The Story
What keeps a man alive at 26,000 feet?
At midnight on July 27, 2014—his fifty-eighth birthday—Alan Arnette stood frozen on K2 at nearly 26,000 feet. His body was shutting down. He dropped his ice axe. He was ready to die in the snow.
He didn't. And what kept him alive is what makes this book extraordinary.
Hard or Impossible? Summiting K2 for Ida is the memoir of a man born in the flatlands of Memphis who became one of America's most prominent high-altitude climbers—not for records or fame, but to honor his mother, Ida Arnette, who was taken by Alzheimer's disease. Through eleven attempts across six 8,000-meter peaks, all Seven Summits, and all fifty-eight Colorado 14ers, Alan turned his grief into a mission that raised nearly $500,000 for Alzheimer's research. K2 was the final act.
This is not a story about conquering a mountain. It is about what happens when grief refuses to stay still—and how far one person will go to give it purpose. It is about a woman who kept everyone's memories before her own disappeared. And a son who climbed one of the most dangerous places on earth so the world would never forget her.
With a foreword by bestselling author Jim Davidson and endorsements from Ed Viesturs, Peter Hillary, and Harvard's Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, Hard or Impossible? is a complete manuscript of 53,000 words, ready for the world.
