The Truth Zone: Stories of Adventure and Misadventure Climbing California's Highest Peaks

Four Guys, One Girl, all crammed into one four-person tent...Imagine being the first of your team to rappel off a cliff, not knowing with certainty there will be enough rope before reaching that little ledge below. Or imagine climbing Mt. Shasta in winter only 1,500 feet from the summit when your crampon breaks. There are 15 Peaks in California above 14,000 feet elevation, known as "The California 14ers," some of them more technical than others, but they all offer up challenges. This book offers a glimpse of what it is like to climb these majestic mountains.It is not surprising to anyone that has seen the awe-inspiring view from a mountain summit that the wonder of nature is experienced as a primal, spiritual feeling. Knife-like ridges, and peaks with naked summits while their bases are blanketed in ice and glaciers, instill a sense of wonderment. Sometimes the summit leaves you speechless as you soak it all in. Prayers of gratitude for this beautiful view and thanks for a successful climb are common. Those moments before you reach the summit are another story. Slogging away at altitude, step by exhausting step, you move yourself forward by any means possible. Your brain gets a little foggy, and sometimes you blurt out whatever is on your mind. Fortunately anything you say above 13,000 feet doesn't count against you. We learned that in the winter of 2008, a thousand vertical feet from the summit of Mt. Shasta, when Deborah promised Adrian that he would never again have to take her up another mountain if she could just make it to the top. There is something about reaching that mark that tends to make mountaineers spill their guts. For the most part, it was pretty entertaining as people disclosed secret crushes, hopes, erotic dreams, and private disappointment. At this altitude and often on exposed, airy ledges, we discovered the real truth: that not only did we have to count on each other, but that we actually could count on each other. This is why we call it The Truth Zone.