Early Days in the Range of Light: Encounters with Legendary Mountaineers

by Daniel Arnold

“A splendid chronicle of early climbing in the Sierra Nevada.” ―Royal Robbins It’s 1873. Gore-Tex shells and aluminum climbing gear are a century away, but the high mountains still call to those with a spirit of adventure. Imagine the stone in your hands and thousands of feet of open air below you, with only a wool jacket to weather a storm and no rope to catch a fall. Daniel Arnold did more than imagine―he spent three years retracing the steps of his climbing forefathers, and in Early Days in the Range of Light, he tells their riveting stories. From 1864 to 1931, the Sierra Nevada witnessed some of the most audacious climbing of all time. In the spirit of his predecessors, Arnold carried only rudimentary equipment: no ropes, no harness, no specialized climbing shoes. Sometimes he left his backpack and sleeping bag behind as well, and, like John Muir, traveled for days with only a few pounds of food rolled into a sack slung over his shoulder. In an artful blend of history, biography, nature, and adventure writing, Arnold brings to life the journeys and the terrain traveled. In the process he uncovers the motivations that drove an extraordinary group of individuals to risk so much for airy summits and close contact with bare stone and snow. “Ever wish you could travel back to climbing’s early days and follow the earliest first-ascent visionaries? This fantasy comes to life . . . in this elegant narrative.” ― Climbing Magazine

Genres: Nature, Adventure, Nonfiction, Mountaineering, History, Outdoors, Travel

432 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2009

About the author

At fifteen, Daniel Arnold began climbing the Pacific Rim volcanoes and local basalt crags of his native Portland and went on to climb throughout North and South America. He lives in Southern California, and is the author of Early Days in the Range of Light."

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable history for anyone interested in the California Sierra.

> By the time the men gave up their game, [Norman] Clyde’s pack had gained twenty pounds. He walked out of their camp the next morning with an undiminished stride and close to a hundred pounds on his back. Asked once why he did not use pack animals, he explained, “I can carry a damn mule faster than he can carry me.”

[Ahsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right off the bat, I must divulge that I am a climber who loves the Sierra Nevada, also known as the Range of Light, and am thus biased toward this book. It is obvious that Daniel Arnold did great research in writing this piece. The author's motivations were derived from the hardiness of early Sierra Nevada explorers and climbers, who braved the highest, and least known, range in the contiguous U.S. These tough souls used minimal aids and rudimentary tools and implements in their explorations of this portion of California. What is fascinating is that Arnold followed their historical routes to the windswept summits with only the type of equipment that they carried in that period of history, including simple hobnail boots and manila climbing rope. Along the way, he not only uncovers the lives of these individuals but he also speaks to the unquenchable spirit of the explorer.

This is a fun read for anyone interested in climbing, especially those captivated by one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in America, the Range of Light.

[Mike Orta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once went on a 3 week backpacking trip in the high sierras and as every experienced backpacker knows ounces count. But, I took with me John Muir's book. It must had weighed 16 ounces and it was worth every ounce! There is nothing like reading John Muir while camping in the high sierras. That is the category I put Daniel Arnold's book. I am too old to take a 3 week trip and so I read it in the comfort of my home. I read and paused to think and read some more. He is a very good writer. His descriptions are very illustrated of the land and brought back fond memories.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notably, the only connection personally I can make with this account is that I frequented the rare-book shop in L.A. owned by the Dawson family, whose Glen features among the many mountaineers who pioneered the scaling of the Sierra Nevada, what John Muir called better "the range of light."

So, my familiarity with this pursuit is only via this book. A few technical terms I gleaned from the context or a dictionary; Arnold writes limpid prose, eschewing sentiment, avoiding piety, yet being true to his self as it encounters solo and among friends the encounter between natural solitude, the immense scales of time and space one's forced in silence to confront, and the dangers of the rocks, the cold, the rain, and the relentless forces of gravity with which a climber comes to stern terms.

Admirably he does so in the footsteps of those he chronicles from the 19th and earlier 20th c. before high-tech, maps, and backpacks, let alone aluminum frames, Gore-Tex, GPS, fancy boots and crampons, and an array of ropes and gadgets promised to turn any city slicker into a weekend warrior on these inclines. His account varies his own tracking the paths of his predecessors with his archival retrieval, plus a few interviews with surviving participants from decades long ago, of the testimonies left by these East Coast transplants, often to the Bay Area, who fell in love with Sierras.

Given the intense focus, it's best to turn these pages slowly, and not rush through the chapters, as each follows the trail of a legendary climber, and a particular peak. He provides useful context, as when he contrasts the Muir coming to embrace Cathedral Peak in the mid-19c with quasi-mystical awe, as opposed to the post-WWI aura of the menacing Minarets, devilish in their sharp declivities.

I wished more photos were included. Arnold mentions in an early passage how eight pounds was added to his load for camera and equipment. I expected therefore a plethora of illustrations. He does intersperse a few, supplemented by those who took their own over the past century, yet lacking these, one must depend on the power of his narrative. Luckily, he has the fluency, clarity, and firm grasp on the struggle it takes to make as he puts it granite into pen, and the steadiness of will and of equilibrium to dare to cast off the trappings encumbering and coddling today's adventurers. For in this purity, he risks his life, but he gains his spirit's confidence, by communion or confrontation.

[George Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan is the best writer of the Sierra Nevada I have read in the last 20 years: Arnold takes you off trail and up to the great peaks of the California Sierra Nevada the way the first explorers went- without route, map or trail, without rope and climbing aids, usually with very little gear at all. This is one of the great reads in Sierra History. You don't need to be a climber to profit from this history of these intrepid early explorers: Dan's descriptions of the summits and the routes they climbed come alive because he duplicated what they did as much as possible, right down to the hob-nailed boots. I am not much of a climber, but I do love these mountains and I now have a glimmer of how difficult, dangerous, demanding, and (yes) beautiful it was for Muir, King, "little Joe" Le Conte, and all the other early explorers and climbers you will meet in the pages of this exceptional book. Do not miss this thrilling and wonderful story of these giants who ventured to the summits in the days before these places started seeing hordes of people backpacking with tons of expensive gear. And get out of your car and see some of these places too. Many of them are still places of wild solitude and beauty, refuges in the range of light. A few days spent at the foot of Mount Brewer will be equal to weeks spent in the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley. And the summit of Brewer is just Class 2.

[Emma Ruppell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I updated my review from a few summers ago. I've read a bit of this every summer to save at least a few chapters for the next. But then what... when I'm finished with it? More please! Reading this is honestly better than reading the original old-school climbers' accounts from the perspective of being able to imagine going along with the climbs, at least for climbing in this part of the world (with some exceptions of course). This is about as close and satisfying as a reader could get to doing the climbs, if you just can't get out there for whatever reason, which is a really worthy thing for an author to bring to folks in that situation.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful love letter to the Sierra Nevada mountains. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Arnold follows the early exploration of the Sierra Nevada peaks by famous conservationists, naturalists and scientists. Each chapter describes the peak, the explorer and then Arnold's own expedition to climb the peak using the same techniques, as closely as possible, as the original mountaineer.

I read the book while hiking in the high country of Yosemite. I can't imagine a most inspirational book to read while hiking in the Sierras.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pioneers forging paths up the magnificent sierras without modern methods and equipment. These people were sturdy and courageous! I enjoyed reading about these early climbers and am grateful to the co-worker who lent it to me or I'd never have known about it. The author is a climber and did a fair amount of research. I recommend this book to anyone wishing to know more about how this mounting range was explored in the late part of the 19th century and into the 20th.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arnold's account, of revisiting notable peaks and routes in the Sierra climbed by early mountaineers, was interesting and well-done. It made me appreciate the exploits of folks like Muir, King, and Le Conte, and want to do a long trip in the Sierra again - although with more than the overcoat and crust of bread that he took on some of his excursions, a la John Muir.

[cynthia Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daniel Arnold put an impressive amount of research and effort into this book and it shows. I really enjoyed reading the vivid character portrayals of the early Sierra mountaineers, but the highlights were often from Arnold's replications of the first ascents and his reflections on the internal drive to summit peaks and the ways in which modern technology and equipment have changed the pursuit.

[David Lucander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't think of a better book while on a Sierra climbing trip. Part history, part biography, and full of neat anecdotes from the author going out for climbs in the very d and bold style. I learned a lot about the mountains and the people who lived them by reading this book. Nice to see Norman Clyde get his due, the same can be said for many others in this book too.

[Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful weaving of present day climbs with their historical firsts. I loved this so much that now all I can think about is getting back into the Sierra Nevada before the end of the season.

[Brandonnash15 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, researched well and great idea for a book.

[Gay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about retracing the climbs of the old timers in the Sierras.

[T Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible adventure by characters with a love of the Sierras that is contagious. This review might be longer but after reading this book one has to depart for the Sierras as soon as possible...

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting exploits from the past, but just silly repeating these in the ancient style. Good history but less fun in the present. 3 stars