It’s been 29 years since Chris McCandless perished in the Alaska bush. Based on his last journal entry, he probably passed on August 18, 1992 while lying in his sleeping bag in the back of Fairbanks Bus 142. Shortly before he expired, he took this self-portrait while holding the note shown in the 2nd photo. Had he survived his Alaska adventure, Chris would now be 53 years old. Hit the link in my profile to read Chris’s New York Times obituary. Photos courtesy of the Christopher Johnson McCandless Foundation
It’s been 29 years since Chris McCandless perished in the Alaska bush. Based on his last journal entry, he probably passed on August 18, 1992 while lying in his sleeping bag in the back of Fairbanks Bus 142. Shortly before he expired, he took this self-portrait while holding the note shown in the 2nd photo. Had he survived his Alaska adventure, Chris would now be 53 years old. Hit the link in my profile to read Chris’s New York Times obituary. Photos courtesy of the Christopher Johnson McCandless Foundation
Into the Wild was published 25 years ago this week, in January 1996. If you’re curious about how I came to write the book, you can hit the link in my profile and listen to an interview I just did with Bryan Curtis for The Press Box podcast
David Roberts in 1977, belaying me on the first ascent of a challenging route in Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains. The author of Mountain of My Fear, In Search of the Old Ones, and 30 other books, Dave passed away on August 20. We had an intense, sometimes acrimonious friendship that spanned 45 years. I would never have become a writer were it not for his relentless encouragement and guidance. Losing him comes as a sharp blow. Sharon Roberts just sent me a beautiful remembrance of their 53-year marriage that included this excerpt: “David had an unruly brilliance. He didn’t like to be fettered by rules and restrictions, so he would go places where he could travel unfettered, even in his mind…. He was aggressively strong minded about his beliefs and not an avoider of conflict. He could lay down the gauntlet. Many people said no to that, but if you decided to take up the gauntlet with him, you might find yourself in a challenging and enriching place together where you could learn something new about the history of the world and about yourself… He was a loyal and loving friend even during the fiery times, and there were fiery times, but getting through them changed him and you. Over fifty plus years a relationship has to go through many phases, enduring the pain of unhappiness and disappointment while always renewing the pleasure of becoming evermore psychologically and emotionally intimate.” Hit the link in my profile for more about Dave.
I was 20 years old when I snapped this photo during my first visit to Alaska in 1974. The experience transformed my life. With 6 friends, I spent a month ascending unclimbed mountains (including this one) in a vast wilderness that, 6 years later, was protected as Gates of the Arctic National Park. There’s an essay about this amazing place in my most recent book, Classic Krakauer, which is the Boulder Bookstore’s “Radio Book Club” selection this month. Hit the link in my profile to hear me jabber about it on the Book Club’s monthly radio show.
I was 20 years old when I snapped this photo during my first visit to Alaska in 1974. The experience transformed my life. With 6 friends, I spent a month ascending unclimbed mountains (including this one) in a vast wilderness that, 6 years later, was protected as Gates of the Arctic National Park. There’s an essay about this amazing place in my most recent book, Classic Krakauer, which is the Boulder Bookstore’s “Radio Book Club” selection this month. Hit the link in my profile to hear me jabber about it on the Book Club’s monthly radio show.
29 years ago this month, according to Greg Mortenson, he took a wrong fork in the trail after a failed attempt to climb K2, inadvertently crossed this bridge, and stumbled weak and emaciated into an isolated village, whose impoverished residents nursed him back to health—a remarkable act of kindness he repaid 3 years later by returning to Pakistan and building them a school. This is the famous story at the heart of Mortenson’s book, Three Cups of Tea, which has sold many millions of copies and generated more than $80 million in donations to Mortenson’s charity. Problem is, the story is bullshit—a brazen lie that Mortenson and his supporters continue to insist is true despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Hit the link in my profile to read more. Photo by Bill Noble
A new wildfire, christened the Calwood fire, has flared up in the hills above Boulder. Shot this just now from my back deck. Looks like it’s already raging way out of control.
No war or natural disaster or personal setback has ever shaken my faith that the arc of history bends toward justice and enlightenment. Until now. Lately I’ve been wondering if the collapse of civilization is imminent. As I write this, the temperature is 97 degrees outside, smoke from a nearby wildfire is so thick it blocks the sun, and ashes from the burning forest float down like malevolent snowflakes. Day after day brings more news of contemptible politicians and enraged mobs, crushing poverty and failed leadership, record unemployment and environmental catastrophe. Pessimism drifts in the air with the coronavirus, infecting multitudes. Repairing the damage of the last 4 years and getting things moving in the right direction again could require a long, excruciating collective struggle—a Gandhi-like effort that extends well beyond Inauguration Day 2021. I believe the best way to endure such a struggle is to embrace the misery—like Mark Twight is doing in this photo. Hit the link in my profile for a review of my latest book, which includes an essay titled “Embrace the Misery.”
I went on a sunrise splitboard tour northwest of town yesterday. 3 or 4 miles from the trailhead, I arrived at the bottom of one of my favorite lines—a 1200-foot shot from the crest of the Continental Divide—but I was alarmed by the amount of fresh snow blown onto the lee slope by very strong wind, and evidence of recent avalanches. When snowpack analysis confirmed my concerns, it was an easy decision not to ride the line. I ripped my skins, turned around, and headed down, but not before snapping this photo. Although my tour was shorter than I’d hoped, it was plenty sweet.
Another wildfire in northern Colorado exploded today: dense smoke from the East Troublesome fire drifts over Mt Meeker, viewed an hour ago from just east of Rocky Mountain National Park. Any politician who still doubts that climate change is an existential threat needs to be voted out of office right away. ###. UPDATE 10/22: THIS FIRE HAS BEEN GROWING AT A TERRIFYING RATE. IT HAS NOW BURNED OVER 188,000 ACRES, AND HAS JUMPED ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. THE WIND IS STILL THREATENING TO PUSH THE FIRE INTO INTO THE CITY OF ESTES PARK.
This morning’s ramble was a long loop that took me up and over a mountain that is very special to me. I was out 10 hours and it included a bit of unroped technical climbing, but it also included about 3 hours of sitting quietly on various outcrops I encountered, blissing out on the beauty and solitude.
This morning’s ramble was a long loop that took me up and over a mountain that is very special to me. I was out 10 hours and it included a bit of unroped technical climbing, but it also included about 3 hours of sitting quietly on various outcrops I encountered, blissing out on the beauty and solitude.
This morning’s ramble was a long loop that took me up and over a mountain that is very special to me. I was out 10 hours and it included a bit of unroped technical climbing, but it also included about 3 hours of sitting quietly on various outcrops I encountered, blissing out on the beauty and solitude.
I ran into a whole lot of my elk buddies at 12,000 feet in the Indian Peaks Wilderness this morning. They were chillin’ in their usual spot
All black lives matter, especially those with whom we have shared deeply personal moments. In 2013 I spent an intense month asending the highest mountain in North America on an expedition that included 2 black men—@rhudsonsb and @phil_henderson. Hudson is a brilliant young snowboarder who was getting his first exposure to big Alaska peaks; Phil, a dusty old boomer like me, has a long, distinguished career as an outdoors educator and adventurer. Climbing Denali with these special humans was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Photo 1: Hudson carrying his splitboard high on the West Buttress. Photo 2: Phil celebrating 20,310 feet above sea level. Photo 3: Phil and me feeling the summit joy. Photo 4: Hudson chilling at 14k. Photo 5: Me, @conrad_anker, and Phil at advance basecamp. Photos by @ktmillerphoto, @mj_haugen, @brodyleven, and Phil.
All black lives matter, especially those with whom we have shared deeply personal moments. In 2013 I spent an intense month asending the highest mountain in North America on an expedition that included 2 black men—@rhudsonsb and @phil_henderson. Hudson is a brilliant young snowboarder who was getting his first exposure to big Alaska peaks; Phil, a dusty old boomer like me, has a long, distinguished career as an outdoors educator and adventurer. Climbing Denali with these special humans was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Photo 1: Hudson carrying his splitboard high on the West Buttress. Photo 2: Phil celebrating 20,310 feet above sea level. Photo 3: Phil and me feeling the summit joy. Photo 4: Hudson chilling at 14k. Photo 5: Me, @conrad_anker, and Phil at advance basecamp. Photos by @ktmillerphoto, @mj_haugen, @brodyleven, and Phil.
All black lives matter, especially those with whom we have shared deeply personal moments. In 2013 I spent an intense month asending the highest mountain in North America on an expedition that included 2 black men—@rhudsonsb and @phil_henderson. Hudson is a brilliant young snowboarder who was getting his first exposure to big Alaska peaks; Phil, a dusty old boomer like me, has a long, distinguished career as an outdoors educator and adventurer. Climbing Denali with these special humans was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Photo 1: Hudson carrying his splitboard high on the West Buttress. Photo 2: Phil celebrating 20,310 feet above sea level. Photo 3: Phil and me feeling the summit joy. Photo 4: Hudson chilling at 14k. Photo 5: Me, @conrad_anker, and Phil at advance basecamp. Photos by @ktmillerphoto, @mj_haugen, @brodyleven, and Phil.
All black lives matter, especially those with whom we have shared deeply personal moments. In 2013 I spent an intense month asending the highest mountain in North America on an expedition that included 2 black men—@rhudsonsb and @phil_henderson. Hudson is a brilliant young snowboarder who was getting his first exposure to big Alaska peaks; Phil, a dusty old boomer like me, has a long, distinguished career as an outdoors educator and adventurer. Climbing Denali with these special humans was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Photo 1: Hudson carrying his splitboard high on the West Buttress. Photo 2: Phil celebrating 20,310 feet above sea level. Photo 3: Phil and me feeling the summit joy. Photo 4: Hudson chilling at 14k. Photo 5: Me, @conrad_anker, and Phil at advance basecamp. Photos by @ktmillerphoto, @mj_haugen, @brodyleven, and Phil.
All black lives matter, especially those with whom we have shared deeply personal moments. In 2013 I spent an intense month asending the highest mountain in North America on an expedition that included 2 black men—@rhudsonsb and @phil_henderson. Hudson is a brilliant young snowboarder who was getting his first exposure to big Alaska peaks; Phil, a dusty old boomer like me, has a long, distinguished career as an outdoors educator and adventurer. Climbing Denali with these special humans was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Photo 1: Hudson carrying his splitboard high on the West Buttress. Photo 2: Phil celebrating 20,310 feet above sea level. Photo 3: Phil and me feeling the summit joy. Photo 4: Hudson chilling at 14k. Photo 5: Me, @conrad_anker, and Phil at advance basecamp. Photos by @ktmillerphoto, @mj_haugen, @brodyleven, and Phil.
I ran into a whole lot of my elk buddies at 12,000 feet in the Indian Peaks Wilderness this morning. They were chillin’ in their usual spot
The snowpack in my local mountains has been very thin and potentially deadly this winter. It’s scared me from engaging in one of my favorite things in life: Splitboarding in the high peaks. But in my old age I’ve learned to be patient. I have faith that sooner or later conditions will again be like they were in this video, which was shot almost exactly one year ago during a memorable session with @alkaitis and Geoff Friefeld on the Continental Divide. Video by Mike.
I was recently asked what my 10 favorite books are. Turns out there are more than 50 titles on my personal Top 10 Book List, all of which I have read multiple times. Here, in no particular order, are several of them to consider if you need a last-minute Christmas gift for a book person, or are looking for something to read yourself.
An hour after sunset on Easter Sunday in 1873, riverboat put ashore at Colfax Louisiana, a ramshackle settlement surrounded by cotton plantations on the east bank of the Red River. Rain was falling. As passengers disembarked, they found themselves stumbling in the dark over what turned out to be the lifeless bodies of Black Americans who had been freed from slavery eight years earlier after the Civil War. Most of the dead were lying facedown in the grass and had been shot almost to pieces. Others had been bludgeoned, mutilated, or burned to death. There were too many corpses to count. Flames rose from the ruins of the courthouse. The stench of charred human flesh was inescapable. Today at the site of the massacre, a marble obelisk celebrates the white supremacists who committed this mass murder. To learn why it’s so important to understand what happened here, hit the link in my profile.
