Desperate Steps: Life, Death, and Choices Made in the Mountains of the Northeast Paperback – December 15, 2015

This book, "Desperate Steps", exceeded my expectations for a vicarious true life adventure experience. As an RN and retired EMT and firefighter who took just one emergency care, rescue and survival course at Pinkham Notch with Mountain Medicine Ed, Inc, and was left mystified by the allure of these harsh places, these stories of real people burst off the page and kept me reading through the night until this book was read, cover to cover. The author brings to life the reasons some people seem drawn to go to mountains to face the unknown. This book is all about examining the process of advance planning and in-the-moment choice making. Almost clinically, Mr. Kick uses a formula of sympathetically introducing the adventurer and the environment they have entered. The circumstances that impacted the outcomes of each of the situations reported are brought to life wIth maps and clear descriptions of weather, snow, mountain and trail features. There are no typos or clumsy wording to distract from these tales of adversity. Mountains are the main characters of this story. Human choices provide the action. Leaning from the experience of others is the moral. Evaluations of what happened, how the situation was responded to, and impacts upon lives and rescue policy follow each story.The rescuers who put themselves in harm's way, and the rescue systems that have evolved to try to save people from the consequences of their own actions is another interesting insight provided by this book.The reader does not need to be an expert to find interst in these stories, but those experts who do pick up this book will likely find meanings beyond the understandings of those of us who prefer the low lands. This book is for anyone who believes in the value of planning ahead. This book is for anyone who can put aside their arrogance in order to learn from the experience of others so that they might be forewarned about what could happen to themselves. This precise report of accident, survival or death in the mountains is a good read and I'm giving my copy to my favorite Appalacian Trail trekker to take to heart.

I found the accounts interesting and varied. Some included extensive information about the area where the incident occurred and rescue efforts. However, I found the title of the book confusing and non-applicable to several incidents, e.g. the person struck by lightning in their tent at night. These cases seemed more like bad luck rather than any action that was desperate.But my biggest complaint with the book is the chapter on Geraldine Largay. There is much more to this story known both before and after her body was discovered. The 5-day course she took did not include how to use a compass or any navigation skills. She was too dependent on her cell phone. She frequently exhibited no sense of direction as reported by her hiking companion when they were together. The release of the lengthy Maine Warden Service case file questioned her preparedness. The case file and rescue efforts have generated some controversy. A great deal was learned from examining her cell phone and written log. She did the right thing when becoming lost by staying in one location and setting up a camp in a higher location. But when it became apparent that she was not going to be rescued anytime soon it appears that she just gave up and was unable to rescue herself. The editor noted that her body had been discovered as the book went to press. An AMC website address was given for updates to this incident, however, when I checked it I was surprised to find that nothing additional has been written about this tragic death.

I'm an AMC Lifetime member, avid trail runner, cyclist, skier, etc. and absolutely *loved* this book.While the majority of stories are quite tragic the author does a very nice job analyzing the variables that factored into the circumstances whether human error or uncontrollable. Some of the stories were downright chilling, whether it's a group of close friends sacrificing their lives to save one another or a hiking being knocked out in Tuckerman Ravine and sliding into a crevasse (particularly since I happened to be there the following weekend). What's most surprising about the victims is that most of them had above-average outdoor experience. They generally weren't rookies overdoing it for the first time but people who might have been unprepared for bad luck or unintentionally made a bad decision.The authors use of maps for most stories was very helpful and I found myself flipping back and forth between the pages to reference back to the maps as I read. I'm not a particularly fast reader but was able to finish it over the course of 4-5 sessions of reading.I would strongly recommend this book for any AMC member, New England outdoors-person, or weekend warrior as an engaging, educational, and humbling read. The book was sobering / motivating enough that I actually bought a personal locator beacon (PLB) on Amazon halfway through the book: http://amzn.to/1ojf5MR

With real life examples, this collection of stories of accidents, and death in the wilderness areas, state parks, national parks and mountain ranges of the northeastern US, provides practical information for outdoor enthusiasts to contemplate before setting foot on the trail. Told in a compassionate but unflinching thorough account, each chapter describes a different incident which ended in death of a hiker, or in some cases a skier or white water rafter. Followed by practical advice for anyone who is planning a similar excursion into the wilderness, each account offers thoughts from the rescuers who were called in to search and recover the bodies.