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Everest, Inc.: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World
Featuring original interviews with mountain guides and climbers—including Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anker—this vivid and authoritative adventure history chronicles one of the least likely industries on guided climbing on Mount Everest.
Anyone who has read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air or has seen a recent photo of climbers standing in line to get to the top of Everest may think they have the mountain pretty well figured out. It’s an extreme landscape where bad weather and incredible altitude can occasionally kill, but more so an overcrowded, trashed-out recreation destination where rich clients pad their egos—and social media feeds—while exploiting local Sherpas.
There’s some truth to these clichés, but they’re a sliver of the story. Unlike any book to date, Everest, Inc. gets to the heart of the mountain through the definitive story of its greatest the Himalayan guiding industry. It all began in the 1980s with a few boot-strapping entrepreneurs who paired raw courage and naked ambition with a new style of expedition planning. Many of them are still living and climbing today, and as a result of their astonishing success, ninety percent of the people now on Everest are clients or employees of guided expeditions.
Studded with quotes from original interviews with more than a hundred western and Sherpa climbers, clients, writers, filmmakers, and even a Hollywood actor, Everest, Inc. foregrounds the voices of the people who have made the mountain what it is today. And while there is plenty of high-altitude drama in unpacking the last forty years of Everest tragedy and triumph, it ultimately transcends stereotypes and tells the uplifting counternarrative of the army of journeymen and women who have made people’s dreams come true, and of the Nepalis who are pushing the industry into the future.
Anyone who has read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air or has seen a recent photo of climbers standing in line to get to the top of Everest may think they have the mountain pretty well figured out. It’s an extreme landscape where bad weather and incredible altitude can occasionally kill, but more so an overcrowded, trashed-out recreation destination where rich clients pad their egos—and social media feeds—while exploiting local Sherpas.
There’s some truth to these clichés, but they’re a sliver of the story. Unlike any book to date, Everest, Inc. gets to the heart of the mountain through the definitive story of its greatest the Himalayan guiding industry. It all began in the 1980s with a few boot-strapping entrepreneurs who paired raw courage and naked ambition with a new style of expedition planning. Many of them are still living and climbing today, and as a result of their astonishing success, ninety percent of the people now on Everest are clients or employees of guided expeditions.
Studded with quotes from original interviews with more than a hundred western and Sherpa climbers, clients, writers, filmmakers, and even a Hollywood actor, Everest, Inc. foregrounds the voices of the people who have made the mountain what it is today. And while there is plenty of high-altitude drama in unpacking the last forty years of Everest tragedy and triumph, it ultimately transcends stereotypes and tells the uplifting counternarrative of the army of journeymen and women who have made people’s dreams come true, and of the Nepalis who are pushing the industry into the future.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published April 16, 2024
167 people are currently reading
5969 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
March 12, 2024
I really enjoyed this book at face value. It is informative and well reported. I listened to the audio and was all in on the narrator and overall experience. However, this book feels borderline racist. A lot of the opinions and writing about the Sherpa people made me double take. I also wasn't wild about how so many of the sources were Everest guides. It felt clear that they wanted to promote their businesses and say its not too crowded and everyone belongs on the mountain. The author was also pretty hard on people who chose not to be interviewed for the book (mainly Jon Krakauer and a alpinist named Nims). So yes, I enjoyed reading the book as a glimpse into a world I know nothing about, but wish parts had been very different.
April 26, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
This was informative and clearly written, but it wasn't as engrossing as I hoped it would be, mainly because of the style and the organization (which I couldn't really figure out). But also because he was weirdly defensive of the industry being built on Everest, and weirdly critical of anyone who criticized it, and it just rubbed me the wrong way. The focus he gives the Sherpas and their growing control over the industry on the mountain that is in their country, not the world's, was great, but I can't explain it, I just felt weird about some of how he wrote this. I knew going in this wasn't going to be a narrative thrill ride like Into Thin Air and other disaster books (Cockrell and people he interviews are very critical of Krakauer, which also rubbed me the wrong way) but I wish it would have had some sort of thread for me to follow.
This was informative and clearly written, but it wasn't as engrossing as I hoped it would be, mainly because of the style and the organization (which I couldn't really figure out). But also because he was weirdly defensive of the industry being built on Everest, and weirdly critical of anyone who criticized it, and it just rubbed me the wrong way. The focus he gives the Sherpas and their growing control over the industry on the mountain that is in their country, not the world's, was great, but I can't explain it, I just felt weird about some of how he wrote this. I knew going in this wasn't going to be a narrative thrill ride like Into Thin Air and other disaster books (Cockrell and people he interviews are very critical of Krakauer, which also rubbed me the wrong way) but I wish it would have had some sort of thread for me to follow.
May 5, 2025
I seem to be on an Everest kick. It is the climbing season, after all! This was about how all those companies started guiding clients up to the top of Mt. Everest. An interesting insight.
March 28, 2024
A very interesting addition to the vast Everest library. I am a fan of this genre and have read many books about the Himalayas, two of my favorites being (perhaps predictably) Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster and Wade Davis’ Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest. Most of these works focus on a particular event (like the disastrous 1996 season) or person (like George Mallory). Everest Inc. takes a different and fresh approach, following the rise of the guiding industry on the world's highest peak, from its unlikely beginnings, when the very idea seemed preposterous, to the current reclaiming of the place by the long-overlooked Sherpa people.
There are many marvelous stories here, and many fascinating characters - sometimes to a fault, as in some instances I got lost in the parade of names. Nevertheless, it is a compelling tale that gives a broader perspective to many facts that you may already know, but will now see in a different way. The author deconstructs some of the myths surrounding the business of helping beginners climb and crowded routes. You don't have to agree with his diagnosis, but it is certainly thought-provoking.
Thanks to the publisher, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
There are many marvelous stories here, and many fascinating characters - sometimes to a fault, as in some instances I got lost in the parade of names. Nevertheless, it is a compelling tale that gives a broader perspective to many facts that you may already know, but will now see in a different way. The author deconstructs some of the myths surrounding the business of helping beginners climb and crowded routes. You don't have to agree with his diagnosis, but it is certainly thought-provoking.
Thanks to the publisher, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
December 29, 2023
I love books about climbing and Everest specifically, and overall I think that Everest Inc. is a really interesting addition to the genre. This book is a sweeping history of the rise of the guiding industry of Everest, its ethical implications, and the way it has changed over the past 30ish years.
I thought it was really interesting to read about stories and important players that I am already familiar with, but with more perspective of the business side of the mountain guiding industry. The author successfully covered a wide variety of topics in chronological order, and clearly conducted an insane amount of research.
Because there are so many books in this genre about major tragedies or exhilarating expeditions, I’m glad to have read a book that discusses the future of the industry, especially the rise of key Sherpa players and companies in the space.
I would give this book 4.5 stars because I think it’s extremely well-written and well-researched, but the sheer volume of characters and stories made me want more details about expeditions that only got one paragraph of space.
Thank you Gallery Books for the galley!!!!
I thought it was really interesting to read about stories and important players that I am already familiar with, but with more perspective of the business side of the mountain guiding industry. The author successfully covered a wide variety of topics in chronological order, and clearly conducted an insane amount of research.
Because there are so many books in this genre about major tragedies or exhilarating expeditions, I’m glad to have read a book that discusses the future of the industry, especially the rise of key Sherpa players and companies in the space.
I would give this book 4.5 stars because I think it’s extremely well-written and well-researched, but the sheer volume of characters and stories made me want more details about expeditions that only got one paragraph of space.
Thank you Gallery Books for the galley!!!!
June 21, 2024
3 1/2 stars
A well written history of how the guiding industry developed on Mt. Everest, and the opinions of whether or not it should have ever been started.
Cockrell examines not only the Western Guides but how the Sherpas realized how they were exploited and the resulting changes that occurred because of it.
There are of course the stories of the tragedy's on the mountain, the 1996 deaths being examined, once again. However, there were other disastrous climbs I had heard nothing about, and that gave it a fresh perspective. If the accidents that occurred on the mountain are all you are interested in, this is not the book for you. There is a deep dive into the beginning of the guiding business, the men who started it, and how they now fair years later. The most interesting to me was the information on the Sherpas. I always felt, through other reading about the mountain, they had been ignored and mistreated. The fact is without the Sherpas, there would have been no birth of the industry. Most of the Guiding companies knew/ know this, it was the clientele who needed a good slap, IMO. It was quite interesting to see how Base Camp has evolved through the years-creature comforts, at a price of course, are now the norm.
A well written book, just missing that 4th star.
A well written history of how the guiding industry developed on Mt. Everest, and the opinions of whether or not it should have ever been started.
Cockrell examines not only the Western Guides but how the Sherpas realized how they were exploited and the resulting changes that occurred because of it.
There are of course the stories of the tragedy's on the mountain, the 1996 deaths being examined, once again. However, there were other disastrous climbs I had heard nothing about, and that gave it a fresh perspective. If the accidents that occurred on the mountain are all you are interested in, this is not the book for you. There is a deep dive into the beginning of the guiding business, the men who started it, and how they now fair years later. The most interesting to me was the information on the Sherpas. I always felt, through other reading about the mountain, they had been ignored and mistreated. The fact is without the Sherpas, there would have been no birth of the industry. Most of the Guiding companies knew/ know this, it was the clientele who needed a good slap, IMO. It was quite interesting to see how Base Camp has evolved through the years-creature comforts, at a price of course, are now the norm.
A well written book, just missing that 4th star.
January 21, 2025
A thorough, well researched and reflective story of guided tours on Mount Everest and how they came about. It gives a rather more nuanced perspective on the situation today, compared to how it was portrayed in Krakauer’s infamous «into thin air». I have read and loved that story, but it’s not popular among Everest climbers or the people who were there in 1996. A lot has changed since then and the reality is rather different from what is presented in the media. Although one thing is true: Everest is crowded.
August 27, 2023
A solid, compulsively readable history of Everest guiding - perfect for super fans of Into Thin Air who are interested in getting a more balanced perspective of that endeavor.
February 14, 2025
Man this author REALLY wants everyone to hold hands, sing in harmony, and not ask any questions that reveal that sometimes good people make stupid choices. Like. I didn’t hate it enough for a 1 (I did finish it) but man. What a deeply incurious book. So many interesting questions/perspectives raised. So many “oh boy, the answer is hard, but things are getting better, just trust me!” answers that never seem to be earned. Also “structural problems? What structural problems? Everything can be solved through individual efforts!” 🙃
ETA 2/14/25 - I'm sorry, the more I keep thinking about this book, the more condescending and racist I'm finding the way that Cockrell talked about the Nepali guiding industry. My guy, you basically ignore any/all questions about the high death rate of the Sherpa people employed by the guiding companies until TWO THIRDS of the way through your book, and then you have the nerve to suggest that the Nepali guiding industry is somehow less safe or more driven by egos than the previous Western companies??? Also, frankly, if the Nepali guiding companies push all of the Western guides out, I feel like that's only their right after the literal DECADES of being underpaid, overworked, and treated like they were disposable.
ETA 2/14/25 - I'm sorry, the more I keep thinking about this book, the more condescending and racist I'm finding the way that Cockrell talked about the Nepali guiding industry. My guy, you basically ignore any/all questions about the high death rate of the Sherpa people employed by the guiding companies until TWO THIRDS of the way through your book, and then you have the nerve to suggest that the Nepali guiding industry is somehow less safe or more driven by egos than the previous Western companies??? Also, frankly, if the Nepali guiding companies push all of the Western guides out, I feel like that's only their right after the literal DECADES of being underpaid, overworked, and treated like they were disposable.
November 15, 2024
In my opinion, there are three major cultural touchstones about Everest:
1. Jon Krakauer’s book, Into Thin Air, about the disastrous 1996 expedition in which 8 people died in a storm
2. The 2013 brawl between star climbers Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith, and a group of Sherpas, documented in the film High Tension
3. The famous traffic jam photo captured by Nims in 2018
This book is a response to those moments (and Krakauer most of all), attempting to situate Everest lore in the longer history of guided climbing on the mountain from the 1980s to today. It makes the case that guided climbing on Everest emerged from the concept of rich people paying to conquer the 7 summits. Cockrell is much less critical of the rich clients than Krakauer (which is one of his many beefs with Krakauer).
I flew through this in 3 days so it definitely captured my attention but probably wasn’t as engrossing as a book about a single dramatic incident. Totally unclear to me why someone (who has a choice, not the Sherpas who do this to feed their families) would want to climb this deadly mountain, let alone pay so much money to do it.
A few notes:
1. Yvon Chouinard does not respect people who climb Everest. I get it, but he also comes across as a big asshole.
2. Michael Matthews (brother of Pippa Middleton’s husband) was the youngest Briton to summit Everest and died on the way down. His family sued and bankrupted the guiding company.
1. Jon Krakauer’s book, Into Thin Air, about the disastrous 1996 expedition in which 8 people died in a storm
2. The 2013 brawl between star climbers Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith, and a group of Sherpas, documented in the film High Tension
3. The famous traffic jam photo captured by Nims in 2018
This book is a response to those moments (and Krakauer most of all), attempting to situate Everest lore in the longer history of guided climbing on the mountain from the 1980s to today. It makes the case that guided climbing on Everest emerged from the concept of rich people paying to conquer the 7 summits. Cockrell is much less critical of the rich clients than Krakauer (which is one of his many beefs with Krakauer).
I flew through this in 3 days so it definitely captured my attention but probably wasn’t as engrossing as a book about a single dramatic incident. Totally unclear to me why someone (who has a choice, not the Sherpas who do this to feed their families) would want to climb this deadly mountain, let alone pay so much money to do it.
A few notes:
1. Yvon Chouinard does not respect people who climb Everest. I get it, but he also comes across as a big asshole.
2. Michael Matthews (brother of Pippa Middleton’s husband) was the youngest Briton to summit Everest and died on the way down. His family sued and bankrupted the guiding company.
February 2, 2024
First, apparently I am on some 'non-fiction find myself in the mountains kick' because this is like the fourth book in the last 2 months that I have read on this topic. However, this time I switched it up and went outside the US for the mountain loving read.
This book has so much information, that at times I felt overwhelmed, or slightly dumb because this isn't really spoken about in normal conversations/on the news/ in classrooms.
I know Everest has always been "the" hike or "the" mountain, but I never realized how someone did it. To me, I just thought you went, you climbed, you came back. I didn't know there was an entire community and people in Nepal (Sherpas) who go along on these treks, and also work with Western companies (and then also created their own) to help people achieve the dream of climbing Everest.
This book was so insightful, and so much history as well. Great read.
Thank you NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book has so much information, that at times I felt overwhelmed, or slightly dumb because this isn't really spoken about in normal conversations/on the news/ in classrooms.
I know Everest has always been "the" hike or "the" mountain, but I never realized how someone did it. To me, I just thought you went, you climbed, you came back. I didn't know there was an entire community and people in Nepal (Sherpas) who go along on these treks, and also work with Western companies (and then also created their own) to help people achieve the dream of climbing Everest.
This book was so insightful, and so much history as well. Great read.
Thank you NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 30, 2024
I’m probably the target audience for this type of book, a businessperson / armchair mountaineer who loves to read about climbing. I was intrigued to learn about the business models for climbing and guiding in the Himalayas while hoping for some good mountaineering stories. The book delivers on the business side of the story, and its evolution since the whole “seven summits” became a thing. And there are a few accounts of climbs that are interesting. But the sheer volume of names that are introduced, many very briefly, is overwhelming, and detracts from the narrative.
February 11, 2025
jak to ktos napisal na x::::top 3 najgirsze rzeczy jakie mozna zrobic wykorzystujac swoja wolna wole
March 11, 2025
Interesting to learn about the history of guiding on Everest and how different it is today. I liked that it included summaries of the big catastrophic events that other books are centered around.
July 8, 2024
An excellent addition to the canon of books about mountaineering, Everest Inc explores the development of the Everest industry, with particular focus on guiding and the commercialisation of mountaineering experiences for inexpert climbers. If you’ve been aboard that Into Thin Air train, this book is for you. It takes us beyond the 1996 tragedy, exploring stories of the mountain both older and more recent, to paint a much more comprehensive picture of the place, and the people. Really engagingly told, and informative. A great read.
March 13, 2025
Na tuto knížku jsem se těšil, na Everest jsem byl 2 x (2006 vrchol bez kyslíku a 2017 s kyslíkem jižní sedlo). Je to velmi peclive a podrobne sestavena historie komerčních expedic na E. Jde to od zacatku tedy Hillary a Norgaye az po Nimsdaie Purju. Je to dost dlouhe, ale horolezce to asi bude bavit:)
Pár aha momentů:
1. Dick Bass a jeho cíl seven summits (koruna světa tomu tuším říká Radek Jaroš) v roce 1985 odstartoval éru komerčních expedic na Everest a obecně osmitisícovky.
2. Tragédie 1996 paradoxně odstartovala ještě větší zájem o Everest, následující roky zájem de facto explodoval.
3. great stuff on motivation of people going to Everest from psychologist Heather Macdonald - "každý kdo chce vylézt na E by měl povinně absolvovat roční terapii":) Na E najdete 3 typy lidi: (i) ti co maji pocit ze neco ztratili nebo to v nich pomalu umira a maji pocit ze na E to najdou (ii) ti kteri prochazeji necim tezkym, maji v sobe negativni energii a chteji se toho na E zbavit a (iii) ti kteri potrebuji impuls k tomu aby si trochu preorganizovali zivot, zjasnili priority (uprimne to byl myslim muj pripad).
4. Nová generace Šerpů resp jejich společnosti převzali z 90% guiding business trhu od Big 5 v posledních letech.
Pár aha momentů:
1. Dick Bass a jeho cíl seven summits (koruna světa tomu tuším říká Radek Jaroš) v roce 1985 odstartoval éru komerčních expedic na Everest a obecně osmitisícovky.
2. Tragédie 1996 paradoxně odstartovala ještě větší zájem o Everest, následující roky zájem de facto explodoval.
3. great stuff on motivation of people going to Everest from psychologist Heather Macdonald - "každý kdo chce vylézt na E by měl povinně absolvovat roční terapii":) Na E najdete 3 typy lidi: (i) ti co maji pocit ze neco ztratili nebo to v nich pomalu umira a maji pocit ze na E to najdou (ii) ti kteri prochazeji necim tezkym, maji v sobe negativni energii a chteji se toho na E zbavit a (iii) ti kteri potrebuji impuls k tomu aby si trochu preorganizovali zivot, zjasnili priority (uprimne to byl myslim muj pripad).
4. Nová generace Šerpů resp jejich společnosti převzali z 90% guiding business trhu od Big 5 v posledních letech.
August 29, 2025
I’m back on my Everest grind. I really liked that this book read like a timeline of the transformations of Everest’s guiding and history. I didn’t vibe with all the Krakauer slander, but I appreciated how this book provided a more nuanced description of some of the “characters” from Into Thin Air (ie Sandy Hill Pittman and Anatoli Boukreev). I learned a lot about how the power dynamics on Everest shifted from western-led expeditions to Sherpa-led expeditions, and the series of trial and error that went with that.
April 4, 2025
If you know me at all you know I have a slight obsession with Everest and big mountain climbing in general (full disclosure : I do not climb). This didn’t teach me anything new in terms of big overarching Everest history and the players involved but there was so much good gossip and small details that left me reeling. It’s very good to see the mountain is now led by Nepalese climbers and guides- as it should be. Wouldn’t recommend for someone who knows nothing about Everest though.
January 5, 2025
Entertaining read and insight of the guiding structure on the World’s tallest peak.
Had a lot of memories come back of watching Expedition Everest on Discovery channel growing up.
Mt. Everest will always hold our imagination even as the climbing and amenities look less and less like the extreme expeditions that first summited it.
Had a lot of memories come back of watching Expedition Everest on Discovery channel growing up.
Mt. Everest will always hold our imagination even as the climbing and amenities look less and less like the extreme expeditions that first summited it.
January 1, 2024
Great read for the Everest and mountaineering enthusiast about the commercialization of guiding and climbing of Everest and the 8,000 meter peaks that make up the Himalayas.
February 2, 2025
From intrepid mountaineers to meticulously planned, guided ascents, this is the fascinating history of climbing Everest. Quotes from climbers, guides, Sherpas, and more are documented. Well-rounded storytelling. Well-researched, engaging, and entertaining. Has the industry diminished the integrity of the climb? Some certainly think so. But so what?
January 2, 2025
Really well researched and a pretty fascinating history. I'd only read Krakauer's account of 1996, so this added a much more removed and more comprehensive picture. V cool.
January 30, 2025
So many egos! Really interesting history and lots of controversy surrounding Everest. A bit dry at times so read it when you aren’t feeling sleepy!
July 5, 2024
Every year I forget how busy May can be, and how I flounder trying to keep up and make sure everything gets done. So, Instagram got put on hold for a couple of weeks and my reading rolled mainly into mass market paperback romances.
Luckily I had a good Everest book to turn to when my brain decided it could handle something slightly more intellectual. I’d really been looking forward to reading Everest, Inc since I preordered it in January and I definitely was not disappointed!
Cockrell manages to cover decades of the mountain’s history and at least a hundred key players from the climbing community without being confusing or getting caught in unnecessary details. (The glossary of all the “characters” he included at the end of the book was incredibly helpful.) I really enjoyed how he covered the changes that have taken place on the mountain since Hillary and Norgay first touched its peak in 1953. It was also refreshing to read more about the Sherpa community and their culture and roles on the mountain have evolved over time.
I did wish the book would have delved a little more into the environmental issues on the mountain. For example, I would have loved his perspective on whether the garbage and human waste issue is as big of a problem as it is rumored to be. Also, it would have been nice to see some additional information on how climate change is impacting the guiding companies and their clients. However, I know it’s not possible to cover every subject about the mountain in a single book.
Overall, I thought Everest, Inc was insightful, informative and well worth the read!
Luckily I had a good Everest book to turn to when my brain decided it could handle something slightly more intellectual. I’d really been looking forward to reading Everest, Inc since I preordered it in January and I definitely was not disappointed!
Cockrell manages to cover decades of the mountain’s history and at least a hundred key players from the climbing community without being confusing or getting caught in unnecessary details. (The glossary of all the “characters” he included at the end of the book was incredibly helpful.) I really enjoyed how he covered the changes that have taken place on the mountain since Hillary and Norgay first touched its peak in 1953. It was also refreshing to read more about the Sherpa community and their culture and roles on the mountain have evolved over time.
I did wish the book would have delved a little more into the environmental issues on the mountain. For example, I would have loved his perspective on whether the garbage and human waste issue is as big of a problem as it is rumored to be. Also, it would have been nice to see some additional information on how climate change is impacting the guiding companies and their clients. However, I know it’s not possible to cover every subject about the mountain in a single book.
Overall, I thought Everest, Inc was insightful, informative and well worth the read!
February 14, 2025
This is the exact same Everest book you have read a million times before but with more capitalist boot licking. It was also badly organized. I don't think the author ever managed to express an opinion and then actually back it up with an argument.
The introduction, although inflammatory, had me intrigued about what arguments he would make in favor of guiding Everest and against the idea that the Sherpa community is exploited. He never presented an actual argument. He made a general case that mountain guiding is a useful service (which I agree with and I don't think there is currently a strong voice against this position), but he never made the case as to why underprepared people should be accessing such dangerous peaks. I'm in favor of increasing accessing to mountaineering but there is no reason that people who want to climb need to be climbing Everest. This author never got into the more complex sociocultural issues that Krakauer does, namely why do people care so much about the tallest mountain and why is the guiding industry supporting those desires instead of challenging them and helping people cultivate their own relationships to mountaineering.
Cockrell's argument that the Sherpa working on Everest are not exploited was just classic colonial rhetoric. He talked to one family who appreciated the guiding industry because they had a higher standard of living than the surrounding communities. Just because you are relatively well off does not mean you are not being exploited. Making the argument that someone is being exploited is not the same as arguing that they are weak or helpless. It seems like the author did not do any research into labor issues or ethical controversies in international development. But honestly, what do you expect from someone whose background is in writing for various Men's magazines.
Lastly, and just to nitpick, bolting absolutely makes a rock climb easier; what are you on about?!
The introduction, although inflammatory, had me intrigued about what arguments he would make in favor of guiding Everest and against the idea that the Sherpa community is exploited. He never presented an actual argument. He made a general case that mountain guiding is a useful service (which I agree with and I don't think there is currently a strong voice against this position), but he never made the case as to why underprepared people should be accessing such dangerous peaks. I'm in favor of increasing accessing to mountaineering but there is no reason that people who want to climb need to be climbing Everest. This author never got into the more complex sociocultural issues that Krakauer does, namely why do people care so much about the tallest mountain and why is the guiding industry supporting those desires instead of challenging them and helping people cultivate their own relationships to mountaineering.
Cockrell's argument that the Sherpa working on Everest are not exploited was just classic colonial rhetoric. He talked to one family who appreciated the guiding industry because they had a higher standard of living than the surrounding communities. Just because you are relatively well off does not mean you are not being exploited. Making the argument that someone is being exploited is not the same as arguing that they are weak or helpless. It seems like the author did not do any research into labor issues or ethical controversies in international development. But honestly, what do you expect from someone whose background is in writing for various Men's magazines.
Lastly, and just to nitpick, bolting absolutely makes a rock climb easier; what are you on about?!
March 9, 2024
Everest Inc. is a good, though not totally necessary, entry into the larger Everest library. As the subtitle suggests, author Will Cockrell focuses on the building of "an Industry at the Top of the World." It's a new angle, and the author does well with it, but the meat is largely comprised of voices and stories we've heard elsewhere by now, at least in fragments.
As can be true with non-fiction, it has a certain benefit of being the most recent of its kind published. Once through the well-trod histories covered by almost every Everest book, the author was able to mine more recent events (2016-2023) and present a stronger narrative of his own.
I would recommend the book to fans making their way through multiple Everest works, but would not recommend it as the singular read for someone with a fleeting interest — there are more compelling stories out there.
As can be true with non-fiction, it has a certain benefit of being the most recent of its kind published. Once through the well-trod histories covered by almost every Everest book, the author was able to mine more recent events (2016-2023) and present a stronger narrative of his own.
I would recommend the book to fans making their way through multiple Everest works, but would not recommend it as the singular read for someone with a fleeting interest — there are more compelling stories out there.
May 14, 2024
Earlier this year, I read Dixon, Descending, and was immediately interested in learning more about the climbing industry as a business. Everest, Inc. takes that deep dive and explains how, over the last century, climbing to Mt. Everest's summit has become BIG business. Before, it was basically reserved for elite alpinists, but now, with the help of professional experts and local Sherpas, amatuer climbers are able to reach the top of the world. While it's still a highly dangerous and risky aspiration, it's now attainable to a whole new sect of people.
While I have no desire to ever climb Mt. Everest, I really enjoyed reading about the journey of so many ambitious people. I felt like this book allowed me to live vicariously through others, and that was enough for me. It must be amazing to reach that summit, and I'm in awe of those do it!
While I have no desire to ever climb Mt. Everest, I really enjoyed reading about the journey of so many ambitious people. I felt like this book allowed me to live vicariously through others, and that was enough for me. It must be amazing to reach that summit, and I'm in awe of those do it!
August 5, 2024
3.5* rounded to 4 because this book kept making me want to read more even though I can't remember why I requested the book other than that I have a friend who climbs. I also didn't finish the book, not because I didn't oddly enjoy it but because I have to move on for required book club reading!
This book is about those who climb and those who guide on the climbs and most especially about those leading in this field/sport/industry. There is ALOT of name dropping but what is a life saver is the Glossary of Key Players at the back. If you don't know this industry/sport, then you will reference it as I did.
There is a great line said about guiding that has much more applicability and that resonated with me, "There's a satisfaction in helping people to achieve something they wouldn't normally be able to do."
This book is about those who climb and those who guide on the climbs and most especially about those leading in this field/sport/industry. There is ALOT of name dropping but what is a life saver is the Glossary of Key Players at the back. If you don't know this industry/sport, then you will reference it as I did.
There is a great line said about guiding that has much more applicability and that resonated with me, "There's a satisfaction in helping people to achieve something they wouldn't normally be able to do."
February 20, 2025
3⭐️ главно поради доста слабата редакция на книгата, ако изобщо е имала такава. Пълно е с пунктуационни, правописни греши (“човекат”, “списакат”, “The North Fase”). Няма да задълбавам и колко абсурдно е да ползваш абревиатура на български за име на чуждестранна компания - за пример “Seven summits trek” съкратено “ССТ”.
Иначе книгата дава интересна перспектива върху зараждането и развитието на водаческия бизнес на Еверест. Минус за мен е, че повествованието е на моменти е объркващо, чисто хронологично.
За всички хора, обичащи планината, това би било интересно четиво, но, за мен лично, цялостното оформление на българското издание оставя лош привкус.
Иначе книгата дава интересна перспектива върху зараждането и развитието на водаческия бизнес на Еверест. Минус за мен е, че повествованието е на моменти е объркващо, чисто хронологично.
За всички хора, обичащи планината, това би било интересно четиво, но, за мен лично, цялостното оформление на българското издание оставя лош привкус.
September 6, 2025
A wonderfully informative history of the worldwide addiction to Earth’s highest peak. The author lays out how hubris, greed, culture, and love for adventure have transformed (for good and bad) the field of mountaineering/climbing in the tallest and most challenging mountains in the world. What I really appreciated about this book was how the author didn’t lay blame at the feet of anyone for the issues on Everest, but presented information from and about all involved, leaving it for the reader to come to their own conclusions. Yet at the end of the day, his sadness at the state of climbing the high peaks is today is palpable.
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