“The Living Mountain: A Celebration of the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland” by Nan Shepherd

I discovered Nan Shepherd when a friend passed along a poem of hers, dated 1934 and entitled “Summit of Corrie Etchachan”. Fortunately my friend provided some context – a “corrie” is what we call a cirque, a glacial erosion feature in mountain terrain, a “steep-sided hollow…on a mountainside…” (Google Dictionary). The poem is written in that demanding form, the sonnet. The poet compares the corrie to the human mind. One reviewer refers to Shepherd’s writing as being “geo-poetic”. 

Curious about Nan Shepherd, we promptly found her in Wikipedia, learned about her books, and downloaded The Living Mountain on Kindle.

Shepherd, categorized as a “Scottish Modernist”, published three novels between 1928 and 1933, but The Living Mountain was rejected and finally saw print in 1977, six years before Shepherd died. A biography by Charlotte Peacock was published in 2018.

The Living Mountain is nature writing at its best, a series of sketches describing the landscape Shepherd loved so well and her reflections (both scientific and emotional) on what she experienced. She hiked in all seasons and weathers, accepting the risks of rough terrain and changeable weather. She loved solitude and silence.

The Living Mountain reminded me of The Outermost House by Henry Beston, published in 1928 and situated on Cape Cod. Like Shepherd, Beston emphasizes the physical aspects of nature (wind, water, light) as well as living organisms. 

The Living Mountain is a classic and will be enjoyed by many.

Advertisement

“Classic Krakauer – Essays on Wilderness and Risk” by Jon Krakauer

This recent compilation contains eleven essays (dated 1985 to 2014), two or three of which I read before. I consider Krakauer a first class documentary writer. I got hooked when I read Into Thin Air, published in 1997. I read three more of his books. Into Thin Air sparked my interest in mountaineering, and I’ve continued to read on the subject.

The best new-to-me essay in this book is “Death and Anger on Everest” originally published in The New Yorker in 2014. The conflict between those who aspire to climb Mount Everest and the essential local guides who support them continues to simmer. More recently, in May 2019, The New York Times reported 11 deaths, describing conditions “reminiscent of Lord of the Flies – at 29,000 feet”.

The best reason for me to read Krakauer is that I really don’t understand people who love risk. Plainly Krakauer is hooked on risk and fascinated by people who share his obsession. I can’t imagine undertaking the physical risks involved in mountain climbing and caving.

For anyone who hasn’t read Krakauer, I suggest starting with Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. If there’s anything that seriously needs to be documented, it’s the reality of America’s wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere the Middle East.

“Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why” by Laurence Gonzales

I read this book years ago, probably not long after it came out in 2003. I found it as I pursued my (literary) interest in mountains and climbing. (Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer is one of my top ten favorite books.)

Case histories make up the heart of this book. I guess we all read about disasters and wonder “Would I have been a survivor? Or a statistic?”

Gonzales treats survival as both an art and a science.

I decided to put my fictional hero Mark Watney (of The Martian) up against Gonzales’ list of survivor traits. How does Mark do?

First of all, Mark manages to believe that the “impossible” has happened. He survived a series of mischances that left him alone on Mars. (Denial wasn’t going to help.) He scores very high indeed on thinking and planning, and he was superbly trained. Humor is important, and Mark is an unapologetic wise guy.

What about play? Gonzales emphasizes the importance of having “stuff in your head”, like poetry, stories, mathematical problems or prayers. Mark is short on this, but in his high tech world, he raids his departed companions “entertainment” files, reading murder mysteries, listening to disco and watching re-runs of old TV shows.

What else? Gonzales emphasizes persistence, but doesn’t say that much about creativity. Watney was creative, and came up with the highly improbable intervention that led to the book’s happy ending.

Most important, I think, in Gonzales’ analysis, was that Watney did things even when they didn’t seem likely to work. Like growing potatoes. So I would say that Mark Watney rated about 60% or 70% against Gonzales ‘ list of survival supporting characteristics. But, hey, its fiction…

Who should read Deep Survival?

• Anyone involved with or curious about emergency management.
• Anyone who takes risks intentionally – like mountaineering or white water rafting.
• All parents of teenaged boys – they are biologically programmed to take risks!

Gonzales has published another book entitled Surviving Survival – The Art and Science of Resilience. I plan to read it.