Ursina's Shelf - Mountain Reads
Issue 2
Hello from Meran in the Italian Alps!
Are you a beach person or a mountain person? I am more of a mountain person. We are currently enjoying a trip to the Austrian, Italian, and Swiss Alps and so I would like to share a few of my favorite mountain books. While each is based on the author’s own experiences, they are all quite different.
Three Mountain Reads
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer (1997)
My Description: In 1996, nature journalist Jon Krakauer sets out to document the ascent of Mount Everest for Outside magazine, unaware that he will be on the mountain during one of the most fatal disasters and live to tell the story. This book describes the beauty of the Himalayas and immense personal accomplishment of summiting Everest, as well as the human interference in nature for the pursuit of a selfish goal.
My Take: This is not about man versus nature, this is a story about human achievement and human shortcomings with riveting details and a quick pace that draw you in to the magic of this struggle. Written in the style of a gripping magazine article you cannot put down.
Bonus Tip: There is a lot of controversy about what really happened on the mountain during that fateful season. After reading the book, watch this short video for world-famous climber Reinhold Messner’s perspective on the matter.
North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail by Scott Jurek with Jenny Jurek (2018)
My Description: Scott Jurek, one of the most well-known and decorated ultra-runners, chronicles his attempt at the Fastest Known Time record on 2,189-mile long Appalachian Trail together with his wife and support ‘crew’ Jenny Jurek. This is a story of human perseverance.
My Take: Easy to read, personal, and inspirational throughout. Definitely not for runners only. This book feels like a gripping story told over a long dinner by your favorite neighborhood couple.
Bonus Tip: Jurek’s name may sound familiar, as he was featured in Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, in which Jurek races with the Tarahumara indigenous runners in Mexico’s Copper Canyon.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (2012)
My Description: After the author’s life hits rock bottom, she decides to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, despite no prior experience. She gains a lot more than experience, as she hikes the 2,653 miles.
My Take: This book’s easy writing, personal transformation, and humorous adventure reminded me of Eat Pray Love. It is no surprise, it was turned into a movie with Reese Whiterspoon. This truly is a “beach read” that will put you in good spirits.
Bonus Tip: The Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail form the Triple Crown of hiking. My high school friend Kristin Gates was the youngest woman to complete all three trails. Read more about her adventures here.
What are your favorite mountain, beach, or summer reads? Let me know!
Is it mountain time? No, it’s movie time!
If you are not in the mood for a book at the moment, I would also like to share my three favorite climbing documentaries, all the more impressive when you consider that there is also someone behind the camera, filming in unimaginable conditions. In order of preference:
Meru (2015)
This movie documents three climbers’ first ascent of the Shark Fin route to the Himalaya’s Meru peak in freezing and stormy conditions with visually stunning views of the snowy icy Himalayas and personal stories.
The Dawn Wall (2017)
Two friends, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, spent weeks living on El Capitan in Yosemite to become the first to free climb the Dawn Wall. Caldwell has a fascinating backstory and the shots of the climbers on the vertical rockface are mesmerizing, but even more beautiful is the friendship and teamwork that the movie manages to capture. (Free climbing involves tools like ropes, but only to protect in case of a fall and not to assist progress).
Free Solo (2018)
This documentary, by the same producers as Meru, follows Alex Honnold in preparing to free solo El Capitan’s 2,900 foot Freerider route. Viewers get to know Honnold, who is quite a character and certainly a bit crazy, as well as the crew behind the cameras, while experiencing adrenaline filled moments of success and potentially fatal ‘missteps’. (Free soling is when climbers climb alone and without any protective gear, such as ropes).
Currently reading: Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s Let My People Go Surfing.
Thank you for reading this issue and all the input on issue #1. This month, I will be writing weekly and loosely focus on travel related books. Let me know your thoughts and book recommendations and feel free to forward this to a friend or colleague.