Fifty Percent of Mountaineering is Uphill
The Life of Canadian Mountain Rescue Pioneer Willi Pfisterer
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Winner of the 2017 Alberta Readers' Choice
Award!
Fifty
Percent of Mountaineering Is Uphill is the enthralling true story of
Jasper’s Willi Pfisterer, a legend in the field of mountaineering and safety in
the Rocky Mountains. For more than thirty years, Willi was an integral part of
Jasper’s alpine landscape, guiding climbers up to the highest peaks, and
rescuing them from perilous situations. Originally from Austria, this mountain
man came to Canada in the 1950s to assail the Rockies, and stayed to become an
integral part of mountain safety in Western Canada and the
Yukon.
His daughter, Susanna Pfisterer, has shaped his
stories and lectures as an engaging and educational adventure story that
features over 100 archival photographs, including avalanches in the National
Parks, highlights from climbing 1,600 peaks and participating in over 700
rescues, and guiding adventures with prime ministers. Accompanied by the
humorous wisdom of the “Sidehillgouger,” readers will traverse an historical
and spectacular terrain.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Reading alpine rescue legend Willi Pfisterer's memoir, lovingly pieced together by his daughter after his death in 2010 at age 83, readers will gain respect for the incredible power of nature, with its towering mountains, terrifying avalanches, and fast-changing glaciers. They will also appreciate Pfisterer's contributions to Canadian mountaineering safety and rescue. Part memoir and part history lesson, the narrative is harrowing and moving, particularly when detailing rescues that didn't succeed. As the book recounts the Austria-born mountaineer's various duties in western Canadian parks, readers get to know him, sharing his close calls, his son's death in an avalanche, and the first time he "had to stand back and let someone else go ahead." He said that questions about why he climbed mountains baffled him: "In Austria, we never asked why. It was just part of what we did, part of our culture." His courageous and daring rescues make for a great read.
