“At the age of 26, Bo Parfet seemed like just another ordinary guy working as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan when he arranged his first major mountain climb—of Mt.Kilimanjaro. He was no professional climber, nor was he in any kind of shape to be tackling any major peak. To the trained mountaineer, Parfet would have seemed foolhardy. But in just four years, he managed to successfully complete his quest to scale all Seven Summits, including Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, Vinson Massif, Elbrus, Carstenz Pyramid, Kosciusko, and Everest.
We share the terror of his confrontations with corrupt army officials, cannibalistic tribesmen, and local militia groups, and we follow this ultimate everyman blessed with the opportunity to undertake an extraordinary journey of exploration and self-discovery as he survives on a diet of fried bats and rats in New Guinea and nearly dies after falling into a crevasse when the ground beneath him gave way on Mt. Cook.
Bo Parfet was a postgraduate research fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and an investment banking analyst for J.P. Morgan. He established the Seven Summits Awards Program as a specialized research grant for The Explorers Club’s Youth Activities Grant Program funded by both his personal contributions and various capital campaigns.”
Although I have respect for and interest in hearing the story of anyone who succeeds in attaining the Seven Summits (by any accepted definition) Parfet's book is basically a thinly disguised promo for his scholarship funding proposals and follow-up visits to distant climbing spots.
Yes, it's interesting at times especially his misadventures in the beginning and the Carstenz Pyramid section but it's the same three themes over and over: 1) work for awhile/go to grad school and 2) propose grants which allow travel/climbing and 3) get credit for more travel/climbing.
Even with his dyslexia, he was doing well in grad school yet he couldn't spend any time using the internet to research for 1 hour on how to prepare for hiking at altitude? How to dress in layers? What fluids to drink?
All I will give him an A+ for is choosing his co-writer and publicist whatever because if you read the whole dust-jacket including the parts I left out above, you would think Bo Parfet is practically the next Mallory. This book is a quick read, and for the 'non-mountaineer oriented' it may be very enjoyable. For me, "Die Trying" was almost fiction.
..but all in all not a bad read. As said, his misadventures are quite amusing and he sure had his share of good luck, despite sometimes heading out with his eyes completely closed.
silversummit - Aug 12, 2010 10:06 pm - Voted 2/5
"Read with eyes wide open"Yes, it's interesting at times especially his misadventures in the beginning and the Carstenz Pyramid section but it's the same three themes over and over: 1) work for awhile/go to grad school and 2) propose grants which allow travel/climbing and 3) get credit for more travel/climbing.
Even with his dyslexia, he was doing well in grad school yet he couldn't spend any time using the internet to research for 1 hour on how to prepare for hiking at altitude? How to dress in layers? What fluids to drink?
All I will give him an A+ for is choosing his co-writer and publicist whatever because if you read the whole dust-jacket including the parts I left out above, you would think Bo Parfet is practically the next Mallory. This book is a quick read, and for the 'non-mountaineer oriented' it may be very enjoyable. For me, "Die Trying" was almost fiction.