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list price: $17.95
edition:Paperback
category: Biography & Autobiography
published: Jan 2005
ISBN:9780888395429
publisher: Hancock House

Raven and the Mountaineer

Explorations of the St. Elias Mountains

by Monty Alford

tagged: personal memoirs, americas
Description

The Raven and the Mountaineer is the most significant contribution toward the history of the St. Elias Mountain Range -- the Himalayas of Canada. To introduce this mountain range to the reader the author has chosen the aboriginal emblem and traditionally sacred bird the Raven to make the introductory statement to each chapter. It is the Raven, the creature that soars high and endures the worst of weather, that has observed all that has taken place since time immemorial. The author has been privileged to have had the opportunity to spend several months (collectively) within the sanctuary of the St. Elias. This is a publication that presents to the reader the unique history of a very special part of Canada. From first sightings by coastal navigators like Bering, La Perouse, Malaspina, Quadra, Cook and Vancouver to the first ascents of the two highest peaks Mount St. Elias and Mount Logan (Canada's highest) to the surveys by the International Boundary Commission, the story is an exciting one. The author has appropriately dedicated his work to the late Dr. Walter Wood whom he regards as the Father of the St. Elias. Beginning in 1935 and until his death in 1993 Walter carried out exploratory mountaineering and initiated multi-disciplinary research in the region. This book is a novel combination of the history of the initial sighting of Mount St. Elias and subsequent exploration of the Range with the personal experiences of the author in expeditions during the second half of the twentieth century. A unifying thread is provided by the Raven who shares the narrative and gives the text a poetic, even mystical, dimension. The sense of eternal permanence one experiences in the mountain world permeates the book through the Raven's voice.

About the Author

Monty Alford is a retired federal hydrographer who spent thirty-five years measuring and studying northern lakes and rivers. He is an experienced instructor of winter survival techniques and safe travel in snow and ice and a mountain guide who has made several ascents of northern peaks in Yukon, Alaska, and beyond. He is the author of five books and numerous articles in outdoor, northern, and geographical magazines. He lives in the Yukon.

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