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A Long Way Up: The Story of Jill Kinmont
1966: by E. G. Valens- This is the story of Jill Kinmont. She became a great ski racer; only to be injured with a severed spinal cord. This is the story of two lives- before and after the accident.
245 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
August 28, 2016
Oh, WOW! Another book I ran across that I have read, but have not put in my collection here. I know there are many, many more that I have not added here--I need to get that rectified soon. I remember this being very inspiring and big time to me. I was maybe in the 8th grade when I read it. Another wonderful part of my past that I am glad has caught up with me! :)
November 27, 2025
"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
E.G. Valens, The Other Side of the Mountain: The Story of Jill Kinmont
This was a reread.
I first read this book in High school. It is about Jill Kinmont, an Olympic downhill skier, who tragically lost the use of much of her body as a result of a skiing accident. This is a true story..Non fiction.
I adored this book when it came out and time has not taken away any of my enjoyment of this book. Jill Kinmont was so inspirational..I remember as a kid, just being awed by her. Another person would have folded up, given up in those circumstances. Jill handles everything thrown her way.
This book is her life story and what a story it is. It is filled with Love and loss, tragedy and beauty and is just an amazing story to read about an amazing lady. There is a part two which I also read, although I have not done a reread of that one.
In this book, you will learn about Jill as a young girl, witness her incredible wins as her skiing career flourishes and also go with her on her journey as tragedy follows. However, she, with the love and support of many around her, makes it through a very tragic and dark time period. This book will show you the goodness of humanity and take you through the incredible life of Jill. An amazing read.
E.G. Valens, The Other Side of the Mountain: The Story of Jill Kinmont
This was a reread.
I first read this book in High school. It is about Jill Kinmont, an Olympic downhill skier, who tragically lost the use of much of her body as a result of a skiing accident. This is a true story..Non fiction.
I adored this book when it came out and time has not taken away any of my enjoyment of this book. Jill Kinmont was so inspirational..I remember as a kid, just being awed by her. Another person would have folded up, given up in those circumstances. Jill handles everything thrown her way.
This book is her life story and what a story it is. It is filled with Love and loss, tragedy and beauty and is just an amazing story to read about an amazing lady. There is a part two which I also read, although I have not done a reread of that one.
In this book, you will learn about Jill as a young girl, witness her incredible wins as her skiing career flourishes and also go with her on her journey as tragedy follows. However, she, with the love and support of many around her, makes it through a very tragic and dark time period. This book will show you the goodness of humanity and take you through the incredible life of Jill. An amazing read.
April 24, 2012
Skiing was everything to Jill Kinmont. She learned to ski on Mammoth Mountain near her hometown of Bishop, California and after two years was good enough to race. She put in the hard work and eventually she won a National Championship. When the Olympics seemed like a real possibility she launched herself into a training program that included working out during the summer time. The selection for the next US Women’s Olympic team would come from the competitors in the Snow Cup Race based on their performance. Jill felt better than she could ever remember having felt before an important race. At the starting gate her coach gave her a wink and she was told to have a great run. At that moment she felt like she could own the world. As Jill skied down the mountain and through the course she started moving way too fast and then eventually she lost control. She crashed into the snow and tumbled for another 50 feet. The accident smashed her spinal cord which caused her to have permanent paralysis. Unfortunately, nothing could be done to restore it. This book describes her journey as she tries to find the courage to overcome the tremendous obstacles she faces in life as a quadriplegic.
I found it unfortunate that this tragedy had to happen to someone who was young and full of hope and who had a bright future as an elite athlete. Mostly I felt sad for the fact that Jill could no longer ski, something she loved to do more than anything. It’s ironic that competitive skiing is just like life; sometimes the course is smooth and you’re comfortable because you feel like you have control but other times the terrain in the course is steep and rough and you fight like hell to stay with it. In my opinion Jill Kinmont used the skills she learned as a competitive skier to face the challenges that came her way after the accident. By pushing herself and having the guts, spirit and spunk to do so, she picked herself up (figuratively) and got on with life.
I found it unfortunate that this tragedy had to happen to someone who was young and full of hope and who had a bright future as an elite athlete. Mostly I felt sad for the fact that Jill could no longer ski, something she loved to do more than anything. It’s ironic that competitive skiing is just like life; sometimes the course is smooth and you’re comfortable because you feel like you have control but other times the terrain in the course is steep and rough and you fight like hell to stay with it. In my opinion Jill Kinmont used the skills she learned as a competitive skier to face the challenges that came her way after the accident. By pushing herself and having the guts, spirit and spunk to do so, she picked herself up (figuratively) and got on with life.
January 15, 2009
I loved this book both as a skier and as an occupational therapist. In a world where mass media pities people with spinal cord injuries I think that it would be an excellent experience for anyone to read this book and to learn that there is life after injury and often it is excellent despite the difficulty.
November 26, 2021
The book is split about 50/50 pre and post accident. I found it amazing how Jill could spend so much of her spare time on Mammoth Mtn skiing (before it even had chair lifts) while in high school. I guess it was a lot cheaper in the 50's!
April 2, 2009
Read this many years ago - it's good and so is the movie.
March 26, 2022
A fairly well-written account of a very inspiring life.
September 26, 2017
I read this book in my 20s and the inspiration and courage shown by Jill Kilmont has never left me. Every few years I checked in on (via computer) her to see how she was until 2012 when she passed away at age 75- that is how much she impacted my life. Despite being paralyzed from the neck down she lived a full and inspiring life. This book would be a great read for any adult but also for young ladies getting ready to go out and face the scary world on their own.
April 2, 2015
I read this book many years agon and loved it. Great motivational book
March 19, 2011
Want to read this one again.
November 24, 2023
While I won't pretend this book is spectacular or really in any way a marvel, I will say that I am glad I read it when I did in the year. Following these dense political/philisophical/psychological books (save for the Orwell squeezed in the middle), this simple minded true story was just such a respite, a real relaxing break from the more thought provoking stuff. That isn't to say that this book has nothing to say, but, well... I don't know who this is written for? The diction is very simplistic and dull, totally rudimentary, and it makes you think "ok, well I guess this is meant as a little inspiring story for ten year olds". However, you come to where words like "Bitch" are thrown in (one instance, but still), and you realize how gruesome the book is, with several detailed accounts of gnarly injury from several people, and you wonder "well can this really be meant for kids?". Either I would say some aspects needed to be smoothed out and kept more mild, or the author needed to, how do I say, write better? Like it's certainly a bit below my grade level, if you know what I mean.
So apart from that, with the language and narrative being so point to point and simplistic, streamlined if you want to say it kindly, the book could just feel a bit mundane at times.
One thing I did like actually was the sense of foreshadowing and impending disaster if you will during the first several chapters. I've never been into skiiing, and really I never realized just how dangerous it could be, though of course it does seem rather obvious now. But as you see Jill's friends- Audra Jo and Dick Buek in particular- take on these gruesome injuries and afflictions, and to see how it affects Jill just leads further into how hard you feel for the girl upon having her accident. Though again somewhat shrouded in simplistic writing, seeing Jill so distraught over her friends, gets you thinking to yourself "why don't you read the signs Jill?" all the while realizing that that sort of dedication, that obsession that Jill had is really admirable and just simply can't be ripped away.
I come back to a point I made earlier now as I write this section a few days later, having now finished the book. It's honestly egregious at times how unprofessional the author is. I mean, I don't know what other to say than that it was written poorly. There are a dozen or more instances of misspellings and other small things that could easily have been fixed upon a first or second pass through, it's just plainly unprofessional.
That aside, the afterward which was contained in my latter publication version of the book, which talked about the movie, was honestly one of the most positive sections of the book. Throughout, it almost feels like you're reading about Jill, but you aren't reading Jill. This is another area where Valens was just plainly poor as a writer, and it isn't until this last chapter when the shooting of the movie is talked about that we actually understand the whole "Jill is brave" thing comes from. Honestly the last chapter, which wasn't even in the original version, salvages much of the book. Not that the book is bad beforehand, but still the last chapter is necessary to understand Jill.
"The script was completed early in 1973 and sent to Jill for her approval: 'When I read it, I cried four times,' she said. 'I thought, oh that poor girl, what a tragic life. But I never thought about her as me.'"
This is one of the only real glimpses into how well she took on her accident herself, save for a few mentions here and there during the bulk of the work.
"As for the factual details, Jill described the situation as very frustrating at first. 'I had to do a lot of rationalizing. In the film I'm very depressed, for example... It seems a lot of conflict had to be developed between people, and there was so little conflict in my actual life outside of competing on the slopes." This, in spite of all the terrible injuries and deaths that her friends suffer all around her. Tough as nails she was, but to an extent, the book unfortunately betrays that fact.
So apart from that, with the language and narrative being so point to point and simplistic, streamlined if you want to say it kindly, the book could just feel a bit mundane at times.
One thing I did like actually was the sense of foreshadowing and impending disaster if you will during the first several chapters. I've never been into skiiing, and really I never realized just how dangerous it could be, though of course it does seem rather obvious now. But as you see Jill's friends- Audra Jo and Dick Buek in particular- take on these gruesome injuries and afflictions, and to see how it affects Jill just leads further into how hard you feel for the girl upon having her accident. Though again somewhat shrouded in simplistic writing, seeing Jill so distraught over her friends, gets you thinking to yourself "why don't you read the signs Jill?" all the while realizing that that sort of dedication, that obsession that Jill had is really admirable and just simply can't be ripped away.
I come back to a point I made earlier now as I write this section a few days later, having now finished the book. It's honestly egregious at times how unprofessional the author is. I mean, I don't know what other to say than that it was written poorly. There are a dozen or more instances of misspellings and other small things that could easily have been fixed upon a first or second pass through, it's just plainly unprofessional.
That aside, the afterward which was contained in my latter publication version of the book, which talked about the movie, was honestly one of the most positive sections of the book. Throughout, it almost feels like you're reading about Jill, but you aren't reading Jill. This is another area where Valens was just plainly poor as a writer, and it isn't until this last chapter when the shooting of the movie is talked about that we actually understand the whole "Jill is brave" thing comes from. Honestly the last chapter, which wasn't even in the original version, salvages much of the book. Not that the book is bad beforehand, but still the last chapter is necessary to understand Jill.
"The script was completed early in 1973 and sent to Jill for her approval: 'When I read it, I cried four times,' she said. 'I thought, oh that poor girl, what a tragic life. But I never thought about her as me.'"
This is one of the only real glimpses into how well she took on her accident herself, save for a few mentions here and there during the bulk of the work.
"As for the factual details, Jill described the situation as very frustrating at first. 'I had to do a lot of rationalizing. In the film I'm very depressed, for example... It seems a lot of conflict had to be developed between people, and there was so little conflict in my actual life outside of competing on the slopes." This, in spite of all the terrible injuries and deaths that her friends suffer all around her. Tough as nails she was, but to an extent, the book unfortunately betrays that fact.
Read
April 8, 2020I remember reading this for the first time in middle school, and I couldn't believe that a non-fiction novel could be so interesting. It talks about how skiing was Jill Kinmont's, main character, whole life. She gets into an accident and has to learn to live with her new way of life without much of a choice. It talks about how she felt through it all: the love, the tragedy, the loss, and the pain.
This is the story of her life and everything she did to keep moving forward. It is a book that has inspired me to keep moving forward and not letting the past hold me back from my future. Jill's story taught me that even the worst things can happen to the best people, but how you overcome those circumstances defines you to the fullest.
This is an amazing read, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
This is the story of her life and everything she did to keep moving forward. It is a book that has inspired me to keep moving forward and not letting the past hold me back from my future. Jill's story taught me that even the worst things can happen to the best people, but how you overcome those circumstances defines you to the fullest.
This is an amazing read, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
April 11, 2020
If you are expecting the book is anything like the movie of the same name you would be wrong. There are some similarities between the movie and the actual story. The book tells about how much Jill Kinmont enjoyed skiing and what a potential she had until she hurt herself during the Snow Cup race in Utah. It also reveals her relationships with her best friend Audra Jo, and skiers Dick Buek and Buddy Werner. The book talks about her education and becoming a teacher. At the end of the book it talks about the filming of the movie . It's an interesting read.
December 24, 2020
More like 3.5, however, this is the true story of Jill Kinmount. She was an Olympic bound skier when she had a crashed that changed her life forever. What comes through in this story is her positive spirit where she pushed boundaries of the time. Not everyone will like this, but it is an inspiring story of a young woman not to be defeated by life.
February 3, 2023
Jill Kinmont is promising young skier with a shot at the 1956 Winter Olympics till an accident in a meet before the Olympic try outs cause her to break her back and she is paralyzed from the shoulders down. Jill has to learn a new way of life and after month in hospital she embarks on getting her life together with the help of family and friends.
April 17, 2024
One of my favorite books growing up. It has stayed with me for many years after having read the book and then seeing the movie, starring Marilyn Hassett and Beau Bridges, with Dabney Coleman as Jill's ski coach, Dave McCoy. Very inspiring and highly recommended today, even after all the years since I first read it.
November 26, 2020
For me, at the start there was too much attention to minutiae, it might been different if I knew more about skiing (use of terms) and I felt it took too long to get to the accident, needed to read 1/3 of book before you get to it.
April 22, 2021
My five star review is based on the memory of the impression this made on me when I first read it way back when. I have no idea how it has held up over time. But, it sure did move me back in the day.
July 6, 2021
It took me a bit to get into the book as I am not a skier and a lot of it was foreign to me. This was an incredible young woman no doubt but her whole family was incredible. The author did a great job of bringing all people to life and keeping our interest going.
April 29, 2024
A sweet (old fashioned) non-fiction account of a skier-turned-quadriplegic-turned-teacher. Would be a great read for an OT or a PT, as there are large sections devoted to describing the various treatments undergone by the patient during her rehab.
March 4, 2025
This book was awesome! The story of an outstanding skier whose carrier ended tragically will leave the reader questioning what is and isn't important. The book is much more than the tragedy that occurs, but rather the manner inwhich she embraces life from that point on.
January 13, 2018
Awesome book detailing a champion skiers tragedy that was turned into a life as a teacher.
September 4, 2019
Read this years ago...
January 27, 2020
The first medical memoir I ever read. It had a profound effect on me, and likely shaped how I think about medical narrative today.
December 14, 2020
I read this as a teenager. A story of overcoming a tragedy that greatly changed her life.
October 5, 2022
I read this in 1990 for school and then we watched the movie. For some reason this book has stuck with me all this time.
February 26, 2023
Jill, a champion skies looses the use of her legs and falls in love with a pilot, regains her confidence, though not her legs.
February 5, 2024
Watched it on Netflix. It was sad but a great testimony after she went through all of the hard times.
March 7, 2024
Beautiful story of Jill Kinmont, skier who was paralyzed from the shoulders down. Never depressing. Showed what a string and loving person she was. Excellent.
July 1, 2024
Just like the movie 10/10
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews