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On October 13, 1980, alpinists Rick Ridgeway and Yvon Chouinard, in company with National Geographic photographer Jonathan Wright, were struggling up the slopes of the little-explored Tibetan mountain Minya Konka when an avalanche swallowed them. Wright, only 28 years old, died. As he did, Ridgeway writes, "something left him. I saw it." The survivors buried Wright in a rocky grave on Minya Konka's flanks and, dispirited, returned home with the haunting vision of that death always in their memories.
Fast-forward nearly 20 years. Wright's daughter, an infant when he died, asks Ridgeway to take her to Tibet, climb Minya Konka with her, and find her father's grave. Their remarkable journey in honor of a lost friend and father, one that would honor Wright's vow "to live each day as though it were my only one" and that would take them into mountains that had never before been climbed, forms the heart of Ridgeway's thoughtful memoir, which is sure to become a classic of mountaineering literature. The book is, however, more than a simple narrative of a difficult task accomplished; it affords Ridgeway an opportunity to reflect on his many perilous adventures (kayaking in the stormy waters off Tierra del Fuego and scaling Mount Everest among them) and on what drives him to undertake such challenges in the face of hard-earned knowledge of the risks involved--all of it having something to do, as he writes, with "telling yourself you're not sure you can make it, but making it anyway."
Like Peter Matthiessen's Snow Leopard, Ridgeway's book involves a voyage of personal discovery that's rich with meaning. And, like Matthiessen's book, Below Another Sky deserves a place on the shelves of anyone possessed by the spirit of adventure. --Gregory McNamee
From Publishers Weekly
In November 1980, legendary mountaineer Ridgeway watched his friend Jonathan die in his arms after being caught in an avalanche in the Himalayas. Now, 20 years later, as he leads Asia, Jonathan's daughter, on a quest back to the mountains of Tibet in search of Jonathan's grave site, Ridgeway reflects on his friend, on Tibet and on his career as a climber in a moving and exciting tale that is part memoir, part adventure story. To give both the reader and AsiaAnow a young woman who has no recollection of her fatherAa fuller understanding of the man Jonathan was, Ridgeway incorporates entries from his friend's journal into his narrative. Ridgeway's writing is vivid, uncluttered and, mostly, unsentimental. Indeed, the author's voice is most authentic describing climbing itselfAthe lure of the challenge, the thrill of the danger and the sheer beauty of the adrenaline-charged and psychically compelling experience. Although never overtly religious, Ridgeway digs deep to explore his own spirituality in a profoundly spiritual place, recounting his discussions with Asia about Jonathan's commitment to Buddhism and how they may be able to incorporate elements of his beliefs into their lives. Author tour. (Jan. 9)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
