Steve House, Beyond the Mountain ****

Like many of the best mountaineering books, Beyond the Mountain is as least as much a character study as it is an adventure story. Steve House is straightforward and unapologetic about his mountain climbing obsession, stating up front that:

When I stood on the greatest summit I ever achieved, success evaporated. As many before, I learned that the moment we think we have attained the goal, we lose it. Success is empty. (Prologue)

The first chapter grabbed me right away, not with the Himalayan adventure of climbing Nanga Parbat, but with a moment that illustrated House's decision-making process. At nearly 25,000 feet, House and his partner have started on their summit bid. Before they set out, he'd vomited up his last meal. He has a severe headache from altitude and dehydration.  His partner asks him whether he's okay, because he has only taken five steps in the last 40 minutes. House says he's okay, but his partner says he wants to go down rather than continue. Retreating is clearly the prudent thing to do, probably the only life-saving option, but House's reaction is to think he chose his partner badly.

Beyond the Mountain includes plenty of high-altitude adventure, well illustrated with pictures, and House is a very good writer (if a bit too fond of flashback structures). More than anything, though, I was fascinated by House's psychology.