was very good. I'd guess there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 75-100 people crammed into the small area set aside for the event. Those that did show up were treated to an hour long presentation from Ed himself on his climbing experiences, especially the 8000m peaks, which are the focus of his new book No Shortcuts To The Top.
Through out his presentation Ed mixed in some cool and intresting stories, humorous observations, and topped everything off with some amazing photos that he took along the way. He discussed which mountains were the toughest to climb, with K2 and Annapurna getting nods for being particularly nasty. He also discussed losing friends during the terrible 1996 season on Everest, and what it meant to him personally. He continually stressed how safety always came first for him on the mountain, and that if he didn't feel comfortable at any point, he would turn back. In fact, he turned back from the summit of Everest on his first attempt just 300 feet below the peak. But, he also said that he didn't like having unfinished business with Everest, so he returned a few years later to bag the summit. Since then he's been up five more times, and hasn't ruled out another Everest climb. The fact that he has been such a safe, conservative climber has allowed him to keep all his fingers and toes, which alone is a pretty impressive feat for a climber of his stature.
After the presentation, he took some questions from the crowd, and there were a number of interesting ones. Someone asked what he'd like to do next, as an encore to climbing the 8-thousanders. He said he hasn't given up climbing, and plans to continue what he loves, but he also has some other adventures in mind. He even said he has a desire to go to Antarctica, but had no interest in crossing a desert. (A reference to Reinhold Messners post climbing adventures.) He was also asked which of the 14 8000m peaks were his favorites, but he dodged the questions saying they all were unique and different and he loved each one. When pressed some, he essentially said that Annapurna was number two and all the others were number one. It was that mountain that gave him the most difficulty, and almost caused him to give up on getting all 14 peaks.
At one point I got to ask him a question, and I asked him to way in on the 2006 climbing season and the David Sharpe incident. He was pretty diplomatic in his response, but did say that the climbing environment on Everest has become very selfish (his word) and that it was all about the money and getting people to the top now. He felt that climbers had lost sight of what was really important, and that no summit was worth stepping over a dying man so that you could achive you own personal goals. Ed has participated in a number of high mountain rescuses, and he knows how tough it can be to save someone at those altitudes. But he also knows that it's important to try, and that you can't just leave someone to die on the mountain.
After he finished up, we all lined up to get our books signed. He personalized the signing with our names, and was very pleasant to everyone assembled. When he signed my book, I shook his hand, told him what a pleasure it was to meet him and listen to him speak, and then I moved on. It was a fun, intresting, and exciting night. It's not often you get to meet a living legend in his sport, and I'd highly recommend that if you ever get a chance to meet him, or hear him talk, that you take it. It's well worth your time.
I haven't started reading the book yet. I'll do so next week when I head out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Once I've finished it, I'll post my thoughts and a review.
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