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A pretty good book... "Mountains of Light" Seasons of Reflection in Yosemite by R. Mark Liebenow.
Any other recomendations?
“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,434 Likes: 9
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Read Shipton's biography... Asked Amy and Myles if I could join them in Patagonia after I finished it...
Read both of Blehm's books on the war on terrorism... Both good, but I thought the book about the Green Berets that helped Karzai get to Kandahar was better.
Read Charles Winger's book about his life as a thief and mountaineer... Wouldn't recommend it unless you've got nothing better to do.
Read Viestuer's books. All of them were enjoyable, especially the one on K2.
Reading Ice, High Crimes and another book of short climbing stories right now, although I'm not making much of a dent in them with the wife at home now...
A bunch more that I can't remember the titles of...
Last edited by Richard P.; 12/21/12 04:21 PM. Reason: BTW, welcome to winter... and i think we've survived the end of the world
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My favorite so far: Minus 148 Degrees: The First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley. http://www.amazon.com/Minus-148-Degrees-McKinley-ebook/dp/B0024NJY58. I thought this was one of the best written books in this genre, and the story, about the first winter ascent of Denali (in 1967) is gripping. Author is not a professional writer, but he is a natural. The 1967 Summer Denali ascent also has gotten a lot of write ups. I recently read James Tabor's Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering's Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters. Also gripping, but somewhat depressing as this expedition did not end so well and the group dynamic issues are kind of miserable Just finished Arlene Blum's Breaking Trail. Also well written, interesting biographical story from a woman mountaineer who repeatedly ran up against a glass (ice?) ceiling in trying to get onto expeditions. My favorite Ed Veisturs book is No Shortcuts to the Top, which is an overview of his climbs. I did find his other books somewhat repetitive. There are a lot of good PCT travelogues. I thought Cheryl Strayed's Wild was one of the best written (soon coming to a movie theater near you), but the most fun to reach was George Spearing's Dances With Marmots. Spearing is a New Zealand firefighter who takes off on the PCT. Again, not a professional writer, and the book could have used some SERIOUS editing (at one point, he refers to the Appellation Trail, and it took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about). But this guy also is a natural, has a very honest voice, and is funny!!!
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By all means: Lionel Terray's book: Borders of the Impossible, from the Alps to Annapurna. Also known as Conquistadors of the Useless. Both are in English and cover Terray's saving Herzog's life on Annapurna, the French ascent which was a lst on Makalu, and many of his S. American expeditions including the lst ascent of the Cerro Fitzroy tower, where Amy and Myles are now hanging out.
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Funny, this is my holiday airplane reading (Conquistadors of the Useless). Glad to get another good review before I plunge in.
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A Walk in the Sky, Climbing Hidden Peak. - Nicholas Clinch wrote this over 20 years after the fact. A Walk in the Sky Here is what my review ( High Words) said about it: This book surprised me. It's a pearl. I judge mountaineering books by how many thoughtful quotations I can glean from the pages on a variety of topics and insights. It's a nice title, the walking, but I liked the talking. Here is an example: " Expeditions are born in the minds of men and more of them die there than are defeated by avalanches, bad weather, and misfortune combined." Nicholas Clinch.
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What I thought were some good mountaineering books:
The Last Step by Rick Ridgeway
Regions of the Heart the story of Alison Hargreaves by Rose/Douglas.
K2 the Price of Conquest
The other side of Everest
Mountain Madness the Scott Fisher Story
And of course many many other
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Daniel Arnold's Early Days in the Range of Light is a work that should be of interest to everyone on the Whitney Message Board. Arnold historically retraces the first ascents of peaks in the Sierra notable for their grandeur and difficulty. Then, he literally retraces the paths that each of the mountaineers who pioneered these routes took, trying to stay as honest as possible to the manner in which each of these iconic mountains was first climbed. Range of Light allows the reader a window into the lives of the men whose names adorn the peaks climbed so often today. http://danielarnoldearlydays.blogspot.com/A wonderful companion to Arnold's book is David Wilson's photo essay Above All; Mount Whitney and California's Highest Peaks. Wilson, who frequently climbed alongside Galen Rowell, positions his camera from the viewpoint of the climber atop California's 14ers at dawn, taking in panoramas of the Sierra. Another great book on the Sierra is Doug Robinson's collection of essays, A Night on the Ground, A Day in the Open. Since someone is a post above mentioned works on Afghanistan, let me offer Eric Newby's A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. While this memoir is over 50 years old, its power to entertain is no less diminished. Good reading.
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I concur on Minus 148 Degrees. Another of my favorites is Seven Summits by Dick Bass. A friend lent me that book back about 1994 or so and it started me on my quest for the "50 Molehills." To date, 43 of the 50 done, including Whitney in 2001. For those of you who don't know about Dick Bass, he is the founder of the Snowbird ski resort outside Salt Lake City and the first person to summit all seven continental summits, hence the book title.
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Just reread "Oh, the places you'll go" by Dr. Suess"
Couple of quotes:
You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
Dances... ")
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My favorite so far: Minus 148 Degrees: The First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley. I thought this was one of the best written books in this genre, and the story, about the first winter ascent of Denali (in 1967) is gripping. Author is not a professional writer, but he is a natural. I couldn't agree with you more Karin. Great read!!!! Stacy ps did you get the WM bag yet?
Moved to Bishop in 2012 and haven't looked back since...
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Ordered the -25 but now think it is overkill. Gonna downsize to the -10. Oh, the crazy things that occupy my mind these days.... How's the climbing? Missing the vistas...
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Talk to Laura, I think she bought the WM -25...and Karen R has a -20(?) Montbell that she took to EBC.
I'd do the -25 since it's the more expensive one and this is a pretty good deal.
Get a -10 later if you need to. I'd rather be a little too warm than too cold...
You know what it's like to be cold out there.
Moved to Bishop in 2012 and haven't looked back since...
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Good advice...I shall ponder....
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,434 Likes: 9
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Restaurant Service Basics...
If you had told me (ever) that I'd be settling in for a long winter indoors...
I've been harping on my wife about service, saying it doesn't matter how good your food is if you don't know that "...the demand for great service - the keystone of any restaurant's success - never fades." That was the first line I read from the book.
I'm framing the $2.45 tip I got today... from a woman I served while testing the computer system I just finished installing... who I let in about two hours early... she said she wouldn't mind having me serve her. :-)
I really would rather be Myles or Amy or Davey or Tracy or any number of people who are out there... haven't been much beyond 5000 (wish I could say meters) so far this year.
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You will be back soon Richard , I promise because I will drive down and kid nap you for a weekend .. Another good read is Voices from the Summit.. McDonald/Amatt..
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Just saw an excellent movie on Netflix: Himalaya, a 1999 film, see http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalaya_(film) . Netflix has it in watch instantly.
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