Over the edge : the true story of the kidnap and escape of four climbers in Central Asia

284 Pages·2015·4.99 MB·English

by  Child

PRAISE FOR OVER THE EDGE
“Riveting and meticulously researched, Over the Edge recounts a climbing
expedition gone horribly wrong. Greg Child tells the story of four American
climbers who are captured by Islamist terrorists in mountains near the Afghan
border in August 2000—a harbinger of the attacks that would hit New York and
Washington thirteen months later. Although much of the drama takes place over
six harrowing days while the climbers are held captive, the bizarre turn their
story takes after they return home is equally engrossing.” —Jon Krakauer
“In Over the Edge, Greg Child embeds the gripping drama of four young
American climbers taken hostage in Kyrgyzstan within a profound account of
the geopolitics of radical Islam. It’s an amazing story, amazingly told, by one of
the best adventure writers of our time.” —David Roberts
“Child has everything he needs for an Ian Fleming-type mountaineering
drama: a great setting in the Pamir Alai region of Kyrgyzstan; a cast of quick-
witted American mountaineers (three men and one woman); a backdrop of drug
trafficking, political instability and economic free-for-all; Islamic mujahedeen
facing Uzbeki soldiers armed with naiveté or Kalashnikovs, or both.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Prefiguring the nation’s [9/11] tragedy, four American climbers were
kidnapped in August 2000 by Islamic terrorists in the far-off mountains of
Central Asia. Here is an account of how they barely survived.” —Library
Journal
“[U]nfolds tensely amid ambushes, nocturnal treks, and the murder of a
fellow hostage . . . Child ably frames the politics as well as the mountaineering
allure of the spur of the Himalayas that enticed the Americans, hinging the
whole on the dramatic detail surrounding their escape from their captors. This is
a huge story in the alpinist community, and armchair adventurers now have an
excellent rendition . . . ” —Booklist

OVER THE EDGE
THE TRUE STORY OF THE
KIDNAP AND ESCAPE
OF FOUR CLIMBERS
IN CENTRAL ASIA
GREG CHILD
Mountaineers Books is the publishing division of The Mountaineers, an
organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration, preservation,
and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134 800.553.4453,
www.mountaineersbooks.org
Copyright 2002, 2015 by Greg Child All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized
in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the
publisher. First North American paperback edition. Originally published in hardcover in the United States
by Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc., Chapter 28 originally published by Random House
Australia.
Printed in the United States of America 18 17 16 15 1 2 3 4 5
Book design: Barbara M. Bachman Cover design: Jen Grable
Cover photograph, top: Yellow Wall Chris Harkness; bottom: Randy Plett Photographs, iStockphoto.com
Cartographer: Jackie Aher
Frontispiece: © AP/Worldwide Photos Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Child, Greg.
Over the edge : the true story of the kidnap and escape of four climbers in Central Asia / by Greg Child.
pages cm
Originally published : New York : Villard Books, c2002.
ISBN 978-1-59485-959-5 (trade paper) — ISBN 978-1-59485-960-1 (ebook) 1. Political kidnapping—
Kyrgyzstan. 2. Mountaineers—Crimes against—Kyrgyzstan. 3. Terrorism—Kyrgyzstan. 4. Hostages—
Kyrgyzstan. 5. Kyrgyzstan—Politics and government—1991-I. Title.
HV6604.K97C55 2015
958.43'085092313—dc23
2014039613
Printed on recycled paper ISBN (paperback): 978-1-59485-959-5
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-59485-960-1
To
Sergeant Turat Osmanov
Captain Ruslan Samsakov
Captain Beishen Raimbekov
and all the soldiers killed in action
during the conflict around the
Karavshin Valley in August 2000
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
MAPS
PHOTOS
1. FIRST CONTACT
2. TRAVELER ADVISORIES
3. YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN TO TBLISI!
4. A WALK DOWN THE KARAVSHIN
5. LOST LUGGAGE
6. SIGNS OF TROUBLE
7. JUMA NAMANGANI AND THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT OFUZBEKISTAN
8. THE FIRST BATKEN CONFLICT
9. ONTO THE YELLOW WALL
10. SLAUGHTER
11. UNDER FIRE
12. THE CROSSING
13. TALKING KILLING
14. ON THE RUN
15. LAST CHANCE
16. THE CLIFF
17. NO-MAN’S-LAND
18. FREEDOM
19. A.K.A. ABDUL
20. PARTING WAYS
21. GETTING HOME
22. CONFESSION
23. BACK FROM THE DEAD
24. DOUBTS
25. ACCUSERS
26. RETURN TO BISHKEK
27. MEETING WITH A TERRORIST
28. SOME CLOSURE
AFTERWORD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
T
hanks are owed to Tommy Caldwell, John Dickey, Beth Rodden, and Jason
“Singer” Smith for trusting me to tell their story. Likewise I am grateful to Beth
and Tommy’s parents Robb and Linda Rodden, and Mike and Terry Caldwell,
for their cooperation. Special thanks are due to my agent, Susan Golomb, of the
Susan Golomb Literary Agency, for her representation. This story had its genesis
as a feature article in Outside magazine, and I want to thank editor in chief at
that time, Hal Espe, for the counsel he extended to me during the writing of that
story and this book. I am also grateful to Elizabeth Hightower, my editor on the
story for Outside. The other climbers who were swept up in the drama in the Ak
Su and Kara Su valleys in August 2000 who shared their experiences with me
deserve thanks too, namely, Kate Dooley, Natasha Kolysnik, Stefan Hiermaier,
Radan Svec, and Roland Laemmermann. I also wish to thank the mother of
Turat Osmanov, who welcomed John Dickey, Jason Smith, and me into her
house and who shared her son’s life with us. Thanks to Elena Domatov, Erika
Monahan, and Larissa Collum for translating Russian tapes and text, and to
Salley Oberlin, who transcribed countless hours of taped interviews. Thanks also
to my interpreter in Kyrgyzstan, Erkin Atabekov. Others who helped me on the
road to this story include Ivan Samoilenko in Russia, and, in Kyrgyzstan, Turat
Akimov, Alexander Kim, Igor Shestakov, Garth Willis, and General Bolot
Januzakov, secretary of the Kyrgyz Security Council, who allowed me access to
Kyrgyz military facilities and personnel. Among the soldiers who helped me
piece together the military actions of August 2000, I am especially grateful to
Lieutenant Colonel Akyl Dononbaev. And thanks to Dewey, a good pal during
the year I worked on this book.