Five Big Mountains: A Regular Guy's Guide to Climbing Orizaba, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, and Vinson

David N. Schaeffer

jan 2010 · Mercer University Press

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What does it take for a regular guy to climb some of the highest mountains in the world? Five Big Mountains takes you there, instantly placing the reader and the author on a steep glacier on Pico de Orizaba with equipment trouble and the tough decision any high altitude climber inevitably faces-should he turn back or keep going to the summit? The central theme of the book is that with proper preparation, careful planning, persistent training, and the best guides, even an amateur with little mountaineering experience can climb and reach the summits of some of the most famous mountains in the world, though there are risks involved that need to be minimized. Written in the first person, Five Big Mountains takes the reader into the mind of a regular guy trying to reach the summit of four of the famous Seven Summits, as well as his first high-altitude climb of a steep, glaciated Mexican volcano. The book tells what climbing is really like, the struggles and the triumphs, the emotions and the dangers, moment by moment. The reader is taken to Russia, Africa, Antarctica, South America, and Mexico. Along the way, the reader is able to travel with and discover the local flavor of each exotic or not so exotic venue. Color photos help the reader to visualize the glorious majesty of the peaks, but the narrative provides the nitty-gritty of the author's daily challenges on the mountains.