Where the Mountain Casts its Shadow: The Dark Side of Extreme Adventure

Climbers who court danger in the world’s highest places risk far more than their own skins. When tragedy strikes, what happens to the people who love them? Why would anyone choose to invest in a future with a high-altitude climber? This ground-breaking book violates a central taboo of extreme adventure: discussing the shattered lives and broken hearts of those left behind when climbers die while pursuing their summits. Coffey, partner of Joe Tasker who disappeared on Everest in 1982, recounts climbers’ stories of near-death experiences and gives a voice to the families and loved ones of Bonington, Boukreev, Lowe, Viesturs, Wickwire, and others.

Winner of the Jon Whyte Award for Mountain Literature at the 2003 Banff Mountain Book Festival.