Shook
Shook
An Earthquake, a Legendary Mountain Guide, and Everest's Deadliest Day
Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award for History/Biography
First Place for a Nonfiction Book for Adult Readers, Biography or History, from the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest
Winner of the 2021 Zia Book Award from New Mexico Press Women
Dave Hahn, a local of Taos, New Mexico, is a legendary figure in mountaineering. Elite members of the climbing community have likened him to the Michael Jordan, Cal Ripken, or Michael Phelps of the climbing world. The 2015 expedition he would lead came just one short year after the notorious Khumbu Icefall avalanche claimed the lives of sixteen Sherpas. Dave and his team—sherpa sirdar Chhering Dorjee, assistant guide JJ Justman, base-camp manager Mark Tucker, and the eight clients who had trained for the privilege to attempt to summit with Dave Hahn—spent weeks honing the techniques that would help keep them alive through the Icefall and the Death Zone. None of this could have prepared them for the earthquake that shook Everest and all of their lives on the morning of April 25, 2015. Shook tells their story of resilience, nerve, and survival on the deadliest day on Everest.
Hull’s portrait of Hahn is most compelling—there is a quiet humility about this steadfast guide through the extremes of human endurance.
A play-by-play of the 2015 excursion that introduces readers to the history of summiting Mount Everest, the Sherpas and climbers who were with Hahn that day, and a host of other interesting characters.
As is true of the best narrative nonfiction, Shook refuses to simply recount the facts (compelling as they are) and instead makes us think about our own humanity—even if we never plan to strap a crampon to our boots. It is Hull’s capable hands as a writer, specifically her ability to weave research—site visits, archival work, interviews—into the story of that fateful trip in the spring of 2015, that pushes Shook past the bounds of fact and into the realm of art.
Shook is a fascinating true adventure story coupled with an account of Mount Everest’s allure and danger.
Carefully researched and sensitively written, Shook is a vivid reminder that those infamous conga lines of Everest climbers are made up of individual people, each with their own dreams and goals. Hull’s work showcases the care and pride that great mountain guides—Sherpa and otherwise—have for their profession, and it offers a window into a community that outsiders can be quick to judge.
Hull deftly connects previous ascents and deadly moments to the day when the storied mountain quaked with a full contingency of climbers clinging to its perilous facade.
Meticulously researched and written in vigorous, fast-paced prose, Shook is a real-life adventure that is engrossing, informative, and rattling.
An eloquent, humane, and gripping narrative of the tragedy, well-researched and beautifully written.
This is a book that reveals details even the most ardent Everest follower will find new and interesting. Highly recommended.'--Alan Arnette
Jennifer Hull is a New Mexico-based writer, a former middle school teacher, and a former adjunct professor at UNM-Taos.
Cast of Characters
Chapter One. Camp One, Everest
Chapter Two. Kathmandu
Chapter Three. Okinawa
Chapter Four. Lukla
Chapter Five. Angel Fire
Chapter Six. Namche Bazaar
Chapter Seven. The Death Zone
Chapter Eight. Chomolungma
Chapter Nine. Tengboche Monastery
Chapter Ten. Pangboche
Chapter Eleven. Pheriche
Chapter Twelve. Thok La
Chapter Thirteen. Mount Everest South Base Camp
Chapter Fourteen. Gorak Shep
Chapter Fifteen. Rainier Mountaineering, Inc., Base Camp
Chapter Sixteen. Pumori
Chapter Seventeen. The Khumbu Country Club
Chapter Eighteen. The Icefall
Chapter Nineteen. The Western Cwm
Chapter Twenty. The Valley of Silence
Chapter Twenty-One. Camp Two
Chapter Twenty-Two. Nepal
Chapter Twenty-Three. Texas
Chapter Twenty-Four. Everest ER
Chapter Twenty-Five. Langtang
Chapter Twenty-Six. Monjo
Chapter Twenty-Seven. Hotel Yak and Yeti
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
