The Bond: Two epic climbs in Alaska and a lifetime's connection between climbers

Jack and Simon were amongst the leading mountain climbers of their day with complementary skills on rock and mixed rock and ice climbing. Supremely confident they climbed at their limit and tested their luck with objective dangers, the weather, and, in the case of the Denali climb, altitude. Getting up justified the dare, getting down was another story.A gripping, heart wrenching and emotional exploration of why climbers do what they do.

Good detail, varied views with diary entries, mildly educational for a non climber

Thank you Simon for telling this story!!!

Love mountaineering books and this is a very good one.

Listened to the podcast, read the book. Gripping story.

Highly recommended. Excellent read.

Great book! I have no experience in the climbing world but was moved by the story.

This is the most amazing story of determination and survival.

I expected this to be as good as TouchingThe Void , but it lacks the emotion of touching the void by Joe Simpson. You actually feel that you are there with Joe every step of his hellish journey off Siule Grande in Peru.You also get to know how it was for Joes partner Simon Yates, the conflicting emotions that he went through when he had no choice but to cut the rope in a desperate situation.The Bond just reads like a narration of a story written by someone else.

What's it like to dance on the sharp divide between life and death? To stand on the edge of eternity holding your life, and that of your best friend, in the palm of your hand. All this in a place where the god of all things is the mountain and that god has a cruel, pitiless heart. McCartney's book is a classic written by someone who knows how fragile life is and understands that sometimes the only thing between us and oblivion is the bond that binds us to other men. I am not a great reader of mountaineering books even though I've written one or two but this book held me in its spell and left me shivering high in the mountains of Alaska.

A phenomenal book on friendship, trust, courage, cool-headedness and downright dogged determination.The journeys that Jack and Simon made and the heights reached are amazing achievements and a brilliant story to read.Even if climbing or mountaineering isn't your thing, this book is definitely a must-read if you're interested in the sheer unfathomable strength of the body/mind in the face of adversity and of friendship and comradeship in times of desperate need.A superb, highly enjoyable book.

I have read a lot if mountaineering books. An awful lot. Joe Simpson's 'This Game of Ghosts', Ken Jones ' Darkness Descending' and John Porter's 'One Day as a Tiger' have each vived for my top spot. They have just been joined by a fourth contender. This book is engaging, enthralling and ultimately emotionally hard-hitting. Highly recommended for anyone who has ever tied a fig. 8 at one end of a rope and trusted the person at the other end with their life, and also to those who wonder how that must feel.

A well written book about 2 Alaskan expeditions. Up until I had read this book my top rated book would have been Joe Simpson's Touching the Void, however I believe this book to be the equal of, or better than Joe Simpson's book. If you enjoy reading climbing books then this is should be on your bookshelf. Not to be missed