Book Review: Close-Ups of The High Sierra

Reviewed by Mike McDermitt

December, 2001

On my week in the mountains this past summer, I took a couple of layover days in the Owens Valley, resting blistered feet and rearranging plans.  Stopping by Wilson’s Eastside I happened to look at the book section and among other things picked up this book, curious about the legendary Norman Clyde, about whom I knew very little.  He was born in 1885, he died in 1972.  He was the most prolific Sierra Nevada peakbagger of his day and still one of the 3-4 most prolific of all time; his Sierra first ascents outnumber those of all but one other climber.  His initial first ascent was Electra Peak in Yosemite in 1914; his final first ascent was Kid Peak in Kings Canyon in 1940.  He climbed Mt. Whitney 50 times.  He continued climbing into his 80s.

The book is a slim 170-page paperback.  It begins with a forward which provides an historical background on the book itself (which was originally published in 1928 by the Auto Club) then an introduction which provides an excellent short biography of the author (in contradiction to the once-prevailing view, he was once married, briefly but happily), then a recollection by Glen Dawson.  At the end is a closing, a list of Clyde’s first ascents (actually a useful reference although a portion of the list consists of citations like ‘Peak 12,415’ which is who knows what peak) and a selected list of Clyde’s other writings.

The book itself consists of 21 short chapters.  Occasional photos (new and old) are interspersed along with old hand-drawn maps.  The first four chapters describe noteworthy peaks grouped by elevation (fourteeners, peaks over 13,500, etc.) and a fifth, peaks of Yosemite.  The rest of the chapters consist of essays, most being essentially short reports of various trips and climbs, including rather noteworthy first ascents (east face of Mt. Whitney, Clyde Minaret, Mt. Russell).  There are also a few chapters on general climbing topics such as thunderstorms and avalanches.  Clyde has a writing style that manages to squeeze out florid almost contorted phrasings about the repetitive observations characteristic of climbing (views, views, views); it makes the reading more interesting for sure.  Everything about the climbs is, of course, understated.  Things get strenuous but never out of hand.  Solo unroped fourth class climbs, thousands of vertical feet, all compressed to a jump or a hop or a walk.  It is amazing that he survived his career.

I read the introductions then skipped to the penultimate chapter and read the vignettes back to front, lastly reading the sections on peaks, then closing with the last chapter (a sad story).  It let me get a sense of the man first and I would suggest that approach to anyone reading it.  For those comparatively few peaks that I personally have climbed, it was fun to compare his impressions to mine.  I felt that the book does convey a sense that us avid peak climbers are following in his footsteps (since mountains erode quite slowly, of course, this is literally true but still enjoyable), that his climbing experiences were not that different from ours.  There is ample opportunity for Sierra travelers to find personal common ground.  For me it happened when he related a scene in Desolation Basin in the early summer when snow cover was virtually continuous; a tiny patch of grass is uncovered and some tiny yellow flowers (Draba) are blooming.  I have only camped in Desolation Basin once; it was an early summer in identical snow-bound conditions; the only time I have ever attempted a close-up photo of flowers in the Sierra, was exactly that shot (it turned out nicely).  Finally, the closing essay describes a trip gone awry in a snowstorm; his hiking partner dies in the cold.  He describes it as an unfortunate but freak occurrence, caused by that individual’s quirkiness.  I read it and saw a clear-cut case of hypothermia (I would be interested to hear if others agree or disagree).  In closing, this book is an easy, quick and entertaining read, one which I highly recommend to any Sierra Nevada peak climber.