Peak Experiences

Danger, Death, and Daring in the Mountains of the Northeast

Edited by Carol Stone White

In the mountains, the difference between a pleasant day of hiking and a life-threatening disaster is as simple as a loose rock, a turned ankle, or a misjudged patch of ice. In an instant, even the most experienced and prepared of outdoorspersons can find themselves at the mercy of the elements (and their own choices) — and suddenly, sometimes tragically, the situation slips out their control. In this collection of over fifty tales of day hikes and long treks gone awry, the seasoned climber and writer Carol Stone White brings together some of her favorite tales of outdoor misadventure written by colleagues and fellow enthusiasts who have experienced the harsher side of climbing the peaks of New England and the Adirondacks. From freak falls to outrunning storms, from life-threatening hypothermia to the excitement of unlikely rescues, these tales inform as much as they entertain, teaching even the experienced climber that accidents can happen to anyone and that preparation and the ability to make split-second decisions can often mean the difference between life and death. Like sitting around the campfire sharing tales of terror and near death with your hiking buddies, this collection will appeal to the true outdoorsperson as well as the armchair adventurer.

E-book: $21.99

ISBN-13: 9781611683684

Pages: 344 | Size: 6 in. x 9 in.

Date Published: October 8, 2012

Imprint:

University Press of New England

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Reviews

Whether these hikers are savvy or foolish, out in summer or winter, on a day trip or a marathon, climbing mountaintops or bushwhacking the slopes, their "peak experiences" make for fascinating and educational reading. Ms. White does a service to both outdoors-people and their observers in collecting these tales in one volume.

New York Journal of Books
In this surprising combination of unvarnished narratives, mountaineers bare their own mistakes and those of novices they have rescued. These tales of ill-prepared climbers, sudden storms, forgotten equipment, poor planning, and simple bad luck humble all of us who climb in the Northeastern mountains. These parables guide but never preach. They remind us to respect these hills.

Appalachia
Climbers-even veterans of many peaks-make mistakes. Carol Stone White has put together a fascinating collection of tales of mountain missteps by those whose judgment failed them (but who lived to tell the tale). If you’re an armchair mountaineer, prepare to shiver in your warm and comfortable chair as you share the experience of blinding storms, freezing cold, and punishing winds. If you’re a climber, read this book carefully-it could save your life.

Maurice Isserman
co-author of Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes, and Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of History, Hamilton College
In this surprising combination of unvarnished narratives, mountaineers bare their own mistakes and those of novices they have rescued. These tales of ill-prepared climbers, sudden storms, forgotten equipment, poor planning, and simple bad luck humble all of us who climb in the Northeastern mountains. These parables guide but never preach. They remind us to respect these hills.

Christine Woodside
editor, Appalachia

About the Author

Carol Stone White

Carol Stone White is a tour guide for Oneida Community Mansion House, a museum interpreting the nineteenth-century utopian Oneida Community, and is a great granddaughter of founder John Humphrey Noyes. She received the Susan B. Anthony Legacy Award with long-distance swimmer Lynne Cox and polar explorer Ann Bancroft. She edits guidebooks and anthologies about mountaineering.

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