Hard or Impossible? Summiting K2 for Ida

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 the flanks of K2 at nearly 26,000 feet, struggling to breathe, his body shutting down. His ice axe dangled uselessly from his harness. He was ready to sit down in the snow. He was ready to die.

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, six of the 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 largest and most deadly 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 60,000 words, ready for the world.

58His age on K2 summit day

118,000-meter peak attempts

6 of 7Seven Summits climbed

$500KRaised for Alzheimer's research

1 in 4K2 climbers who don't return

From Chapter 1 · Gasping for Air

A surge of debilitating fatigue overtook me. My shoulders drooped. I stared at my yellow boots, crushed by disappointment. I had trained hard for K2 and tried to anticipate every scenario, but now I was failing, and there was nothing I could do.

Closing my eyes, I was powerless, hopeless, and ready to surrender to the mountain. Everything I wanted—the summit, a safe return, my vow to my mother—was slipping away.

My ice axe dangled from my harness as my grip was weak.

Staring at the small yellowish spot illuminated by my headlamp on the snow, it was over, and, oddly, I didn't care.

It was 12:30 a.m. on July 27, 2014—my fifty-eighth birthday.

Complete manuscript · 60,000 words · Foreword by Jim Davidson, author of The Next Everest

Advance praise

What readers are saying

This is a truly inspirational and extremely exciting book by a true-life superhero. In risking his life to take on the highest peaks in the world, Alan has raised dearly needed funds for research to stop the disease that stole his mom's life. Ending this horrendous disease is certainly “hard” but absolutely “not impossible.”

The summit of K2 demands everything you've got, and it nearly took Alan Arnette's life—and it gave him a tribute and a higher calling for his beloved mother, taken too soon.

When I first heard about this project—Alzheimer's and a mother's memory loss set against a son's high-altitude climbing career—I was skeptical. It's hard to imagine two more dissimilar subjects between one set of book covers. But Alan carries it off.

Alan Arnette proves what I have always believed: age is not a limit; it is a lens. I began climbing at fifty-four and discovered far more than mountains. I found an unexpected sense of grounding and presence, a profound freedom and inner knowing, and a rare balance of confidence and humility. Hard or Impossible? will inspire you to step beyond the fears and self-imposed limits that keep so many from living a life of greater joy, purpose, and adventure.

I've followed Alan's mountain adventures for nearly 30 years and have admired his navigation of that bumpy path. From his Seven Summits mission and K2 climb for Ida, to his years of sharing his knowledge with mountaineers around the world, he has touched many people. Along the way, Alan sought meaning and purpose from the arc of his life, goals often more elusive than summits. Yes, that quest has been hard, but Alan has shown us it is not impossible. Well done!

Alan brought preparation, judgment, endurance, and humility to K2—along with a purpose far greater than the summit itself. A moving and honest account of what it means to climb for love, memory, and something beyond oneself.

Fort Collins, Colorado
alanarnette.com
alan@alanarnette.com

About the author

Alan Arnette

Alan Arnette was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, at an elevation of 337 feet. He did not attempt his first serious mountain until he was forty-two. By fifty-eight, he had summited the highest peak on six of the seven continents, climbed all fifty-eight Colorado 14ers—225 times counting repeats—and stood on the summits of Everest and K2, the world's second-highest and one of the most dangerous mountains.

Over thirty years and thirty-six expeditions, Alan has become one of the most knowledgeable independent voices on high-altitude mountaineering in the United States. His blog at alanarnette.com draws over one million page views annually during Everest and K2 seasons.

After his mother Ida was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Alan dedicated his climbing career to raising funds and awareness for research—ultimately raising nearly $500,000, with 100% of donated funds going directly to research organizations. He founded Summit Coach, helping aspiring high-altitude climbers achieve their goals.

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