Tales from the Death zone

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Gandalf69
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Tales from the Death zone

Post by Gandalf69 »

"There's always the possibility that some a**hole will be offended." -Clint Eastwood, Escape from Alcatraz
"Life is cruel, why should the afterlife be any different".-Davey Jones
"The decision to triage us to death...I understand. I don't know that I would agree with it. Certainly not in retrospect because obviously I made it."-Beck Weathers, Dark side of Everest
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Flips
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by Flips »

Riveting. When I saw this was one hour long, I thought no way would I watch it. After 2 minutes, there was no way I would stop watching it.
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Gandalf69
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by Gandalf69 »

Flips wrote: Sat Feb 19, 2022 11:11 pm Riveting. When I saw this was one hour long, I thought no way would I watch it. After 2 minutes, there was no way I would stop watching it.


Thanks for the awesome comment. I think everyone who does anything mountain related should watch and hear the guys story.
"There's always the possibility that some a**hole will be offended." -Clint Eastwood, Escape from Alcatraz
"Life is cruel, why should the afterlife be any different".-Davey Jones
"The decision to triage us to death...I understand. I don't know that I would agree with it. Certainly not in retrospect because obviously I made it."-Beck Weathers, Dark side of Everest
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by peter303 »

Post 1996 (and to a lesser extent 2006) disasters, most of the survivors wrote books and promoted them at the Tattered Cover and/or Boulder Bookstore. I remember Krakauer, Boukreev, Beck and Hall among them. Rather contentious questions from the audiences at times. Fascinating.
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Scott P
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by Scott P »

To be honest, his book bugged the heck out of me. It's the only mountaineering book I've read that actually bugged me.

Maybe I'll watch the Youtube and see if it's better.
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by Jorts »

Scott P wrote: Mon Feb 21, 2022 10:43 pm To be honest, his book bugged the heck out of me. It's the only mountaineering book I've read that actually bugged me.

Maybe I'll watch the Youtube and see if it's better.
I've never read it. How so did it bug you? I watched the video above. It was surprisingly captivating.
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by Scott P »

Jorts wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 10:23 am
Scott P wrote: Mon Feb 21, 2022 10:43 pm To be honest, his book bugged the heck out of me. It's the only mountaineering book I've read that actually bugged me.

Maybe I'll watch the Youtube and see if it's better.
I've never read it. How so did it bug you? I watched the video above. It was surprisingly captivating.
There was a lot in the book that bugged me. Beck making himself out as an obsessed mountaineer when he only did a few climbs, all of them guided was a little annoying, but it was his wife Peach who really bugged me.

Throughout the book, she was always saying how stupid hiking and climbing was and threw a fit when her son went hiking in Texas because some of the group got pulmonary and cerebral oedema in the hills of Texas (seriously). The book made it out to be a true story rather than complete BS.

She was always whining and was an incredibly selfish, nasty person. She would complain when Beck "left her" to go climb Longs Peak, yet refused to do share any of his interest. Her stupidity and lack of knowledge about hiking or climbing was incredibly dumb. She would always say how selfish Beck was, but stopped taking birth control without telling her husband.

Despite all of the above, Peach was made out to be the hero of the book and the book's conclusion seems to come to the conclusion that all hiking and climbing is stupid (even short trips) and that itbis something your spouse shouldn't ever do and instead everyone should be couch potatoes and go to parties.

I have a great wife. I'm glad I do. If there was anything I learned from reading the book, it was to appreciate my own wife. If I was Beck and woke up half frozen on the South Col, I would have rather walked off the Kangshung Face than go back to her.

At least that was my take of the book.
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by wineguy »

Scott P wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 11:32 am I have a great wife. I'm glad I do. If there was anything I learned from reading the book, it was to appreciate my own wife. If I was Beck and woke up half frozen on the South Col, I would have rather walked off the Kangshung Face than go back to her.
OUCH! :lol:
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by timisimaginary »

i don't remember the book being nearly that bad. don't remember anything about anyone getting HAPE/HACE in Texas (it's been a few years since i read it though). neither Beck nor Peach come off really well, but while Peach is annoying, i can certainly understand her perspective of suddenly finding herself married to a workaholic, exercise-addicted (Beck was so bad he continually trained for hours daily despite chronic overuse injuries) who repeatedly neglected even basic family duties. his obsession with climbing (and it was definitely an unhealthy obsession, in his particular case) began well after they had married, so it's not like she knew what she was getting into with him. i can understand her antipathy towards his "climbing" the same way any other spouse might develop an over-the-top hatred for alcohol after watching their partner become an alcoholic in front of their eyes.

it seemed clear to me that Beck was a miserable person, perhaps with some mental illness like depression, who used "climbing" as an escape from an unhappy life and unhappy marriage, seemingly without realizing it. he tries to paint his Everest experience as a life-changing moment that made him realize how much he appreciated what he had, as if a near-death experience could somehow cure his mood disorders or make him more compatible with his wife, which i don't buy (the fact he later became obsessed with flying to almost the same degree as mountain climbing doesn't help his case). the lack of self-awareness actually makes the book kind of fascinating. i read it as more of a cautionary tale of the dangers of avoiding your issues by channeling your attentions/energies into any kind of obsession or addiction.
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by Scott P »

timisimaginary wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 11:54 am i don't remember the book being nearly that bad. don't remember anything about anyone getting HAPE/HACE in Texas (it's been a few years since i read it though).
It's in there! She was really upset that her son did a camping trip in Texas and then claims that someone got HAPE. She threw a fit about her son going camping before he went

neither Beck nor Peach come off really well, but while Peach is annoying
I agree. Neither one comes off well.
(Beck) who repeatedly neglected even basic family duties
Yes. I feel bad for the kids. They were the real victims. I felt no sympathy for Peach.

Also, as far as family duties go, keep in mind that the only reason they had kids is because Peach tricked him into it by making him believe she was taking birth control when she wasn't. That still doesn't excuse Beck from fatherly duties though, but it was a very uncool young to do.
I can understand her antipathy towards his "climbing" the same way any other spouse might develop an over-the-top hatred for alcohol after watching their partner become an alcoholic in front of their eyes.
Only Beck really didn't climb that much. Sure Everest took a lot of time, but he only did a few mountains (maybe 10?-I'd have to go back and read it, but not ant to) in his whole life.

Anyway, she was hostile towards all of his interest even before his "obsession". It see he at least tried to share his interest with her, but she had the attitude if "hiking and climbing is stupid" before she even tried it (and she never did). It did seems that at least part of the time he tried to take an interest in what she wanted to do.

Spouses should at least try to share and support each others interests, even if they don't like them. My wife and I try to do that.

I can understand why a spouse wouldn't support Everest or Himalayan mountaineering (including Everest), but bitching about your spouse wanting to do a day climb of Longs Peak or your son wanting to do a simple camping trip in Texas doesn't sit well with me.
Last edited by Scott P on Tue Feb 22, 2022 1:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by Scott P »

My Amazon review.
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Re: Tales from the Death zone

Post by DaveLanders »

I read the book many years ago, and I haven't seen the documentary. Without discounting all the negatives that others have pointed out, I came away with a more positive takeaway.

First, just the fact that Beck survived is miraculous, and inspiring as an example of the strength of the human spirit. I thought he was appropriately grateful for all the help he got after he managed to make it back to the camp on the South Col.

Second, his wife made a huge effort to get the rescue with the helicopter to happen. Their relationship must not have been totally negative, or she could have been satisfied to be a rich widow.
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