Minus 148 Degrees: The First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley by Art Davidson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Minus 148 Degrees: The First Winter Ascent of Mount McKinley
Book Review: The only book in my 47 years I 've read in one day
Summary: 5 Stars
I found this book in a ranger station near Mt. McKinley (under the visitor center). The ranger was kind enough to invite us in from the pouring rain and we slept there, well they did, I opened this book after dinner and finished it in the wee hours. I could not put it down, and I'm not a mountain climber. The title refers to the coldest temperature on the climbers' wind charts, and it was colder than that. The temperature was off the scale and the wind was blowing so hard these guys were trapped for days and couldn't go up or down. I think a tent even blew away... but it was over 25 years ago that I read the book.. and it still haunts me. Now I've finally found it again and I'm going to order it. At least as good as "Into Thin Air." I'm going to pass it around to all my friends that read that one and "The Climb."Book Review: Worth reading again after 22 years
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read this book in 1972 while in high school. Could not read it fast enough but did not want it to end. Had all the adventure and suspense of a true Alaskan adventure. On my second trip to Alaska as a state park campground host in 1994 I worked in Denali state park. Not until later did I realize that the six foot five, red head ranger was none other than Dave Johnston. One of the first three men to reach the summit of Mount McKinley in the winter. To know that these men could survive such an ordeal and years later be so down to earth. If you enjoy books about Alaska and not just mountaineering this is a must read.Book Review: A COURAGEOUS AND HISTORIC FIRST...
Summary: 4 Stars
It is clear from the beginning of this book that trouble was looming on the horizon for these intrepid, but somewhat reckless, climbers. The loss early on of one of their comrades to a fall into a crevasse was predictable. How they could think of walking unroped, on a glacier that they knew was riddles with crevasses, is almost unbelievable. This was due, no doubt, to youthful inexperience and a lack of leadership necessary to set the parameters of what would be acceptable in terms of safety. These factors combined were to cost them dearly. It was not until near the end of their forty two day stay on the mountain, that they coalesced into a team.Notwithstanding the sheer recklessness of their initial, bumbling efforts at a winter ascent of Mt. McKinley, the fact remains that they did achieve the first such summit, no mean feat any time of year, but almost inconceivable in the dead of winter. Coming off the summit, their thermometer recorded the temperature at a quite bone chilling minus fifty eight degrees.
Caught is a whiteout on their descent, however, the three summiteers were forced to dig a snow cave. There, they were to spend endless days, in weather that saw temperatures plummet to an almost mind boggling minus one hundred and forty eight degrees with the wind chill factor, hence the name of the book. That they could survive this is a testament to their fortitude.
In their snow cave, it was a relatively toasty minus thirty five degrees. That snow cave was the only thing that stood between them and certain death. With virtually no food, frost bitten, and suffering from disorientation due to the altitude, they waited out the storm and lived to tell the tale.
This gripping chronicle, of the forty two days that they spent on the highest and coldest mountain in North America, is a classic in mountaineering literature, and one of the best book on McKinley climbs. Those who love this genre will certainly enjoy this book. It is made all the more interesting by the author's new afterword, which gives a retrospective of what subsequently happened to all those who participated in the first winter ascent of Mt. McKinley.
Book Review: A COURAGEOUS AND HISTORIC FIRST...
Summary: 4 Stars
It is clear from the beginning of this book that trouble was looming on the horizon for these intrepid, but somewhat reckless, climbers. The loss early on of one of their comrades to a fall into a crevasse was predictable. How they could think of walking unroped, on a glacier that they knew was ridden with crevasses, is almost unbelievable. This was due, no doubt, to youthful inexperience and a lack of leadership necessary to set the parameters of what would be acceptable in terms of safety. These factors combined were to cost them dearly. It was not until near the end of their forty two day stay on the mountain, that they coalesced into a team.Notwithstanding the sheer recklessness of their initial, bumbling efforts at a winter ascent of Mt. McKinley, the fact remains that they did achieve the first such summit, no mean feat any time of year, but almost inconceivable in the dead of winter. Coming off the summit, their thermometer recorded the temperature at a quite bone chilling minus fifty eight degrees.
Caught in a whiteout on their descent, however, the three summiteers were forced to dig a snow cave, where they were were to spend endless days, in weather that saw temperatures plummet to an almost mind boggling minus one hundred and forty eight degrees with the wind chill factor, hence the name of the book. That they could survive this is a testament to their fortitude.
In their snow cave, it was a relatively toasty minus thirty five below. That snow cave was the only thing that stood between them and certain death. With virtually no food, frost bitten, and suffering from disorientation due to the altitude, they waited out the storm and lived to tell the tale.
This gripping chronicle, of the forty two days they spent on the highest and coldest mountain in North America, is a classic in mountaineering literature and one of the best books on McKinley climbs. Those who love this genre will certainly enjoy this book. It is made all the more interesting by the author's new afterword, which gives a retrospective of what happened to all those who participated in the first winter ascent of Mt. McKinley.
Book Review: A COURAGEOUS AND HISTORIC FIRST...
Summary: 4 Stars
It is clear from the beginning of this book that trouble was looming on the horizon for these intrepid, but somewhat reckless, climbers. The loss early on of one of their comrades to a fall into a crevasse was predictable. How they could think of walking unroped, on a glacier that they knew was ridden with crevasses, is almost unbelievable. This was due, no doubt, to youthful inexperience and a lack of leadership necessary to set the parameters of what would be acceptable in terms of safety. These factors combined were to cost them dearly. It was not until near the end of their forty two day stay on the mountain, that they coalesced into a team.Notwithstanding the sheer recklessness of their initial, bumbling efforts at a winter ascent of Mt. McKinley, the fact remains that they did achieve the first such summit, no mean feat any time of year, but almost inconceivable in the dead of winter. Coming off the summit, their thermometer recorded the temperature at a quite bone chilling minus fifty eight degrees.
Caught in a whiteout on their descent, however, the three summiteers were forced to dig a snow cave, where they were were to spend endless days, in weather which saw temperatures plummet to an almost mind boggling minus one hundred and forty eight degrees with the wind chill factor, hence the name of the book. That they could survive this, is a testament to their fortitude.
In their snow cave, it was a relatively toasty minus thirty five below. That snow cave was the only thing that stood between them and certain death. With virtually no food, frost bitten, and suffering from disorientation due to the altitude, they waited out the storm and lived to tell the tale.
This gripping chronicle, of the forty two days they spent on the highest and coldest mountain in North America, is a classic in mountaineering literature and one of the best books on McKinley climbs. Those who love this genre will certainly enjoy this book. It is made all the more interesting by the author's new afterword, which gives a retrospective of what happened to all those who participated in the first winter ascent of Mt. McKinley.