Savage Summit : The Life and Death of the First Women of K2

Here is narrative nonfiction at its most gripping. Journalist Jennifer Jordan chronicles the individual stories of the five courageous women who climbed K2, the most fearsome mountain in the world. Climbers call K2 "The Savage Mountain." Not quite as tall as Everest, it is far more dangerous, located at the border of China and Pakistan in the deadly Karakoram range, which has the harshest climbing conditions and weather of any place in the world.

Ninety women have climbed Everest, but only five female climbers have ever reached the summit of K2 alive. Three of these women died on the way back down the mountain, and the other two have died since their climb. Because these five women who defeated the most ferocious of all mountains have lost their own voices, Savage Summit tells their tragic and compelling stories. The terror and triumph of K2 is revealed through the experiences of the few women who succeeded in climbing it—women forced to deal with harsh conditions from the mountain and from the men climbing around them, often being treated unfairly or discriminated against in their struggle to reach the summit.

Savage Summit also tackles tough questions: Do female climbers rely too much on their male climbing partners? Are women prepared for the physiological and emotional rigors of K2? Are female climbers, because of the publicity and sponsorship opportunities afforded them, climbing the mountain without proper training, endangering their own lives and the lives of those who climb with them? And if women are as capable as men of climbing this most deadly peak, who will be next to attempt the long trek to the summit?