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Mixed Emotions: Mountaineering Writings of Greg Child
* Includes five previously unpublished essays
* Powerful prose sparked with Child's unique wit
Well-known for his Himalayan expeditions and first ascents on rock walls in Australia and the United States, Greg Child freely admits his mixed feelings about climbing. Overwhelming are the loss of friends, the thrill of achievement, and the soul-shattering moments of risk and survival; but it is precisely these experiences that compel him to write and to continue climbing.
In Mixed Emotions, Child remembers the mountains, the people, and the episodes that have made him feel his life acutely, including the 1986 K2 tragedy that killed 13 climbers; a near-fatal snakebite in his native Australia; and the loss of climbing partner Pete Thexton. He recalls his associations with world-renowned mountaineers Doug Scott, John Roskelley, Voytek Kurtyka, and Don Whillans. Child also narrates fascinating off-mountain journeys to a secluded Hindu shrine, and the remote, harsh landscape of the Baltoro Glacier, where progress has left its indelible mark.
Finally, Child comments on some less tangible aspects of climbing, such as the ghostly presence that accompanies climbers under duress, and the meanings of and inevitable meetings with death.
* Powerful prose sparked with Child's unique wit
Well-known for his Himalayan expeditions and first ascents on rock walls in Australia and the United States, Greg Child freely admits his mixed feelings about climbing. Overwhelming are the loss of friends, the thrill of achievement, and the soul-shattering moments of risk and survival; but it is precisely these experiences that compel him to write and to continue climbing.
In Mixed Emotions, Child remembers the mountains, the people, and the episodes that have made him feel his life acutely, including the 1986 K2 tragedy that killed 13 climbers; a near-fatal snakebite in his native Australia; and the loss of climbing partner Pete Thexton. He recalls his associations with world-renowned mountaineers Doug Scott, John Roskelley, Voytek Kurtyka, and Don Whillans. Child also narrates fascinating off-mountain journeys to a secluded Hindu shrine, and the remote, harsh landscape of the Baltoro Glacier, where progress has left its indelible mark.
Finally, Child comments on some less tangible aspects of climbing, such as the ghostly presence that accompanies climbers under duress, and the meanings of and inevitable meetings with death.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2013
Mixed Emotions, Mountaineering Writings of Greg Child was published in 1993 and includes previously published stories from the 70s and 80s. However, mountain adventures are timeless and always fun, especially for climbers. I was fascinated by complaints about “crowds” on Himalayan peaks more than fifteen years before the ill-fated 1996 Everest expedition and Jon Krakauer’s gripping account of the tragedy, Into Thin Air. Krakauer also wrote the introduction to Mixed Emotions, great stories about memorable climbers, strange occurrences, various journeys into strange lands, and death.
I started rock climbing in Missouri in the 70s, moved on to mountaineering with a guided ascent of Mount Rainier in 1981, and was captivated by books like Ascent: the spiritual and physical quest of Willi Unsoeld. Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein (from my hometown St. Louis) made the legendary first climb of Everest’s West Ridge and in the process became the first to traverse any Himalayan peak. Unsoeld heavily influenced outdoor experiential education, organizations like Outward Bound, and lead to my own 1993 trip guiding “troubled teenagers” into the Wind River Range.
My adventures, while on a much smaller scale, I think allow me an enhanced appreciation of Child’s “mixed emotions.” My teeth have chattered while waiting out storms on high peaks. I dreamed of the Himalayas and the Karakorum, and I climbed to18,000 feet in the Northern Andes. I never trekked off into the “death zone” but came close enough on other adventures. I explore these themes in my Pushcart Prize nominated story “The Wells Creek Route,” and mountaineering figures prominently in my outdoor relationship suspense novel Where the River Splits.
In reading Greg Child’s Mixed Emotions, I am again reminded of the special “spirit” it takes to summit the world’s toughest mountains. While I look forward to hiking up a few more Colorado “fourteeners” with my daughter, I see no need to watch each other freeze to death on some faraway peak while struggling with cerebral edema. No need to lose my daughter like Willi Unsoeld did on her namesake mountain Nandi Devi, no need to be like Greg Child watching his partner die attempting Makalu on the Chinese-Nepalese border. While climbing has been Child’s life, it’s easy to see why he has mixed emotions.
My rating of four out of five stars has nothing to do with the dated material or the excellent writing, but more with technical aspects, and the possible assumption that readers are familiar with the jargon, history, and peculiar drive of mountaineers.
Jeffrey Penn May
Where the River Splits
"The journey to the end is never boring... the story keeps coming back to St. Louis, which should add to its appeal for local readers." Steve Weinberg, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
I started rock climbing in Missouri in the 70s, moved on to mountaineering with a guided ascent of Mount Rainier in 1981, and was captivated by books like Ascent: the spiritual and physical quest of Willi Unsoeld. Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein (from my hometown St. Louis) made the legendary first climb of Everest’s West Ridge and in the process became the first to traverse any Himalayan peak. Unsoeld heavily influenced outdoor experiential education, organizations like Outward Bound, and lead to my own 1993 trip guiding “troubled teenagers” into the Wind River Range.
My adventures, while on a much smaller scale, I think allow me an enhanced appreciation of Child’s “mixed emotions.” My teeth have chattered while waiting out storms on high peaks. I dreamed of the Himalayas and the Karakorum, and I climbed to18,000 feet in the Northern Andes. I never trekked off into the “death zone” but came close enough on other adventures. I explore these themes in my Pushcart Prize nominated story “The Wells Creek Route,” and mountaineering figures prominently in my outdoor relationship suspense novel Where the River Splits.
In reading Greg Child’s Mixed Emotions, I am again reminded of the special “spirit” it takes to summit the world’s toughest mountains. While I look forward to hiking up a few more Colorado “fourteeners” with my daughter, I see no need to watch each other freeze to death on some faraway peak while struggling with cerebral edema. No need to lose my daughter like Willi Unsoeld did on her namesake mountain Nandi Devi, no need to be like Greg Child watching his partner die attempting Makalu on the Chinese-Nepalese border. While climbing has been Child’s life, it’s easy to see why he has mixed emotions.
My rating of four out of five stars has nothing to do with the dated material or the excellent writing, but more with technical aspects, and the possible assumption that readers are familiar with the jargon, history, and peculiar drive of mountaineers.
Jeffrey Penn May
Where the River Splits
"The journey to the end is never boring... the story keeps coming back to St. Louis, which should add to its appeal for local readers." Steve Weinberg, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
October 7, 2020
I have read articles by Greg Childs in the past but this is the first time I've read an anthology of essays by him. I find I enjoy his writing very much. His observations seem honest, self-effacing at times, and written in an entertaining fashion. Those are attributes that all of my favorite books on mountaineering have shared.
This seems to be one of his earlier books (1993) and since I do not read climbing magazines, I had never read any of these articles. But even if you have, enough time has passed so you should revisit his stories. The book is divided into sections with different types of articles, such as one section just about K2 and another one has to do with famous or interesting people he has “shared a rope with.” In fact those were two of the sections that I enjoyed the most.
My main interest in reading about mountaineering concerns the big mountains with the tough weather, whether Himalayan, the Alps, or elsewhere. So his sections on Big Walls and Journeys were slightly less interesting to me. But those essays still held my attention. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading other collections of his articles.
This seems to be one of his earlier books (1993) and since I do not read climbing magazines, I had never read any of these articles. But even if you have, enough time has passed so you should revisit his stories. The book is divided into sections with different types of articles, such as one section just about K2 and another one has to do with famous or interesting people he has “shared a rope with.” In fact those were two of the sections that I enjoyed the most.
My main interest in reading about mountaineering concerns the big mountains with the tough weather, whether Himalayan, the Alps, or elsewhere. So his sections on Big Walls and Journeys were slightly less interesting to me. But those essays still held my attention. I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading other collections of his articles.
October 22, 2017
Like his other collection of essays "Postcards from the Ledge" this is a very readable collection of humourous stories well crafted and easy to read. Childs is a talented story teller with interesting things to say. He makes you think.
December 22, 2014
The work of a very gifted writer (& of course climber) he captures the essence of the climbing experience (rock & mountaineering), but also a sketch of some unique climbing personalities and the perspective of those watching the western climber. Of most interest to someone who climbs, it nevertheless contains something for the more general adventurer or those with an adventurous spirit. I can't wait to read his other writings.
December 26, 2008
Nineteen of Childs' best pieces, covering rock climbing, big walls, mountaineering and travel. Recommended.
October 5, 2009
This was a very good book. Entertaining but not morbid like some climbing books. I highly recommend it!
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March 2, 2014Great book - excellent writing on challenging subject. Not often that climbing blokes actually admit to having feelings :)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews