And that’s how he became part of the team of a 97-year-old ultra runner, and how he came to dress as Walt Whitman and read poetry while hiking up the mountain and why he spent a week cooking for the scientists at the Observatory. Szczesny set out to take a year to study the culture significance and social impact of Mount Washington by doing all the things people do on the mountain. And I began developing the idea of a compendium book of the mountain.” “And over the years, I found myself caught in Mount Washington's pull as well, hiking it, riding up, staying at the huts, and taking family and friends up that would not otherwise be able to because of the Auto Road or Cog. “And that seemed crazy to me, that someone was training to climb a 20,000 foot mountain on a 6,000 foot mountain. “Having spent the first half of my career in Western New York and New Jersey - where there are no mountains, no high places - I remember one of the first stories I wrote for the paper I was working for at the time was about a local climber who was going on an expedition up Denali in Alaska and he was training on Mt. He found himself-and his innate curiosity-captivated by Mount Washington. Szczesny is a New Hampshire-based journalist and a hiker who has written travelogues on Nepal and Alaska in addition to the Whites. “The summit is available and accessible to anyone, and that draw is irresistible.”
“If you live anywhere in New England for any length of time, you are bound to find yourself in the shadow of Mount Washington at some point, even if you aren't a hiker or climber,” Szczesny said, as he prepares for a six-month tour to promote the new book. And over the course of 270 pages, Szczesny tells the stories of people that bring truth to that statement. So writes Dan Szczesny in his new book, The White Mountain: Rediscovering Mount Washington’s Hidden Culture (Hobblebush Books). When you come back down, you’re different. Ask anyone who has been in its sphere of influence. For those who have summited, by foot, road or or rail, Mount Washington can alter our world view. In 1870, a scientific team led by Joshua Huntington wintered at the top for the first time. The first European known to have climbed the mountain was Darby Field of Durham, NH, who did so in 1642.
Mount Washington has caught our collective eye, and prompted our longing for adventure, for centuries-so much so that we know it today as an icon. Wait, sorry, no, it’s the majesty of Mount Washington rising 6,288.2 feet higher than the ocean at Hampton Beach. The shining beacon drawing them to the Whites is, of course, cheap liquor and tax-free shopping. During our current seasonal few weeks of ‘poor sledding’, hundreds of thousands of vacationers are heading to the White Mountains.
0 kommentar(er)
