Customer Reviews

High Odyssey

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone who loves mountains, and especially the Sierra Nevada, will find this a great addition to the library. It documents the little known winter solo ski trip over the entire John Muir trail, from Mt. Whitney to Yosemite, by Orland Bartholemew in 1928-29. The author expertly crafts the story from old notes and a diary, and has included amazing photographs that were taken by Bartholomew using an old Kodak. This is not a big expensive book, and would make a fine gift, particularly suitable for young adults. But you will want a copy for yourself.
The book is a mountaineering High Sierra classic!

High Odyssey is a magnificent tale of the human spirit. Gene Rose, one of the foremost historians of Sierra lore and skiing, captures the essence of Orland Bartholomew's pioneering 1929 ski adventure through the unexplored winter terrain of the Sierra. A must read for the aspiring backcountry skier. Rose's tale of Bartholomews four month long journey is as insightful as it is remarkable. "High Odyssey" is Highly entertaining.

With garden rake handles for ski poles, a tarp tent, a down robe to sleep in, and cooking over open fires, this man skied solo from Cottonwood Pass to Yosemite Valley in the winter of 1928-29. Along the way he made the first solo winter ascent of Mt. Whitney, at that time the highest mountain in the United States! This book will make the reader appreciate all the latest high tech. gear available today! Gortex, bivy bags, thermarest matresses, light weight down sleeping bags, and stoves were not available in 1928! Anyone interested in ski mountaineering will find inspiration in this book!

, Could not put this book down so good If you love the mountains you will enjoy reading this book

I thought I was relatively well versed in the history of the Sierra Nevada, but my knowledge had a substantial hole. In the winter of 1928-29, Orland Bartholomew took one of the most ambitious winter mountain treks in history. He skied/climbed from Lone Pine to Yosemite Valley in Winter- ALONE. If someone like John Muir or Normal Clyde had done this, it would be common knowledge. I think this event was largely lost in history because Orland did not do it for, nor did he seek, fame or glory. He did not live for first ascents (though he did make the first recorded winter ascent of Mount Whiteny), nor proving anything. He did this because he loved the Sierras and being out in them. The book is a well written enjoyable read. My only complaint is that it was too light (short), but that's likely a result of the book not being written by the hero.

I appreciate the existence of this book very much, as it is the only full source of information (other than a few news articles) about Orland Bartholomoew's nearly unknown feat of touring the entire Sierra Crest by ski, alone, 40 years before the gear to do it comfortably was available.

Bartholomew told almost no one what he did, as he considered it an unusual undertaking most pleasiing to himself but incongruous to other people, and he was right. He hardly wasted any breath on mentioning it even to his family members. But newspaper Gene Rose was able to dig up a lot more of information about Bartholomew's adventure, including diary entries, enough to make it into a publishable story suitable as a short book.

People contemplating a similar trip of their own with modern equipment, or just armchair adventure junkies, will likely appreciate this book as much as I did. In spite of this, I have to say that it is not very well written. It is the work of a newspaper writer rather than someone with a good feel for book-length storytelling. In addition, despite the commendable amount of research he undertook, the author is just not familiar with mountaineering terminology, or else he was trying to write down to the level of people who knew nothing about it. A good idea if that was the case, but perhaps overdone. There are many clunky passages where all he can say is that our hero didn't know what to do, the storm was cold, the night was dark, the equipment inadequate.

So this book fails to be an exciting story that can lift you out of yourself to imagine what undertaking a similar solo ski trip would be like. But as a document of an astonishingly difficult solo journey it is more than adequate.

The avid ski mountaineer in me was hungry for more details, about gear, routes taken, weather pattern details (not just "a big storm came and dumped X amount of snow"), etc. But I very much appreciate the author for even bringing this account to light in the first place.