Forever on the Mountain: The Truth Behind One of Mountaineering's Most Controversial and Mysterious Disasters

by James M. Tabor

Overview

Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award
Grand Prize Winner, Banff Mountain Book Festival

"Forever on the Mountain grips even non-climbers with its harrowing scenes of thorny relationships tested by extraordinary circumstances." —Washington Post

In 1967, seven young men, members of a twelve-man expedition led by twenty-four-year-old Joe Wilcox, were stranded at 20,000 feet on Alaska’s Mount McKinley in a vicious Arctic storm. Ten days passed while the storm raged, yet no rescue was mounted. All seven perished in what remains the most tragic expedition in American climbing history.

Revisiting the event in the tradition of Norman Maclean’s Young Men and Fire, James M. Tabor uncovers elements of controversy, finger-pointing, and cover-up that make this disaster unlike any other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393331967
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	06/17/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	440,262
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

James M. Tabor, a former contributing editor to Outside, attempted Mount McKinley and summitted Mount Sanford. He hosted the PBS series The Great Outdoors and cocreated the History Channel series Journey to the Center of the World. He lives in Waitsfield, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     xi
Introduction     xv
Cast of Characters     xxi
Prologue: Sharp End of the Dream     3
Approach
Realms of Myth     11
For Want of a Wrist     21
Fool's Gold     25
Ire of the Mountain King     37
Clash at Cougar Rock     48
Ascent
The Long Road North     63
Lone Man Walking     76
Divided We Falter     86
Friktion     94
Pictures of an Expedition     108
Terras Incognitas     113
Summit Conference     125
Blowup     134
Odd Man Up     141
Accident
Just One More Wand     163
Last Words     179
We Will Live to Tell Stories     188
Where Is the Cavalry?     193
A Most Unusual Storm     205
Where Death Has No Meaning     213
Mixed Messages     222
Some Will Die     241
Hard Men Indeed     244
Crossing the River     251
Far Too Little, Way Too Late     258
We Cannot Look at Him     263
And Two Make Three     282
One Hell of a Good Story     289
Aftermath
Hanging Jury     297
Memorable Quotes     313
Summit and ANAM     318
Just a Publicity Stunt     327
Crossing the Line     334
Remaking History     338
Twisting in the Wind     344
Survivors     350
Author's Note     371
Recommended Reading     373
Photograph Credits     375
Index     377
Maps
Alaska & Mt. McKinley / Denali     8-9
Mount McKinley, Alaska / Route of the Wilcox Expedition     84-85
1967 Tragedy Area: Camp VII to Summit     233

Editorial Reviews

"This harrowing tale of the 1967 catastrophe on the slopes of McKinley will leave you breathless…A great detective story that offers a shocking twist to a long-unsolved mystery."

Gay Salisbury

"Some welcome perspective on an enduringly painful episode of mountaineering history…Tabor analyzes this debacle with the doggedness of an investigative reporter and the technical knowledge of an experienced climber."

Wall Street Journal

"A powerful case study in how quickly cracks in a team’s solidarity can lead to disaster."

Outside

"A shrewd and penetrating investigation of one of climbing’s greatest tragedies, Forever on the Mountain grapples with the most fundamental questions of risk and responsibility."

David Roberts

"Just as good as Into Thin Air…A spell binder."

The Sun Times

"As he negotiates his way through egotism, sabotage, freak weather, and staggering courage, Tabor maintains a cool head and, even more importantly in this case, an open heart. This is a maddening, terrifying book, and also a deeply compassionate one."

John Vaillant

"A powerful case study in how quickly cracks in a team’s solidarity can lead to disaster."

Outside