byron8
New member
I agree, this is an exceptional read, treading the line between emotion and reason extremely well.
New Book on Kate M.
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I agree, this is an exceptional read, treading the line between emotion and reason extremely well.
I finally got to read this book and can only echo all the praise for Ty Gagne's work. The story was very well presented in a straightforward and logical progression with virtually no editorializing. Hats off to AVSAR, MSR, and all the people involved in the rescue attempt and the eventual recovery. You people are amazing.
The one thing that surprised me about the story was Kate's apparent failure to refuel (eat) and rehydrate all the way up Madison. It's easy to second guess someone's mistakes after the fact and knowing the outcome as we do. She may have been in top physical condition but trying to ascend Adams in a white-out blizzard with hurricane force winds was just too much for anyone. I found myself imploring her to turn back and retreat to Madison Hut and get below tree line. I wish she had.
The one thing that surprised me about the story was Kate's apparent failure to refuel (eat) and rehydrate all the way up Madison. It's easy to second guess someone's mistakes after the fact and knowing the outcome as we do. She may have been in top physical condition but trying to ascend Adams in a white-out blizzard with hurricane force winds was just too much for anyone. I found myself imploring her to turn back and retreat to Madison Hut and get below tree line. I wish she had.
sierra
Well-known member
Ty Gagne the author, is putting on a presentation at REI on Nov. 1st. I'm signed up and looking forward to it.
Stan
Well-known member
Which REI?
CaptCaper
Active member
Interesting read... here ....http://nhpr.org/post/risk-decisions-and-death-presidentials#stream/0
Know I know why and couldn't understand why in this day and age the GPS signals were all over the place.. me being a Master USCG licensed Captain who used GPS heavily since 1996 on the water finding small wrecks the size of a VW Beetle to hiking our mountains with it running all day recording the data of the hike knew there was a reason for the signals being off but couldn't find out the type of Beacon she used.
But as the previous poster said.. the winds etc is what killed her..not listening to the weather forcasts. Same when for that Ranger from Mt. Monadnock. He didn't listen either. I saw that one coming days before.
Know I know why and couldn't understand why in this day and age the GPS signals were all over the place.. me being a Master USCG licensed Captain who used GPS heavily since 1996 on the water finding small wrecks the size of a VW Beetle to hiking our mountains with it running all day recording the data of the hike knew there was a reason for the signals being off but couldn't find out the type of Beacon she used.
But as the previous poster said.. the winds etc is what killed her..not listening to the weather forcasts. Same when for that Ranger from Mt. Monadnock. He didn't listen either. I saw that one coming days before.
egilbe
Member
Thanks for the link to the NHPR radio show. I was shaking my head at the people hiking Franconia Ridge yesterday in jeans and cotton t-shirts. Now it makes sense. It was pretty cold on the ridge and I was still wearing gloves and my hooded fleece pullover on the descent off Lafayette. People wearing shorts and t-shirts were headed up from Greenleaf hut. One woman commented that it must be much colder up there. I agreed it was. Within a few minutes, I was taking off my gloves, hat and fleece. I was amazed at the number of people hiking up with no packs, no food and a 20 ounce water bottle in their hands. Too close to Boston.
DougPaul
Well-known member
See post #20 of this thread: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?59389-New-Book-on-Kate-M&p=440884&viewfull=1#post440884
Doug
sierra
Well-known member
Reading, MA
DougPaul
Well-known member
Trail Boss
New member
Bloomberg's "The Trader in the Wild" article, published in 2015, identified the device (as well as other items she had).
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-trader-in-the-wild/
ChrisB
Well-known member
I get that writing a book about the circumstances surrounding Kate's death is reasonable and informative.
But does anybody else besides me think it a bit ghoulish to have a roadshow about the event and profit from this woman's tragedy?
Ty's activities just give me an uneasy feeling....
cb
I attended a book signing and presentation by David Breshears, and it was centered around the 1996 Everest tragedy. He's a writer, looking to make money. It's published by a publisher, looking to make money.
I don't see it any different than other books that happen to have a tragedy as the subject.
I don't see it any different than other books that happen to have a tragedy as the subject.
hikerbrian
Active member
That's a fair question. I have two thoughts, in addition to sharing some level of unease with you: first, where there's a market there will be a product. People want to know what happened, and they (myself included) are willing to pay real money for information on how this happened. It's not much different than Not Without Peril, which has got to be one of the best-selling northeast-hiking-related books ever written. Similarly, as I understand it, the 'accidents' section of the Appalachia Journal is quite popular. Of course there's also a vast related literature from outside the northeast: Into Thin Air, Into The Wild, Touching The Void, etc etc etc. Ty is uniquely qualified to analyze this particular tragedy, and there's broad interest. It feels reasonable to me for him to publicize/market his work. It's good work. Second, Matrasova's passing was a result (IMO) of a unique combination of a highly motivated and fit individual with little relevant experience setting out in exceptionally poor conditions. It's not unreasonable to think others will follow in her path, as others came before her. Providing an analysis of how these factors contributed to her death does serve some public good. So all in all I don't have a problem with what Ty is doing.
peakbagger
In Rembrance , July 2024
Ty is not the first and probably nor the last making a buck off this unfortunate incident. Had this same event occurred without the boost of attractive female with an unusual backstory from a large media market we wouldn't have seen all the glossy articles (part 1 and 2 no less) Rather at best it would have faded quickly with maybe a chapter in Not Without Peril 2 (or the AMC lookalike).
Based on a few discussions over the years with local published regional authors, the profit to the writer coming back from the publisher is minimal at best. The best way to make a buck is that the author gets the chance to buy books at cost and they book local speaking events where they sell signed copies after the talk. Some prolific local authors cut out the middleman and started their own publishing firm and Ty's book is print to order which cuts out a middleman but most likely doesn't really increase return to the author It also helps if you hook in plenty of local minor celebrities who are mentioned in the book as that increases the local buzz which increases sales. If the author is really lucky,the book breaks out of the regional book category and goes national. I have no doubt that someone is already shopping this story for a potential movie vehicle.
Based on a few discussions over the years with local published regional authors, the profit to the writer coming back from the publisher is minimal at best. The best way to make a buck is that the author gets the chance to buy books at cost and they book local speaking events where they sell signed copies after the talk. Some prolific local authors cut out the middleman and started their own publishing firm and Ty's book is print to order which cuts out a middleman but most likely doesn't really increase return to the author It also helps if you hook in plenty of local minor celebrities who are mentioned in the book as that increases the local buzz which increases sales. If the author is really lucky,the book breaks out of the regional book category and goes national. I have no doubt that someone is already shopping this story for a potential movie vehicle.
DougPaul
Well-known member
Mountaineering (technical climbing in particular) has a long history of analyzing accidents in order to improve future safety*. While some may find the current emphasis on this particular event ghoulish, it is also part of the overall process of preventing similar future accidents. Many other accidents have been analyzed with similar goals although with a bit less fanfare. (Some other accidents have also received a large amount of publicity. Eg the climbers stranded on the north side of Mt Hood in 2006 and the deaths of 8 climbers on Mt Everest in 1996.)
* See, for instance, the accidents section in Appalachia published by the AMC and Accidents in North American Mountaineering published by the American Alpine Club.
Doug
ChrisB
Well-known member
As I think about it, the author's contract with his publisher might require him to tour the book around to advance sales and increase visibility.
I agree we can all learn much by reading thoughtful analysis of accidents. One of the best collections is Accidents in North American Mountaineering published by the American Alpine Club. Still, I feel there is a thin line between learning lessons and a mere morbid fascination with death.
Having read the book I don't feel a need to attend a presentation. The book was sad and painful enough.
cb
sierra
Well-known member
I've been going to lectures on mountaineering for over 35 year's. Many have included dealing with death in the mountains. I consider mountain climbing a craft, one that I have designated my life to pursue. I have studied the sport from every aspect and real life situations, provide an avenue to dissect a tragedy and find out what happened. This can be very beneficial to increasing your knowledge and experience going forward. Once someone is dead, there is nothing wrong with looking at them in a respectful and intelligent way for both education and curiosity. It's actually a time honored tradition. If something happened to me, it wouldn't' bother me in the least, to know people used my demise, as a point of conversation. Once you've been around these types of situation enough, frankly, you get used to it. Could be, you just need to be exposed to them more often.
Raven
Well-known member
Based on the presentation I saw, I think the author was first fascinated by the story. Second, he has a unique position as a risk assessment specialist, and third saw a lot of people waiting to know the story and its details. I found it authentic and compassionately and respectfully done.
akafuzzjones
Member
I first saw the Ty present this topic at the AMC's Annual Meeting in January and thought it was a great presentation - it focused on the why more than the how. It's easy to say she was foolish to go out in those conditions but that's not why she died. There were a number of instances where a different decision would have very likely led to a very different outcome. It's easy to say I would have done it differently but it's not that easy. As I listened to the presentation I could imagine myself in similar situations because I had been - obviously I survived but was it because I made the right decision or did I just get lucky. It made me think about mental strategies to recognize and avoid those situations just like I train my lungs and my legs to spend time outdoors.
The book goes into even more detail about the mental aspect of risk-based decision making. Even though I knew the story and had seen the presentation I couldn't put the book down. Read it cover to cover the first day that I had it. I had shared the story and the decision-making process with many people along the trails, particularly with those who I hike with regularly. Maybe its because Ty and I are in the same profession (risk management consultants) but both his presentation and the book made perfect sense to me. He said things in a better way than I could and liked using his research to help others.
I have worked with Ty to set up at least three presentations - the two at REI (one in October and one on November 1) and one in Nashua (2018). While these presentations are the foundation for the book, they are not book selling events. We didn't put books out for sale in October and won't in November either. The goal of the talk is to make people think about the mental side of decision making so they hopefully avoid making the same mistakes.
The book goes into even more detail about the mental aspect of risk-based decision making. Even though I knew the story and had seen the presentation I couldn't put the book down. Read it cover to cover the first day that I had it. I had shared the story and the decision-making process with many people along the trails, particularly with those who I hike with regularly. Maybe its because Ty and I are in the same profession (risk management consultants) but both his presentation and the book made perfect sense to me. He said things in a better way than I could and liked using his research to help others.
I have worked with Ty to set up at least three presentations - the two at REI (one in October and one on November 1) and one in Nashua (2018). While these presentations are the foundation for the book, they are not book selling events. We didn't put books out for sale in October and won't in November either. The goal of the talk is to make people think about the mental side of decision making so they hopefully avoid making the same mistakes.
CaptCaper
Active member
Acording to this article she had a spot. Under the "review and analysis of the incident and death" they go into detail .. which is it she had a spot or PLB ?
http://www.catskillmountaineer.com/reviews-winterhikingKM.html
Knowing GPSR's the "cold start" (not the temperature influenced cold) could of been the reason it's signals bounced. Unless it has a processor that won't transmit until it has a lock. She had plenty of "clear view of the sky" and doubt she laid it down or held it laying down if she did have one. Also if she didn't have it tucked into her coat etc. and was holding it..the gps processor would of acquired a lock holding if tilted with very good accuracy. I'd had plenty of Patch antenna gpsr's that held a good lock laid down on a summit. It's the broadcast of that data in the 406 MHz that would be effected by not holding it upright that might matter. The ACR doesn't seem to use Glonass/gps reciever with WAAS just GPS which is too bad. ACR might be using an outdated chip as well.
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