Within Reach: My Everest Story

Amazon.com
Although Within Reach is targeted at young adults and written in a young man's voice, the writing (by coauthor Galvin) is engaging, and the story is rewarding enough to interest any mountaineer.

Pfetzer, 18 at the time of publication, describes his summits of a number of peaks worthy of a climber twice his age, including Huascarán, Aconcagua, Ama Dablam, Kilimanjaro, and Cho Oyu. He tells at length of his two expeditions to Everest, where he reached 25,000 feet from Tibet and 26,000 feet from Nepal. Purists may sneer, as all these climbs were commercial, guided expeditions--but heck, the kid was only 14 or 15; how else would he get there? And, though a paying client, he was unusually well prepared: a karate black belt (at age 11), courses in NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and high-angle rescue, full EMT (emergency medical technician) training (even though he was too young to be licensed), in addition to being in top physical condition, which he rigorously maintained.

ANNOTATION

The author describes how he spent his teenage years climbing mountains in the United States, South America, Africa, and Asia, with an emphasis on his two expeditions up Mount Everest.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The world's most famous teenage mountain climber offers an extraordinary personal account.

In May, 1996 the media scrambled to document the gripping and inspirational story of sixteen-year-old Mark Pfetzer's expedition to Mount Everest. Not only was he the youngest climber to attempt the summit, but he bore witness to the tragedy documented in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, in which eight climbers perished in a sudden storm. Within Reach is Mark's extraordinary personal account of this experience, and of his triumphs over several other challenging peaks. In this suspenseful first-person narrative, Mark takes the reader past the ever-shifting Khumbu Icefall, over three-hundred-foot crevasses, and up into the high altitude "Death Zone" of Everest. By turns triumphant and tragic, this story will be an inspiration to climbers, athletes, and armchair enthusiasts young and old.

Mark Pfetzer holds several world records for high altitude climbing. He lives in Villa Hills, Kentucky.

Jack Galvin is a well-known sportswriter and columnist who has written feature articles for many newspapers and magazines. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Christopher Moning

Mark Pfetzer has stood on the summit of the world's sixth highest mountain. He has served as an assistant guide on a trek to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. He spent a night in minus 100-degree wind chill at 26,000 feet beneath Mt. Everest's peak. Mark Pfetzer did all this before his seventeenth birthday. Related in engaging journal style and accompanied by photographs, this book serves as a testimonial to what one can accomplish by setting goals and going after them. Raising his own money by getting sponsors, Pfetzer set out on his first mountaineering expedition at the age of 13. In 1996, he came within a few thousand feet of his dream: the summit of Everest. Mark was scheduled to finish his climb to summit the following day, when a now infamous freak storm claimed the lives of the eight climbers ahead of him. Contrasted with the teenager's endeavors are the struggles of his father against cancer, which claimed his life in 1997. Young adults will find a worthy role model in Mark Pfetzer, a young man who puts new meaning to the phrase, "Go for it."

Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman

At age thirteen Mark Pfetzer knew that he wanted to climb mountains, especially those in the Himalayas culminating with Mt. Everest. The reader vicariously lives every moment of Mark's training: the physical endurance and exhaustion, the terror, and the exhilaration of mountain climbing. His parents supported his goal but he had to raise the money, continue his schooling, and maintain a rigorous training schedule. This is a nail-biting, harrowing, and exciting adventure. What is most memorable is Mark's advice to teenagers: have a goal, work hard, and follow your dreams. Mark was on Everest in 1996 when a storm killed nine people. Since then he has finished high school and spent time with his father who died of cancer in 1997. He is preparing to climb Everest in 1999.

Children's Literature - Childrens Literature

Mark Pfetzer had a dream. When he was thirteen years old he decided he was going to climb Mount Everest. This was a true dream, a realistic dream. He began training. His first major climb was a Nepal trek, a trip that cost $5,000. So, in addition to strenuous physical training, he also devoted part of each day to soliciting sponsors for financial support. It all came together and Mark began a record setting career in mountain climbing. At the age of fourteen he became the youngest person to ever summit Mount Pisco and Huascaran in Peru and Cotopaxi in Ecuador. When he was fifteen he summited Aconcagu in Argentina and made his first attempt at Mount Everest. A broken rib prevented him from summiting, but he set a record for climbing the highest in his age category. He summited Mount Rainier in Washington State and Ama Dablam in Nepal before attempting Everest again. A tragic storm kept him from reaching the top, although he had set another record for height attained at his age. Following that attempt, he summited Kilimanjaro in Africa and Cho Oyu in Tibet. The people who accompanied Mark on these trips, the equipment used, and the dangers involved are described in meticulous detail. 2000, Puffin Books, Ages 11 to 16, $16.95 and $6.99. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer

VOYA - Sheila Anderson

Unlike most teenagers who mostly learn at school, Mark Pfetzer's education involves traveling around the world to climb mountains while learning from other climbers, including architects, doctors, and philosophers. Experiencing different cultures is also a valuable lesson for Mark. Here Mark's life is chronicled from 1994 to 1996 through his travels to Peru, Argentina, Tibet, Nepal, Africa, and Washington. On what Mark calls a pilgrimage, he learns to get along with various people, face the physical challenges of staying in shape, and handle the emotional challenges of missing his family. Mark describes preparing to climb: "Over my down pants, jacket and hood, I put on an oxygen mask tank, heavy backpack, and goggles. The trouble is the mask. It has an extra-long tube to the tank under my arms and around my back, which I keep getting twisted. I feel tied up." One of the flaws in this book is that it is difficult to keep track of the different expeditions and eventually they seem to merge. As someone without a background in climbing, it was a bit difficult to understand some of the terms being used. However, readers with and without climbing experience will enjoy this story as will anyone who wants to read about a successful teenager who fulfilled his dream. Galvin writes in the preface, "Mark's adolescence can show us that there are still adventures available for young people, indeed for all of us. Most of us will never climb Mount Everest but Mark has shown us that we can all live our adventures if we have the strength of will." Glossary. Photos. Chronology. VOYA Codes: 3Q 2P J S (Readable without serious defects, For the YA with a special interest in the subject, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

KLIATT