Robert Birkby

I started this book with the assumption that I would mainly skim read until I got to the part about Everest and 1996; however, to Birkby’s credit, I found it a lot more engaging than I thought it was going to be. Birkby describes Fischer’s early introduction to mountains via an outdoor survival course, in which he was involved for many years, progressing to be an instructor. Birkby describes how this offered him valuable experience, and set him on his way to creating his climbing company: Mountain Madness. Birkby was a friend of Fischer’s and he has collected together the thoughts and feelings of others who knew him, and put them all together as a fitting description of Fischer’s life and ambitions. While I was reading it, it still felt that all the events described were leading up to the year in which Scott Fischer died on Everest; however, this is probably because I knew what was coming. Considering the number of books written about that season on Everest, and the controversy which surrounded it, the 1996 chapter is relatively brief and Birkby is quite reasonable in his comments. In addition, the fact that he is Fischer’s friend does not stop him from throwing the odd piece of criticism Fischer’s way if he feels it is deserved, which surprised and impressed me. I had thought that the 1996 chapter would be a lot longer, but perhaps it is more fitting that the bulk of the book is dedicated to Fischer’s life, rather than how he died.… (meer)