bcskier
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Escape from Lucania
One book that ought to be on this list is Escape from Lucania by Dave Roberts. It's especially relevant to New Englanders because it chronicles the story of Brad Washburn's '37 ascent with Bob Bates of Mt. Lucania in the Canadian Rockies and their subsequent self evacuation from the mountain because their pilot could not return to take them off (nor could he return with the other two members of the expedition.)
Here is a review: "This short but sweet look at the ascent two Harvard buddies made of Mt. Lucania in the Yukon Valley in 1937-at the time, the highest unclimbed North American peak at 17,150 feet-is a welcome respite from the high-tech, thrill-a-minute climbing tales that have descended like an avalanche. With their friendship cemented in the elite ranks of the Harvard Mountaineering Club, the brash Brad Washburn and the more reserved Bob Bates decide to explore their "passion" for Lucania, but are immediately faced with hardship when their pilot, who lands them at an unexpectedly slushy base of the mountain, is unable to return to pick them up. Roberts's narrative shows how the resourceful duo decided to climb the mountain and then head more than 100 miles on foot to the nearest town, dressed in clothing that "essentially consisted of layers of wool and cotton." In this day of high-tech expedition gear, it's good to know that Washburn's headgear was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police hat. Roberts (True Summit), a longtime chronicler of adventure and exploration, deftly details a time when "the American public remained almost completely ignorant of mountaineering." Roberts's book reveals the true story behind one of the earliest and most remarkable expeditions of the 20th century."
I noticed a used copy on sale from Amazon for low as 0.01 (plus shipping)
This an often overlooked book that really deserves more attention than it gets.
And as long as I'm making a plug for the undersung; an even more obscure, but definitely deserving, adventure "classic" is Four Against Everest which is the account of Woodrow Wilson Sayre's unsanctioned '62 Everest expedition. He had the record for highest point reached by a North American until the American Everest Expedition reached the summit the following year. Not bad for an unsupported, ad hoc, permitless, 4-man expedition. It's another relevant book for us in New England since Sayre was a Tufts professor and did much of his climbing on our local mountains.
One book that ought to be on this list is Escape from Lucania by Dave Roberts. It's especially relevant to New Englanders because it chronicles the story of Brad Washburn's '37 ascent with Bob Bates of Mt. Lucania in the Canadian Rockies and their subsequent self evacuation from the mountain because their pilot could not return to take them off (nor could he return with the other two members of the expedition.)
Here is a review: "This short but sweet look at the ascent two Harvard buddies made of Mt. Lucania in the Yukon Valley in 1937-at the time, the highest unclimbed North American peak at 17,150 feet-is a welcome respite from the high-tech, thrill-a-minute climbing tales that have descended like an avalanche. With their friendship cemented in the elite ranks of the Harvard Mountaineering Club, the brash Brad Washburn and the more reserved Bob Bates decide to explore their "passion" for Lucania, but are immediately faced with hardship when their pilot, who lands them at an unexpectedly slushy base of the mountain, is unable to return to pick them up. Roberts's narrative shows how the resourceful duo decided to climb the mountain and then head more than 100 miles on foot to the nearest town, dressed in clothing that "essentially consisted of layers of wool and cotton." In this day of high-tech expedition gear, it's good to know that Washburn's headgear was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police hat. Roberts (True Summit), a longtime chronicler of adventure and exploration, deftly details a time when "the American public remained almost completely ignorant of mountaineering." Roberts's book reveals the true story behind one of the earliest and most remarkable expeditions of the 20th century."
I noticed a used copy on sale from Amazon for low as 0.01 (plus shipping)
This an often overlooked book that really deserves more attention than it gets.
And as long as I'm making a plug for the undersung; an even more obscure, but definitely deserving, adventure "classic" is Four Against Everest which is the account of Woodrow Wilson Sayre's unsanctioned '62 Everest expedition. He had the record for highest point reached by a North American until the American Everest Expedition reached the summit the following year. Not bad for an unsupported, ad hoc, permitless, 4-man expedition. It's another relevant book for us in New England since Sayre was a Tufts professor and did much of his climbing on our local mountains.
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