Product Description

By 1937, Mount Lucania, at 17,150 feet, was the highest unclimbed peak in North America. It was not sheer technical difficulty that made Lucania redoubtable; it was the mountain's inaccessibility, lying in the centre of the sprawling Wrangell-St Elias wilderness, a labyrinth of huge glaciers and high, corniced ridges. In one of the most extraordinary feats of mountaineering achievement, Bradford Washburn and Bob Bates made the first ascent that year. But it's not simply the fact that the two men reached the summit that wins admiration, it is the style in which they did so. Owing to critical flukes of weather and logistics, Washburn and Bates found themselves suddenly stranded in the heart of that complex range, with inadequate gear and provisions. With astounding pluck, they pulled off the ascent in the course of escaping from a trap that would have cost other climbers their lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50407 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 236 pages

Review
* 'An utterly riveting, immensely enjoyable read' - Jon Krakauer, author of INTO THIN AIR * 'Ranks with the best mountaineering literature' - THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

New York Times Book Review
'Ranks with the best mountaineering literature'

Chicago Tribune
'A must-read treat for mountaineers and other adventurers'

Customer Reviews

Struggle, Success and Survival
Perhaps the title and subtitle of this books says it all - it is a gripping tale of accessing and climbing a remote mountain, and then the struggles to survive and escape. It is the unique story of the first ascent of Mount Lucania followed by the finding and forcing of a way out of the wilderness of the Canadian Yukon. It is thrillingly told by David Roberts, a well qualified mountaineer himself with an intimate knowledge of the terrain gained from many fine ascents in Alaska and Yukon.

Mount Lucania is little known, but the men making its first ascent in 1937 are part of mountaineering history. Still in their nineties and still fit they were able to recall vivid details of their adventure for this book. They are Brad Washburn, possibly best known for his aerial photography but a highly respected mountaineer with an unequalled collection of first ascents in Alaska and Yukon; and Bob Bates, possibly best known for his two attempts on K2 in the Karakoram but with a mountaineering record covering all the great ranges of the world.

Apart from poor snow conditions the actual climbing of Mount Lucania was a relatively straightforward, but the harrowing dangers and obstacles to be overcome to return to civilisation are almost impossible to imagine. What is also difficult to imagine is the casual acceptance of Washburn and Bates to being left to fend for themselves after being set down on a glacier in the middle of nowhere, with the pilot lucky to get free but not making any effort to return. David Roberts tells the story in a `Roy of the Rovers' manner, and he captures the camaraderie and courage of the two heroes throughout. Their adventure can never be repeated; there are no blanks left on the map. GPS navigation and helicopter rescue services ensure the Lucania epic will forever remain unmatched.