Teewinot: Climbing and Contemplating the Teton Range

This is a beautifully written meditation on living and climbing in Grand Teton National Park over the course of a single year. Against the backdrop of the dramatic Teton mountain range, Turner describes his personal journey as a climbing guide and lover of wild mountains. Turner uses spare yet evocative prose to bring the reader with him as he explores the ever-changing Teton landscape through four seasons. I felt a great sadness at the book's end, as though I was saying good-bye to both a good friend and a familiar wilderness.

This book is on my nightstand, and I read excerpts from it frequently. I've read it many times. I have had many many books come through my life and usually pass them along to others, no matter how much I enjoy them, I just don't keep much stuff around, I travel light. It's hard to describe this book's appeal, maybe a combination of the edge of climbing the big peaks with the freedom of the natural world. Turner has captured both and woven them together - one can feel what he calls the "aura" of a place (in his other book, The Abstract Wild) through his straightforward writing. There's a deep honesty to this book, his deep connection to these wilds is authentic and well-written. I would love to meet Jack Turner and tell him how much his writing has enriched my life, but I'd probably be speechless, he's one of these rare people who knows who he is and where he belongs and leaves one wishing for the same, that they could fit in their own landscape so effortlessly and honestly. Highly recommend.

This beautifully crafted narrative presents a month-by-month, May through April, description of a 58 year old mountain climbing guide's recollections and reflections on living and working Grand Teton National park. Teewinot is the nearest peak visible from the author's seasonal cabin in the park.Each chapter is an essay about climbing, wildlife, plants, environmental management or personality profiles related to events that happened during that month. The book begins in May because that's when spring begins to overtake winter, covers the intense summer climbing season, describes autumn wildlife viewing treks to remote corners of the park and tells about winter ski treks. The lifestyle and habits of climbing guides, rangers and other professional outdoors people are profiled throughout.One of the best aspects of the book is that while it's written by a technical climbing guide and has interesting stories about both guided and highly challenging climbs, the book goes beyond that to reflect the author's wide-ranging, eclectic interest and knowledge about everything related to the Tetons.Highly recommended to anyone interested in mountaineering, national parks, wildlife and the contemporary American West. There are 11 unexceptional color photographs, two maps with sufficient detail to follow the ground covered in the essays, and a six-page bibliography of reference sources for the Tetons and other topics covered, although many books cited are probably available only in large reference libraries.

Jack Turner has yet again produced a book with a sense of place and sometimes even an aura of the Tetons where he has climbed and guided for 40 years. Although this book is more relaxed and less intense than his powerful "Abstract Wild" it nevertheless provides a mature outlook on life in the Tetons. Turner is not afraid to reveal himself in this book and yet does not fall into sentimentality, the accounts of climbing and the experiences with friends are especially moving such as the tragic consequences of a fall for his friend Kim Schmitz who suffered in incredible agony after breaking just about everything or the death of Leigh Ortenburger, and yet there are great times too like the remarkable skiing of Mark Newcombe and Turner's love of Rilke and Haiku which also appeals very much to me. Surrounding these images of lost friends and at times extreme experiences is the national park itself which never leaves the scene always providing the glue which binds the whole together. Turner has a remarkable grasp of both the scientific aspects of the park such as the geology and the biology/ecology which is added to the feel of it at the same time, I mean the sense of being experienced when the mind is stilled, something which is always enhanced in a wild area where existence is forced upon you no longer escapable such as in a big city. Through the stories of the park, the people and his own very human outlook you can't help but feel Turner loves where he is and lives for it wholeheartedly, his own journey into philosophy, Zen show how deeply he thinks about his life and the natural environment. I also feel that he loves what he does and where he is so much that he not willing to give it up to go that extra distance needed in really deep meditation. My own experiences in this mean that joy can be found everywhere whether it is a city or in natural surroundings. Jack Turner is a man that I would like to meet, his energy, his dynamic outlook, his interest in just about everything is not that common nowadays. A wonderful book of a man and his love.

As a lover of the Grand Tetons I couldnt wait to read a book written by a guide who has spent much of his life in the Teton range. Jack Turner has guided many clients to the Grand Teton summit as well as climbed a majority of other peaks in the Teton range. If you are expecting a spell binding thriller about mountain climbing, you will be dissapointed. However, if you want to get a feel for the experience of simply being in the Teton range during the 4 seasons, then this book is for you. Turner's knowledge of wildlife and plantlife in the Teton range is amazing, as is his ability to describe the ever changing seasons in the mountains. His Zen religious influences are also referenced but never heavy handed as he manages to weave the Zen philosophy with the seasons and changing climate. Turner does get to be a bit preachy on the subject of man encroaching upon natural habitats and the destruction of our wild eco system; but his love for the natural beauty of the Tetons allowed me to forgive this minor annoyance. Turner takes us through the seasons of the Teton range in a smooth flowing narrative that is satisfying and enlightening. I would recommend this book for those who enjoy the Tetons as well as others who are simply interested in one person's perception of one of our finest wildlife areas.