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 Best grilled cheese maker ever
Whitehorse, YUKON
Canada
2142 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 08:06 AM
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ADDICTED TO DANGER
JIM WICKWIRE
Copyright, 1998
ISBN - 0671019902
Haha, this is too funny. I didn't even write my thoughts on it yet and there's already a discussion on it. I thought the book was alright, but I think there was lots of parts that didn't need to be in the book at all. For example, the chapter about his Japanese friend who was lost. The 'rescue' mission was boring and all they had were a few clues. Wickwire would have done better to just write a little writeup about his friend at the end of the book.
Another thing I found a tad annoying was Wickwire's love for Marty Hoey. Had Marty not died, I highly doubt he would have written all about their little 'fling' or whatever you want to call it. The dude has a wife who is totally supportive and 5 kids at home and he falls for someone else. Sure, no one can deny that emotions hard to stop, but as I said, had Marty not tragically fell on Everest, that whole story would have never been told.
Also, that whole murder of his colleague had no place in a book on mountaineering. Sure, it may have changed his approach to climbing, but it didn't need to be discussed in such lengths. Same with all the stuff about his family, just useless.
As a whole, as I said, the book was alright, but I think Wickwire tried to cram too much into one book. His feats are pretty damn impressive, there's no denying that, but he seemed too interested in proving a point and showing people he could do something. His ego just gets in the way on so many of the climbs.
This is scattered cause I'm at work and I have to close the page every time my boss walks by!
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Its 4 in the morning, the end of December |
Edited by - darren on 01/18/2006 2:00 PM
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Vancouver
Canada
95 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 11:30 AM
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Is this the book you were mentioning before Darren?
I just finished reading it too and it is phenomenal! I felt my jaw drop a couple of times while reading it (which I did in a day cuz I couldn't put it down).
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 | LeeL
Advanced Member
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 Extreme ski tourin, mountain bikin addict who hikes at least once a year
2506 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 11:52 AM
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| Funny - I read the book too and thought the writing was bland. While Wickwire's done a hell of a lot more then I ever have there's a pattern of dead bodies behind him. |
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Trail running, bike hucking, fast packing, beer drinking collector of pine cones on a day pass
AKA
Dances with Trees
Forest Gnome Cabin
Canada
13015 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 12:39 PM
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I've read it too. He's certainly a controversial guy, but a lot of climbers have plenty of companions die over the years.
Look at Chris Bonington, or Doug Scott. Great climbers, but what they did was so inherently dangerous, they are lucky to be the ones still alive, unlike Dougal Haston, Nick Estcourt, Joe Tasker, or Pete Boardman, and so on... |
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| Dru
Mountain Grammar Police
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Sardonic sandbagging scoundrel, Cascade Climbers lobotomized spraymeister, space blanket flyer, new millennium vulgarian betaboy and friend to all squids
Climbing, a mountain
Canada
∞ Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 12:45 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by LeeL
thought the writing was bland.
Ditto.
Also the title is really unfortunate. "Addicted to Danger" - why not just shoot heroin with a shared needle then? |
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Vancouver
Canada
95 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 1:04 PM
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I liked this book because it wasn't just technical and about the mountain adventures - there was contemplation and reflection on other elements of life - both by Wickwire and his companions, and the interactions between the groups as well.
There are lessons to be learned from the accidents that have happened.
Wickwire, as others have, mentions the difference between knowingly putting oneself in a dangerous situation (where the boundary between life and death is literally a single step) and meaningless deaths - I'd say dying from heroin overdose is pretty damn meaningless, whereas a death from misstepping on a mountain, while still awful, at least leaves a lesson of sorts. |
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Trail running, bike hucking, fast packing, beer drinking collector of pine cones on a day pass
AKA
Dances with Trees
Forest Gnome Cabin
Canada
13015 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 1:24 PM
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I find it quite interesting how different people look at and rationalize the dangers of expeditions in different ways.
I think there is definitely a line to be drawn, Suze, between adventure and danger. I have that in mind so often when I'm in the mountains. I don't think I could do the type of climbing Wickwire did and still justify the dangers to my family and myself, for example.
Still, there seems a difference between, say, being killed by falling rock, and the way Marty Hoey died. I'm not qualified to comment on difficult high mountain climbing though,as I'm only a scrambler, per se, I just enjoy reading about it.
While I didn't think the book was exceptionally well written, I did enjoy the read |
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Trail running, bike hucking, fast packing, beer drinking collector of pine cones on a day pass
AKA
Dances with Trees
Forest Gnome Cabin
Canada
13015 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 1:53 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by darren
Another thing I found a tad annoying was Wickwire's love for Marty Hoey. Had Marty not died, I highly doubt he would have written all about their little 'fling' or whatever you want to call it.
Yeah, IMO, that was lame |
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Vancouver
Canada
95 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 2:41 PM
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quote:
Also, that whole murder of his colleague had no place in a book on mountaineering. Sure, it may have changed his approach to climbing, but it didn't need to be discussed in such lengths. Same with all the stuff about his family, just useless.
But that's just the thing - Wickwire himself says that this is not a book about his mountain adventures - it's a memoir, based on his memories and diaries and the help of friends and family.
I was much more involved in the book because of the personal details.
(but I am a reader of biographies, as well as adventure literature and history) |
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Trail running, bike hucking, fast packing, beer drinking collector of pine cones on a day pass
AKA
Dances with Trees
Forest Gnome Cabin
Canada
13015 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 2:50 PM
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He was, at least, trying to tell his own story, even though many readers would rather have had him stick to mountaineering details. To that end, from his point of view, the book served a number of purposes.
Beck Weathers book, Left For Dead, is written from that angle |
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Vancouver
Canada
95 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 2:55 PM
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| Yes - and I enjoyed that book as well. |
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Best grilled cheese maker ever
Whitehorse, YUKON
Canada
2142 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2006 : 3:33 PM
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Hey Suze, I see your point. I guess I just wanted more climbing and less fluffy family stuff.
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Its 4 in the morning, the end of December |
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Addicted to Danger - Jim Wickwire
