In 1971, Radford West, then a Marine recently back from the Vietnam War, decided to act on his dream to explore the wilderness and go high into the mountains. West’s new memoir, On Mountaineering, chronicles these journeys in what is much more than a simple mountain-climbing guide.
At its core lies a climbing journal, including photographs and lessons learned, about seven routes taken to lofty summits in the US National Parks and Canadian Pacific coastal mountain ranges and abroad. A commentary introducing the “in-the-moment” chronicle of each trip, plus a retrospective essay drawing lessons learned from each experience, provides an echo of the climbs themselves – making each route an adventure both memorable and descriptive enough to follow on foot.
“It’s a sad fact that the youth attendance at our National Parks has been on the decline,” said West. “This book is an invitation to come experience nature’s cathedrals of rock, ice and snow that stick up above the clouds. The mountains gave me a new respect for nature and myself.”
On Mountaineering is available in paperback or eBook on Amazon.
