In the zone

epic survival stories from the mountaineering world: Coombs on Mt Foraker,
Fischer on K2, Potterfield in the Cascades. 270 p., b& w photographs. When a
climb goes wrong, shows Potterfield, it can become the threshold to a grim,
life-changing experience. Along with the survival stories of others, veteran
climber Potterfield tells a harrowing tale of his own brush with death and
dramatic rescue on Chimney Rock in the Cascades in 1988. Then there is Colby
Coombs, who, after an avalanche killed his two companions on Alaska’s Mount
Foraker in 1992, struggled for five days to make his way down, despite a
broken neck, shoulder and ankle. Potterfield’s other story features Scott
Fischer and his determination to climb K-2, in Pakistan’s Karakoram, in 1992.
On his first attempt, Fischer fell into a crevasse and dislocated a shoulder.
Crippled and in pain, he and his partner persisted; they saved the lives of
three other climbers before reaching the summit.