In 1913, four men made a months-long journey by dog sled to climb the tallest mountain in North America, Alaska's Denali. Dean narrates the tale of their journey here, introducing readers to this motley crew: Hudson Stuck, a fifty-year old Episcopal priest, Harry Karstens, the hardened Alaskan wilderness guide, Walter Harper, part of the Koyukon people, and Robert Tatum, a divinity student.
Readers interested in mountaineers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries will recognize names like Mallory and Hillary, but this work brings to light another name worthy of attention: Hudson Stuck ... Stuck’s life story is equally as fascinating as his mountaineering accomplishments ... Author Dean, executive director of the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance, also captures the rich history of Texas and Alaska during an era that inspired Jack London and the Yukon Gold Rush. This well-researched account belongs in most mountaineering collections.
From the Texas frontier to North America’s tallest peak, this balanced biography of Hudson Stuck offers provide plenty of adventure, setbacks, turmoil, and seeking a way to impact the world, and will engage[.]
A gripping account ... Environmental journalist and outdoorsman Dean combines a grueling mountain-climbing chronicle with a revealing life of the co-leader of the first successful Denali expedition, Hudson Stuck (1863-1920), an impressive figure who deserves to be better known ... Those not captivated by climbing will puzzle over the misery these adventurers embraced, but they will keep reading ... Mountaineering and biography in expert hands.
