Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits

by Kit DesLauriers, Conrad Anker (Foreword)

Kit DesLauriers made history by being the first person to ski from the summit of each continent's highest mountain—after climbing it. Centered on her quest to climb and ski the Seven Summits, Higher Love is a hero’s journey, rich with personal insights, life-threatening consequences, and a thrilling crescendo.

Spanning seven continents in just two years, this is Kit’s personal account of the secret journey that would change her heart and her life forever. From braving Antarctica’s bone-chilling temperatures to trudging through an African rain forest, from corn snow on the continental slopes of Australia to blue ice on Everest, Kit leads you up each mountain and gives you a heart-racing ride back down.

This candid, fast-paced story shows how inspiration, teamwork and honoring our true nature blazes the trail to every summit, on or off the mountain.

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, Outdoors, Memoir, Audiobook, Mountaineering, Sports

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2015

Reviews

[Richard Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a mountain climber since the age of 8, in 1952 when I first went up 10,110 ft. Mt. Blackmore outside of Bozeman, Montana with my father. That introduction to the heights has stayed with me spiritually for all these years. As such, I love Kit's descriptions of both her he athletic feats on the mountains she climbed and skied, as well as her spiritual trip, especially on Everest. What always amazes me is the ability of the extreme mountaineers to withstand the cold, hunger, altitude sickness and drain if energy for not just one or two days, but for weeks on end. Kit's expenditures of energy, the deprivations and necessity to endure on Denali and Mt. Vinson are certainly equal to or greater than the obstacles of Everest. Her feat is simply amazing, and a real model for mountaineers of all ages for all time! The dedication of Kit's husband Rob to her goals and project is also a model for partners in marriage who need to support one another to achieve individual and joint goals. I will read this book again to re-live the high points of her journey. A great book!

[Raina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kit is amazing and and inspiration to all.

It's wonderful to see her journey through her own eyes.

The book is an easy read - it's gripping. Once you start, you can't stop. The writing is fluid and the transitions are great. She does a good job describing the parts that you want to read more about. She's also not preachy and very modest and humble regarding her accomplishments. I had a little bit of confusion with the timing of the events, but everything is well explained and goes in order. The photos are stunning and aid in your understanding of what Kit went through. I highly recommend a physical copy of this book vs. a Kindle/e-reader/tablet.

Enjoy! You won't regret reading this one!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most motivating books I've ever read. I'm not one to boast of many female heroes but Kit is one for the ages. She shows anyone that if you set your mind to it you can achieve great things. Not to mention her stories on each of the summits is very impressive. I live in Jackson hole and only hope I get the chance to meet her!

[Kristy McCaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. DesLauriers is the first person to ski the highest summit on each continent, also known as the Seven Summits. In this revealing and compelling memoir, she shares her journey from inception to completion. The summits include Denali, Elbrus, Vinson Massif, Kosciuszko, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro and Everest. Each presented unique challenges and skill sets, and yet she managed to finish within a two-year period. This is a wonderful read, offering insights into the mind of a woman who engages in dangerous pursuits while also detailing the risk minimization that she practices diligently. Still, the Everest portion will leave you dangling on the edge of your seat. I especially enjoyed the side-stories about her wolf dog. Well-written and fascinating, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Kaitlyn Zeichick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. Everest sounds terrifying. Kit is a lot more spiritual than I am, so it was interesting reading about that perspective.

One of my favorite take-aways was an activity her parents and she and her husband do each year, where they spend a minute to write down what they want to do in the next year, five years, and life, and then share it with their significant other. I’ve done it once now and really liked it.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kit is a phenomenal athlete and an inspiration - male or female. Fantastic book, one of my favorites for life. Anyone remotely interested in the outdoors/mountains should read.

[Warren Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spends a lot of time on her looney religion

[Nicole Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kit is amazing to have accomplished all that she did. I am sure it was a thrill to climb and ski all seven summits. I don’t think the way the story was written did HER story justice.
I feel like I should have felt more while reading her story, and I wanted to cheer her on, but the spark just wasn’t there. It just fell flat for me. Especially the end.

[Jenna Kooker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring story of a badass woman who does things to prove that she can, not to be the first woman to do something. Terrifying, but inspiring.

[Lex]

An absolute legend. Anyone who aspires to do grand things in the outdoors, or overcome battles within themselves, should give this a read. Kit DesLauriers was not only the first PERSON to ever ski all seven summits of the world, but went on to pave the way for all outdoor enthusiasts. Absolutely inspiring.
I don't rate non-fiction/memoirs.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits by Kit DesLauriers. While it is a great story of Kit's drive to be the first person to climb up and ski from the summits of the highest peaks on each continent, I also really enjoyed the well written descriptions of the people and places that she visited along the way. Perhaps my favorite was Elbrus, with a Soviet era mountaineering camp in a secret hanging valley.

I received a free review copy of Higher Love through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, an inspirational woman and athlete. It made me feel like a lazy slug at the same time as inspiring me to be more active! Really unbelievable accomplishments and a good read.

[Graham Gnall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely nuts stories about pushing human limits. She bites the wolf!

[Karenbike Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title says it all. Kit DesLauriers became the first person in some cases and the first woman in all cases to climb then ski the seven highest summits on the seven continents. All of them had some challenge if only finding a way to pay for all of it. She did all of this in her mid-thirties then finished out the decade with having two children. There is no doubt that she had the skill, brains, physical strength, and courage to do it all. It wasn't until her last challenge- Everest- that I was reminded that no one climbs that mountain without putting others in danger and, even if they consent, it seems inappropriate for people to knowingly go about 24,000 feet into the "death zone." But apparently, for many people, this is the only thing that will complete their soul. Along with the summits, she compares the strength and persistence to preparing for the climb to the training and domesticating of her wolf Alta. This was a breathtaking and fast-paced description of what it takes to go through something completely unimaginable to me.

[Ellie Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of this book was the planning and organizing that it takes to do the 7 summits on skis within a couple of years, but interspersed was what drives Kit and why she felt inspired to do it. I can’t say I am inspired to try any of the 7 summits but I appreciate that she made goals and followed through with them, with extreme adversity. I really liked the 2021 afterword that out the 7 summits in the context of her life, 16 years later. And how she continues to ski mountaineer with two daughters. I started watching The Man Who Skied Down Everest, an Oscar winning film from the ‘70s about the only other person to ski Everest, and it was really helpful to see the parts of Everest she describes.

[Patricia Mclelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think she is amazing to accomplish what she did, quite an inspiration. Unfortunately the way the book was written, just felt like a flat story. Since I have climbed mountains in my time and I understood first hand a small part of the hardships she endured, the way it was written did not make this come alive, it left me feeling neutral when I know that I wanted to feel like a could jump up and down in congratulations. SOOO - great story, just didn’t come off as inspiring bc of the way it was written. Too bad.

[Rob Mayfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best mountaineering books I’ve read. Loved her detailed but approachable trip reports. Her Elbrus excursion sounds incredible.

Loved the outline of dates on Everest. It did a great job helping me understand the actual length of the trip. I wish she had done that for every summit.

Though Kit is definitely an elite athlete, the down-to-earth way she writes makes you believe that with enough dedication, you could also do some of the things she did.

I was inspired, and eager to come back to her story each night. Highly recommend.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kit DesLaurier's accomplishment of climbing and skiing the Seven Summits is an amazing one. In my opinion, her descriptions of the actual events were a bit flat, but they might resonate more with an avid skier and/or climber. I would have liked to have learned a little more about her upbringing in the book to better understand how she acquired the high levels of leadership, fitness, and perseverance to visualize and complete this undertaking. A very compelling story.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not my favorite adventure memoir (I loved North), but it was fairly motivational and interesting, especially towards the end. I don’t ski at Kit’s level, but I still found her story interesting, and appreciate her real description of the efforts it took to climb and ski the summits. I can definitely say I have no desire to ever climb Everest, but the lessons of perseverance in the book can easily be applied to whatever limitations you may think you have in your own life.

[Brooke Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I would finish this book over the weekend, so I savored the last chapter, just a couple pages at a time. I loved reading about Kit's drive, inner strength, and achievements.
Thank you Kit for sharing your story and inspiring women to follow that higher love that pushes us to explore boundaries and strike a balance between masculinity and femininity in order to achieve whichever goals we choose.

[Alexis Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟 Kit DesLauriers was the first person to climb and ski the 7 summits of the world. In this book she recalls each of those expeditions in great detail. The story is gripping and what she accomplished is truly amazing. She shares openly about her personal struggles and learnings along the way. I leave this book feeling deeply inspired by Kit's wonder and her motto of "challenging her perceptions of her limitations".

[Sam Schlosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not get enough of this book! I am obsessed with Kit and her story. If you wanted to read WILD and thought it was crude, I highly recommend this book. It is clean and has actual substance from badass women. I love how she ties everything together. Such a motivating and inspiring read! HIGHLY RECCOMEND.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

She has an incredible story, I always love to read about women who relentlessly pursue what makes them happy and alive. Especially when it is something completely unorthodox or outside of common daily life. The writing is pretty awkward at times, but I appreciate that she did the storytelling more, than having perfect prose.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this autographed copy up on my recent stay her Rob’s TML property. I couldn’t put the book down. Every chapter I could Imagine myself with them. It was so relatable and engaging and motivating.

[Mengjun Yu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book during a skip trip to Utah. Kit showed me her determination, persistence, and at the same time her vulnerability during her journey of climbing and skiing the seven summit. Her work and life is a perfect blend of masculinity and femininity.

[Veronika Kershaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read in my life! I cried, I laughed, I couldn’t stop reading. What this lady accomplished and keep accomplishing in her life is simply insanly beautiful. The book is so well written and I enjoyed every page of it.

[Molly Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

People just really need to understand that it’s ok to do something awesome and not write a memoir about it. Chances are your memoir will be no where near as awesome as the thing you did that made you think you should write about it. That’s what journals are for, folx.

[Chris Jacobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a very tough and persistent woman who managed to be the first to ski down from the seven highest summits. Harrowing, and inspiring, and sharing her love of the mountains and of skiing.

[Liza McLain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story and well written! Kit’s story is inspiring, and I appreciated her wit and candor greatly. Would highly (pun intended) recommend!

[Laura Smith (Jewett) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is phenomenal. And a must read for anyone who loves adventuring outdoors and wants to shift their perspective on confidence and trust in themselves.