I read a lot of outdoor books, most notably by Jon Krakauer and Ed Viesturs. Expeditions to the mountains, the success and the failures, have always fascinated me and kept certain dreams alive, and provided material for writing. What I find lacking to a degree, is the more personal inner struggle, and the spiritual awakening that can arise from the human seeking a higher place next to nature, the being pushed to limits where we become our true self.
I see this in great detail and depth in the books by Reinhold Messner. His book “The Crystal Horizon” is about the first solo ascent of Mount Everest in 1980 and is steeped with raw emotion, the body and mind punished, and the spirit set free.
Other books I am currently reading by Mr. Messner:
- My Life at the Limit
- The Naked Mountain
- All Fourteen 8,000ers
