Alpine Linkups, Book List Redux--T.S.M. Newsletter
Greetings from Peaklessburg.
Linkups have been on my mind lately. Kilian Jornet’s record of summitting all 82 Alps over 4,000 meters by human power over 19 days and just under six days worth of sleep is the story of the hour. I don’t follow Jornet closely so I only heard a snippet of what he was attempting prior to the news of his accomplishment. I had considered the challenge when Ueli Steck did the project, though it was broken up by some breaks and loss of a friend. I knew it would be done in better style one day. Well, good job, Jornet.
Weeks before I received Gripped Magazine’s August/September 2024 issue that had a story by Fallon Rowe and told the story of another linkup from last year I hadn’t heard about. Rowe was the guide that helped them kick off the journey of Connor Baty and James Barrow to traverse the Complete Towers of the Virgin Traverse in Zion National Park. Baty called it “Dalpine” for desert alpine, and that was the title of Rowe’s article. They made their first attempt in 2023 and returned to bring the vision to fruition last spring.
As a reader experience, I enjoyed the story of Baty and Barrow more than Jornet. Jornet presented an Instagram post summarizing the stats of his linkup. Rowe unveiled it as a writer should, concealing key points, and explaining the problem the protagonists needed to overcome with an immersion in Utah climbing. It’s an example of why climbing news is a story to be told and not a punchline.
For this newsletter from The Suburban Mountaineer, I link my last three posts below, share a new approach to the climbing classics quest, and let you know that I’m back on an infamous social media platform, for better or worse.
RECENT POSTS, In case you missed them…
New Adironadack Hiking Guide by Jonathan Zaharek
Jonathan Zaharek’s new guidebook, published by Falcon Guides, Hiking the Adirondack 46 High Peaks was released in May 2024 and it speeds up the knowledge of the region including some local lore. And it’s beautiful for the photography and the sidebars about the peaks, trails, and intriguing trivia. Click here to see what I mean.
Are Climbing Gym Fees an Access Issue?
Like a lot of things from Outside, the headline is a little misleading and the article has a little unnecessary edge. Climbing dot com of Outside Magazine published an article by Samantha MacIlwaine, Can Climbing Outrun Its Own Elitism with Inclusive Gym Pricing? The sub header reads: “Indoor climbing has gotten so expensive that the American Alpine Club officially considers it an ‘access issue.’ Is there anything we can do to stop climbing from becoming an elites-only pursuit like skiing or golf?” Click here for more.
Rethinking Books About Everest: I’m Gonna be Honest with Myself
As I have said many times, I prefer not to spend time reading new books on Mount Everest. The best stories on the highest peak ended in the 1980s. After that, commercial expeditions and their politics and the advent of social media has changed everything from base camp to the man-made and human debris on the mountainsides. I am reconsidering my approach to Everest books for two reasons. Read on.
UPDATES TO THE LIST FOR FILTERING THE CLIMBING CLASSICS
My Short-Long List is my list of mountaineering and climbing books that is my primary tool for ensuring that I am collecting and reading the books you, others, and I believe area really good mountaineering and climbing books. It’s a Google Sheet that I share live on my blog under the Climbing Classics tab.
Well, I added three titles in the last week or so. These books had been percolating in my mind and it seemed that they belonged. I didn’t realize they hadn’t. The books are both books from Anatoli Boukreev, The Climb with G. Weston DeWalt, and Above the Clouds collected by Linda Wylie. The third is Jennifer Lowe-Anker’s memoir and tribute to her late husband, Jeff Lowe.
Looking over the list again, I bet a few titles can be dropped, but I want to read them and follow my process. Once they’re on the list, they have to be read and considered. I put a few on their once because of personal interest, often Alaska, if you can tell.
I am also going to separate the categories, and refine what I am looking for in classics. So let me clarify: While I have talked and written about the possibility of including some masterful guidebooks in the list of mountaineering classics, I will now only consider narratives. But I am excited about making some adjacent lists along the way, such as best guidebooks, best biographies, best autobiographies, best single-climb books, etc. I think this process will also help filter the strongest candidates.
The niche of climbing and mountain books is surprisingly deep and wide for a specialized topic. But mountain climbers are story tellers. It’s intensely social, as Amrita Dhar points out. Knowing this, and if you haven’t already, please look at the Climbing Classics tab on the blog and let me know if something is omitted.
I’M BACK ON TWITTER/X DOT COM
I am following, reading, and clicking on content in the ‘ole Twitter platform. Seems the mountain literature and climbing news is still pretty decent there. Using the List feature really helps narrow what I am looking at. In fact, I missed it and some of the things I find. I’m making time to check it early in the morning on weekdays. So if you want to connect there, I am @AndrewSzalay.
Thanks for reading.
Andrew