Buried in the Sky

A gut-wrenching narrative of the tragic assault on K2, told from the Sherpas' perspective.

When Edmund Hillary first conquered Mt. Everest, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay was at his side. Indeed, for as long as Westerners have been climbing the Himalayas, Sherpa porters have been the anonymous experts in the background. In August 2008, when eleven climbers died on the world's most dangerous peak, Chhiring Dorje Sherpa and Pasang Lama survived. More than mere "porters," these men had emerged from poverty and political turmoil to become two of the best mountaineers on earth. Based on unprecedented access and interviews in rare and dying languages, Buried in the Sky reveals the Sherpas' story for the first time. The book travels back to Chhiring and Pasang's home villages, exploring their customs and culture, and then follows them to Base Camp and their dramatic encounter in the Death Zone. This thrilling book reveals a world in which climbing represents not only the most lucrative career for impoverished young men but also a terrible sin against the mountain.