I posted Tales of Adventure part II when the COVID-19 pandemic had just made its initial mark on the world. Here we are, a terrifying 10 months later, still in various stages of lockdown and (in my case at least) losing our minds. Like most of my fellow students, I found that university killed my reading vibe. But now that I’m officially a graduate - seremony or not - I no longer have any excuses. Time to get back into reading! If you enjoy the outdoors, whether in person or from the couch, you should find something to get absorbed in here. My reading guides encompass everything outdoor & adventure-related. I try to vary the selection beyond thru-hiking memoirs to include running, climbing, exploring, mountaineering and much more. Please reach out if you have any favourite book recommendations!
Welcome to the goddamn ice cube - Blair Braverman
Blair Braverman left her home in California to pursue a dog sledder’s life in northern Norway and Alaska while she was still a teenager. Putting up with dodgy and stale characters in the outposts of civilisation, she constantly had to balance toughness and tenderness. Braverman’s words struck a chord with me as a Norwegian. She details how she was sexually abused by her host father when she was on exchange in a small Norwegian town just south of where I work with horses in summer. Sexual abuse and exploitation is a recurring theme in the book, as Braverman’s boyfriend at the Alaskan dog sledding operation turns out to be one of the many guys who won’t take no for an answer.
Exceptionally well written by an exceptional woman throwing herself into an exceptional life, Ice Cube touches on something many of us who identify as adventurers fear: that we are not tough enough, that we will be exposed as someone who wasn’t really that good at the wild life. When you’re driving a team of dogs, crashing the sled is just one of the many things that can go wrong. There’s also getting lost when sledding through blizzards (check) and getting snowed in when you’re sleeping in your snow den (check)… Braverman did it all. And survived!
Alone on the wall - Alex Honnold and David Roberts
Can we take a moment to apreciate this fab colour sync scheme at my London climbing gym?
The memoir of professional climber and (in)famous free soloist Alex “No Big Deal” Honnold. One of the very few climbers known to the mainstream public, Honnold achieved world fame for his free solo ascent of the route Freerider on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. One academy award and a marriage later, Honnold lives with his wife, Sanni McCandless, and still climbs pretty much everything.
Co-written by Honnold and David Roberts, the memoir mixes portrait reporting and intense suspense, zooming in on Honnold’s major free solo ascents in crimpy detail. One of my climbing friends was deterred by the large amount of text in italics (Honnold’s sections), but I wasn’t bothered by it at all. In fact, I loved the combination of minute-by-minute accounts and the outsider’s perspective. And what’s a climbing memoir without stories of living in a van, freaked-out belaying partners and countless sunrises hitting rock?
Reading this book as a climber had the weirdest effect on me. Whenever Honnold would recount a free solo ascent, my hands would start empathy-sweating like crazy! I suppose there’s no better compliment to the vividness of one’s writing than your reader’s body physically transporting itself to the crux of the action.
Call of the White: Taking the World to the South Pole – Felicity Aston
My favourite of Felicity Aston’s books. Call of the White is rare for an outdoor adventure memoir in the sense that the journey in question is not a solo undertaking. I can’t recall many other wilderness memoirs based around team experience. Thru-hiking especially is about “hiking your own hike”, and solo hiking is becoming ever more popular. Indeed, Aston’s arguably most famous book (which I reviewed in my first Tales of Adventure list) was also a recount of her solo trek across Antarctica.
Aston’s mission was taking a team of eight women from Commonwealth countries – some of whom had never skied before or even seen snow – across 900 km of icy Antarctica to reach the South Pole. The most international all women expedition ever, all participants were “ordinary” women with no prior experience of exploration or mountaineering. Getting to know the colourful and really different characters from across the globe was immensely enjoyable as a reader, but I also learned a lot from Aston’s insights on leadership. She also took her team training in my local playground of Hardangervidda – and I’ve felt like a polar explorer on my skiing treks there ever since! The crazy ambition of her expedition through frostbite, harrowing winds, and six world records. I highly recommend this unique read of polar exploration, persistence, and friendship!
Almost Somewhere – Suzanne Roberts
I read Almost Somewhere the summer of 2017 as research for my own John Muir Trail thru-hike. Notably, I really liked Roberts for how candid she was (lying to her own journal on day 1…). The John Muir Trail is hailed by hikers and outdoor enthusiasts worldwide as the planet’s most spectacular hiking trail. The Sierra Nevada is considered the highlight of the Pacific Crest Trail stretching from Mexico to Canada along the USA’s western spine. But damn, it is SO HARD. During my first couple oof days on the JMT, I was just flattened by how extremely strenuous that trail was. Not only was it a constant roller coaster of ups and downs, with 9 mountain passes across the 211 miles, the high altitude made everything double the effort. On my second day I wrote in my journal “I never truly hiked until now”. Neither Roberts nor her hiking partners were particularly experienced outdoor women, and their individual perspectives on hiking a challenging trail like the JMT was really refreshing.
Almost Somewhere is not only a character portrait of the trail – but of the three very different women who hike it together. Whereas Roberts herself was fairly relatable and the sane of the three, her one friend was an unflappable fitness enthusiast, and the other a frail bulimic. Let us just take a moment to ponder the enormity of completing the JMT with bulimia – I stuffed my bear canister to the brim and still starved almost the whole. Robert’s gift is capturing the kaleidoscope of personas who embark upon these great journeys, smashing the myth that all thru-hikers are wildlike, bearded hobos on the run from childhood trauma or debt collection. In fact, I am tempted to re-read it now after I’ve also completed the trail and see if I recognise any particularly poignant insights!
Claiming Ground - Laura Bell
Laura Bell came to Wyoming in 1977 after university to herd sheep in the eccentric community of the Big Horn Basin. Nature guides her life through a variety job jobs (rancher, ranger, masseuse…), loves, devastating car accidents, and isolation. Bell’s writing is lyrical, sparce, and light – almost Thoreauesque. It’s a memoir worth reading for anyone who has ever reflected on solitude, materialism, work worth doing and lives worth living. Bell will take you to the enormous open spaces where both minds and wild horses roam free and.
The more I read about Wyoming, the more I become convinced that it must be one of the harshest places on Earth. Scorching 40 C in summer, dropping down to -40 C in winter. Frozen hands, sheep, car engines. Bell’s memoir was the first I read of its kind, but after delving into other literary works by Wyoming-settled authors, I have gained great respect for those who make a life on their own terms in that most rugged of states.