Author: Charles GosPublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alps
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
Alpine Tragedy
Author: Charles GosFatal Mountaineer
Author: Robert RoperPublisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429979895
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 287
Book Description
Robert Roper's Fatal Mountaineer is a gripping look at Willi Unsoeld and the epic climbs that defined him--a classic narrative blending action with ethics, fame with tragedy, a man's ambition with a father's anguish. In 1963, Willi Unsoeld became an international hero for his conquest of the West Ridge of Everest. A charismatic professor of philosophy, Unsoeld was one of the greatest climbers of the twentieth century, a man whose raw physical power and casual fearlessness inspired a generation of adventurers. In 1976, during an expedition to Nanda Devi, the tallest peak in India, Unsoeld's philosophy of spiritual growth through mortal risk was tragically tested. The outcome of that expedition continues to fuel one of the most fascinating debates in mountaineering history.
A Wall of White
Author: Jennifer WoodliefPublisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416546944
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 258
Book Description
One of the most amazing survival stories ever told -- journalist Jennifer Woodlief's gripping account of the deadliest ski-area avalanche in North American history and the woman who survived in the face of incalculable odds. On the morning of March 31, 1982, the snow had already been falling at a record rate for four days at Alpine Meadows ski resort near Lake Tahoe, California. For the vacationers and employees at the resort, this day would change their lives forever. The unprecedented avalanche that day at Alpine Meadows was a once-in-a-lifetime catastrophe. Much like the nor'easter that bedeviled the fishermen in Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm, an unforeseeable confluence of natural events created the conditions for an unimaginable disaster -- and, in one woman's case, an astonishing ordeal of survival. Jennifer Woodlief movingly tells the story of the massive slab avalanche that killed seven and left one victim buried alive under the snow. In this freak event, millions of tons of snow roared into the ski area and beyond, engulfing unsuspecting vacationers as well as resort employees working in spite of the danger. At the center of this wrenching tale of nature's fury are ski patrolman Larry Heywood and his team, who heroically fought with the help of a search-and-rescue dog to save a twenty-two-year-old woman trapped for five days underneath the suffocating snow -- a tale of survival that is itself an exploration of the capacity of courage. Written with all the suspense of a thriller, A Wall of White is an inspiring story of a group of strangers brought together by an inconceivable calamity -- a testament to the unwavering dedication of a band of rebel rescuers, driven only by a commitment to saving lives, battling not just extreme conditions but seemingly impossible odds.
Denali's Howl
Author: Andy HallPublisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698157125
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 259
Book Description
In the summer of 1967, twelve young men ascended Alaska’s Mount McKinley—known to the locals as Denali. Engulfed by a once-in-alifetime blizzard, only five made it back down. Andy Hall, a journalist and son of the park superintendent at the time, was living in the park when the tragedy occurred and spent years tracking down rescuers, survivors, lost documents, and recordings of radio communications. In Denali’s Howl, Hall reveals the full story of the expedition in a powerful retelling that will mesmerize the climbing community as well as anyone interested in mega-storms and man’s sometimes deadly drive to challenge the forces of nature.
The Alpine Scandal
Author: Mary DaheimPublisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0345468171
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Welcome to mystery lovers’ favorite destination: Alpine, Washington, Mary Daheim’s picturesque old logging town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. From the Venison Inn to the Upper Crust Bakery, Front Street is jumping–and the nerve center of the community is the office of The Alpine Advocate, Emma Lord’s weekly newspaper, which keeps folks up to speed on everything from joyous weddings to sudden, violent death. THE ALPINE SCANDAL It’s a quiet morning at the Advocate until the mail brings shocking news: a formal obituary for Alpiner Elmer Nystrom. As far as anyone knows, Elmer is alive and well. But he hasn’t turned up for work, so Emma and her unstoppable House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, rush to the Nystrom home, where they find Elmer’s lifeless body in the henhouse, half buried under straw. Not only has he been murdered, but his obituary had been mailed before he died. Though Elmer was well liked by everyone, the same cannot be said of his standoffish wife or his son, the town’s new orthodontist. Rumors fly–straight into the office of the Advocate. Why did Dr. Nystrom’s new receptionist resign at the end of her first day? Why are the Nystroms’ neighbors so close-mouthed? Who mailed that prophetic obituary? With Sheriff Milo Dodge in the hospital, it’s up to Emma and Vida to get to the bottom of the tragedy. Alpiners love scandal, and with Elmer’s murder, they’ll get their fill. The Alpine Scandal, number nineteen in this bestselling series, is as suspenseful and charming as its predecessors, a delicious look into the life of a small town where all inhabitants know one another–just not as well as they thought.
K2 and the 1939 Tragedy
Author: William Lowell PutnamPublisher: Light Technology Publishing
ISBN: 162233695X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 317
Book Description
The story of the 1939 American K2 expedition is well known among mountaineers: world-class German-born climber Fritz Wiessner and Pasang Dawa Lama came within 800 feet of attaining the world's second-highest unclimbed summit before turning back for more supplies. Rejoining them on the descent was Dudley Wolfe, who had stayed not far below. Upon reaching the lower camps, the party found them stripped of supplies and deserted. Wiessner decided to descend further to investigate, and left Wolfe behind -- alone. Later, unable to descend solo, Wolfe had to be rescued; but the attempt failed, and Wolfe and Sherpas Pasang Kikuli, Pasang Kitar, and Phinsoo died. Initially, Wiessner was held responsible, but in time the blame shifted to climber Jack Durrance and another Sherpa. The disaster was considered one of the worst accidents in the climbing history of the Himalaya. It was also the subject of much speculation for years afterward. For some historians, the speculation would not rest. There were too many missing pieces, inconsistencies, and unanswered questions for a disaster of this scale. Unfortunately, reliable documentation was scarce. So was the cooperation of the remaining expedition members, who did not want to rekindle the controversy that arose from the expedition's failure. They echoed the neutral statement issued by the investigating committee of the American Alpine Club in 1940, which said, in effect, let sleeping dogs lie. When Andrew J. Kauffman and William L. Putnam later began work on Wiessner's biography, they found discrepancies in the account of the K2 incident. Intrigued, they dug deeper and began to uncover a larger tangle of events than had been previously suspected. The recent availability of Jack Durrance's own trip diary further enabled them to unravel the events of the ill-fated adventure on K2. K2: The 1939 Tragedy retraces the expedition's key elements -- the debilitating weather, the personalities and weaknesses of party members, Wiessner's "romantic vision" uncharacteristic of the climbing era --and reveals the steps that led toward catastrophe. K2: The 1939 Tragedy attempts to balance the accounts of this fifty-year-old saga.
The Alpine Journal
Author: Triumph and Tragedy
Author: Emil HenryPublisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1848765789
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 465
Book Description
Triumph and Tragedy: the Life of Edward Whymper is an engrossing account of the extraordinary life of Edward Whymper (1840-1911), the best known but perhaps least understood mountain climber of the 19th century. Acclaimed as the first to scale the Matterhorn, Whymper personifies the spirited amateurism of the Golden Age of Mountaineering (1854-1865).Triumph and Tragedy accompanies a young but supremely confident Whymper on exhilarating ascents and narrow escapes amid beautiful, often dangerous Alpine peaks. The book lays bare the trauma of his companions’ deaths on the Matterhorn, and empathizes with him during the intense pressures of the accident’s aftermath. Emil Henry’s thoroughly researched biography then moves on to Whymper’s post-Matterhorn years. Following the publication of his classic Scrambles Amongst the Alps, Whymper travels first to Greenland’s unexplored interior and then to the high Andes mountains of South America where he becomes the first westerner to reach a 20,000 foot summit. In later life he is recognized as a noted explorer and the author of two best-selling books illustrated with drawings from a sketch-pad kept always in his shirt pocket. Triumph and Tragedy: the Life of Edward Whymper offers new and refreshing insights into the life of this notable Victorian personality. Spread throughout the book are examples of Whymper’s accomplishments as an author, artist, natural scientist, pioneering photographer, lecturer, and raconteur.
K2, Triumph and Tragedy
Author: Jim CurranPublisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780395485903
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 244
Book Description
This gripping story belongs with the classics of mountaineering. In 1986, nine expeditions attempted to climb K-2. Twenty-seven climbers reached the summit. Thirteen people died that summer. Two 8-page inserts, one in color. Maps.
Colorado 14er Disasters
Author: Mark Scott-NashPublisher: Big Earth Publishing
ISBN: 1555664318
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 213
Book Description
Fourteener mania, the phenomena characterized by a seemingly obsessive drive to summit The List of all fifty-four of Colorado¿s 14,000-foot peaks, is an older tradition than many may realize. Along with intensely positive experiences in climbing is the possibility of the opposite extreme¿to become stranded, severely injured, or even killed, in disturbingly easy ways. This book explores this dark side of climbing. When an accident happens on a 14er, the victim is far from help and in an environment where rescue is difficult at best. The book is full of hair-raising stories of these disasters and resue attempts and also aids in avoiding such disasters.