Savage summit : the true stories of the five women who climbed K2, the world's most feared mountain

Though not as tall as Everest, the "Savage Mountain" is far more dangerous. Located on the border of China and Pakistan, K2 has some of the harshest climbing conditions in the world. Ninety women have scaled Everest but of the six women who reached the summit of K2, three lost their lives on the way back down the mountain and two have since died on other climbs. In Savage Summit , Jennifer Jordan shares the tragic, compelling, inspiring, and extraordinary true stories of a handful of courageous women -- mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, poets and engineers -- who defeated this formidable mountain yet ultimately perished in pursuit of their dreams. National Outdoor Book Award Winner: “Superbly researched portraits of the first five women to summit K2”—and the stories of their tragic fates (SF Gate).Though not as tall as Everest, the “Savage Mountain” is far more dangerous. Located on the border of China and Pakistan, K2 has some of the harshest climbing conditions in the world. Ninety women have scaled Everest, but of the six women who reached the summit of K2, three lost their lives on the way back down the mountain and two have since died on other climbs. In Savage Summit, Jennifer Jordan shares the tragic, compelling, inspiring, and extraordinary true stories of a handful of courageous women—mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, poets and engineers—who reached this peak yet ultimately perished in pursuit of their dreams, and explores what drove them to attempt to conquer the world's deadliest mountain.“Savage Summit will have you amazed at the female climbers who dared to risk everything.” —Philadelphia Inquirer“Highlights not only the dangers but also the sexism, disregard for basic decency, and narcissism that plague the world of high-altitude alpinism.” —The New York Times Book Review“Jordan demonstrates how these women got swept up in their high-flying quests and gives us a sense of the rapture that comes from standing on top of the world's highest mountains.” —Los Angeles TimesIncludes photos Introduction : why K2? -- Ch. 1. A women's history of K2 -- Ch. 2. The persistent pioneer -- Ch. 3. A spectacular summit -- Ch. 4. The black summer -- Ch. 5. Our mountain of destiny -- Ch. 6. The black summer's final, terrible toll -- Ch. 7. The pioneer perishes -- Ch. 8. Finally, another survivor -- Ch. 9. Of mothers and mountains -- Ch. 10. One day as a tiger -- Ch. 11. The legacy is sealed -- Ch. 12. A hero is found -- Epilogue : the price of passion. Presents a narrative nonfiction, in which the author chronicles individual stories of the five courageous women who have climbed K2, the most fearsome mountain in the world.