"At The Mercy of the Mountains"

[una_dogger]

Got this neat little book for christmas (thanks, MichaelJ). Tales of adventure and misadventure in the Adirondaks. Author Peter Bronski.

Ran across a reference to "lively discussion" on VfTT..related to a NPT thruhiker who died in the Daks, parallel story line to McCandless...

...in any case, a good read. Very interesting historical account of first ascent of Trap Dyke in 1850--which was the simultaneous first ascent of Colden. Neat to learn that in such recent history the High Peaks were first climbed.

Can be found at The Mountain Wanderer, for those interested.

Happy Trails,
Sabrina

 

[the_swede]

Neat to learn that in such recent history the High Peaks were first climbed.

It's pretty amazing how "recent" the first recorded ascents of some of the remote Adirondack peaks were. Mount Marcy was first climbed by Europeans in 1837, nearly 200 years after the first recorded ascent of Mount Washington.

 

[Steve-o]

finished that book a few weeks ago.
Makes me want to go back to colden, and check it out.

 

[adktyler]

One of my favorite Adirondack books, and a great reminder to be safe. Just so you all know, though, there were several mistakes made in the accounts. Mostly non-significant to the story, but they add up. I'm not sure of a good resource to set people strait, and I don't know all the mistakes myself. But just thought you might want to keep that in the back of your mind.

I think I'll read Mercy of the Mountains again in the near future.

 

[Grumpy]

It's pretty amazing how "recent" the first recorded ascents of some of the remote Adirondack peaks were. Mount Marcy was first climbed by Europeans in 1837, nearly 200 years after the first recorded ascent of Mount Washington.

I have been wowed by this aspect of Adirondack history since first coming across Russell Carson's book, Peaks and People of the Adirondacks (in pre-internet days) decades ago.

G.

 

[Jay H]

Can be found at The Mountain Wanderer, for those interested.

Happy Trails,
Sabrina

may also be found at one's local libary system, that's where I read my copy...

Good read, though IMO, not as good as Not Without Peril though very similar in concept.

Jay

 

[DSettahr]

I thought that "At the Mercy of the Mountains" was pretty poorly written; it didn't hold my attention very well. When I heard about this book before it was released, I had high hopes for it, but I was quite disappointed with it. Additionally, as ADK88 mentioned previously, some of the accounts given in the book by "people who were there" are pretty suspect.

A much better book along the same lines but involving stories of mishap in the Presidential Range is the previously-mentioned Not Without Peril, by Nicholas Howe. Howe's book includes maps for each of the stories and each chapter is well written. One of my issues with Bronski's book is that he usually reveals the outcome of each story in the beginning of it, which completely removes any sense of suspense.

Finally, I disagree with the comparison between Boomhower and Alexander McCandless. There is nothing romantic at all about what Boomhower did- he was at the mercy of his own stupidity, not the mountains. Of course, then again, the same argument could be made for McCandless...

 

[marty]

Ahh, so that's the book he got. I will definitely keep this in mind.

Hope I didn't spoil the surprise when I mentioned that I met MJ at the Mountain Wanderer in a previous TC post

Best regards,
Marty

 

[MichaelJ]

Hope I didn't spoil the surprise when I mentioned that I met MJ at the Mountain Wanderer in a previous TC post

Not at all! She knew I stopped there, but never suspected I bought something for her.

 

[funkyfreddy]

Gail's reading "At The Mercy of the Mountains" right now, I also got it for her this Christmas along with "Not Without Peril".

Hope you all have a great new year!

 

[una_dogger]

No worries, Marty! We always try to stop in and see Steve if we are in town before the bookstore closes...I suspected nothing!!!!

Gee,Freddy, those are good Christmas presents!!!

 

[adktyler]

Good news!

Just reviving this thread with a message from Bill Ingersoll, who posted this from Peter Bronski on ADKforum:

Today I received an email from Peter Bronski, author of At the Mercy of the Mountains, asking me to post the following message here on the forum:

Quote:
Hello. My name is Pete Bronski. I’m the author of At the Mercy of the Mountains: True Stories of Survival and Tragedy in New York’s Mountains. Over the course of the last year, I’ve received quite a bit of feedback from readers and reviewers about the book. Many have enjoyed it. Some have criticized it (as is their right to do). But I’m writing in reference to corrections to some inaccuracies contained in the book (mostly caught by highly knowledgeable and astute readers). I’ve been keeping a catalog of corrections (which will be incorporated into a future edition of the book). In the meantime, I’ve posted the corrections on my website here:

http://www.peterbronski.com/Writing/...nsUpdates.html

I’ve read a few discussion threads that have mentioned the book, including on www.adkforum.com. However, because I’m not a “member,” I’m unable to post to the forum. I’m writing you in the hopes that you might pass along my note and the corresponding website to the forum’s readers. I know that some of the forum’s posters have wondered about what factual inaccuracies are contained within the book. To the best of my knowledge, the list of corrections on my website is complete. I also would like to encourage the forum’s readers to contact me directly with any additional corrections they may find. I’m committed to making the book as accurate as possible, and will keep the website list updated as needed (though hopefully all the minor inaccuracies have been rooted out by now…).


For anyone who might wish to contact Mr. Bronski in person, I believe you will find his contact information on his website.

I hope all you other people dwelling in the greater Adirondack region/North Country are enjoying this April snow. Why, oh why, couldn't we have gotten this in March when it would've been useful?

Best regards,

B. Ingersoll

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

The URL posted did not work for me, but this one should work: http://www.peterbronski.com/Writing/AttheMercyoftheMountains/CorrectionsUpdates.html

 

[WhiteMTHike]

Since I found "Not Without Peril" to be a very good read, I'm sure I'll like "At The Mercy of the Mountains" just as much. Thanks for recommending.

 

[una_dogger]

Just reviving this thread with a message from Bill Ingersoll, who posted this from Peter Bronski on ADKforum:

Very cool!

It never ceases to amaze me who peruses these forums...

 

[adktyler]

It never ceases to amaze me who peruses these forums...

Same for me!! Better watch what we post!!