Not Without Peril: 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire

If you can answer YES to any of the following questions (especially the questions at the bottom of the list), you will enjoy this book.1. Are you a hiker/outdoors person? 2. Have you ever visited the White Mountains of New Hampshire? 3. Have you ever climbed any of the Presidential Mountains in the Summer? 4. Have you ever climbed any of the Presidential Mountains in the Winter? 5. Did you reach the top?If you answered YES to ALL of the above, you will LOVE this book. It gives an appreciation of the unknown element involved within extreme weather activities. Enjoy!

Nick Howe and I worked together at Madison Springs Hut in the summer of 1950, and I know his accounts of the weather and conditions on the peaks are accurate. The story of MacDonald Barr's death on Mt. Madison, 24 August 1986, is incredibly moving, both for its appalling details of the death by exposure and the agony of the hut crew as they realized they had no choice but to leave Barr to his fate. I wept in sympathy and empathy. Extraordinary book, researched not only in the archives but on the peaks as well.(I'm 69 years old)

This book is an expanded telling of the story Mr. Howe wrote for Yankee. I climbed Mt. Washington shortly after the original story. I went better prepared for the weather, thanks to Mr. Howe, and was able to assist a member of our climbing party to the "lake of the clouds" AMC hut (with the help of the hut staff and a cell phone). The fog seemed more like a dark blanket that shrunk the world to a few yards. A mile seemed like hundreds stopping every few feet while a fellow with a heart problem stopped to rest. After reading the original article I never considered leaving the man behind. I only wondered if he would be added to the list of those who died. I awaited this book for a few years. I met Mr. Howe at the Capitol City Dinner in Concord, NH after reading the Yankee article. Thank you sir for a great read. Thank you also for the stories that convinced me to better prepare for Mt. Washington. You may have saved a life perhaps two.

Nicholas Howe has written a fascinating account of one of the world's most interesting weather spots, the Presidential Range of New Hampshire. In a zigzag fashion, much like a trail up Mount Washington, he takes his reader through the history of the White Mountains via the stories of those who were unlucky or unprepared or unable when confronted with the terrible uncaring and uncompromising forces of wind, water, and frigid cold -- the all-powerful and capricious gods who reign above the timberline in a sort of terrible trinity of infinite combinations. Mr. Howe has done his homework and you come to know these souls much as you'd come to briefly know someone with whom you'd shared a shelter during a memorable storm. Their stories demonstrate that while human culture and technology change, the gods of the mountains don't and the balance between life and death remains a razor's edge. This is a compelling book that pulls you in and makes you feel as if you'd hiked the Presidential Ranges, North and South, yourself.

Nick Howe brings a veteran hiker's respect to this vivid collection of stories about harrowing experiences in New Hampshire's Presidential Range, reminding novice and veteran hikers that the seemingly modest New England terrain can be as dangerous as the Himalayas if you approach the mountains unprepared for the vicious weather shifts from floor to peak. Between 1849 and 1994 (a terrible year on Mt. Washington, the highest peak in New England), the mountains had claimed 115 lives.If it's true, as Howe says, that "Mountains were invented in the 19th century" when Americans and Europeans began to enjoy leisure time in scenic places, then the late 20th century witnessed the transformation of mountain climbing from an adventurous hobby limited to small numbers of dedicated enthusiasts to a popular sporting activity attracting millions of people around the world. In general, today's climbers are better prepared, more knowledgeable and better dressed for mountain climbing. But in far too many cases, climbers push past the envelope of safety, ignoring age-old warning signs of changing weather patterns and avalanche-prone trails.As a part-time hiker and Appalachian Mountain Club member, I found Howe's tales of tragedies and rescues fascinating. The Presidential Range will always draw climbers like me, who can learn valuable lessons from these compelling stories.