FAINT HEART NEVER CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN

Frank presents a painstakingly detailed history of Utah’s Wasatch Mountain Club, founded in 1920.

This passion project chronicles the long history of a Salt Lake City–based outdoor recreation club that, to this day, offers a wide range of activities, including skiing, climbing, mountain biking, and snowshoeing. The organization has a long history of involvement in mountain rescue missions, as well as the exploration of the region’s many caves. Members have long played a central role in preserving a number of natural spaces in the American West. Organized by activity, this book delves into relatively recent events as well as various developments from decades past. Very early on, in 1921, members of the Wasatch Mountain Club discovered Timpanogos Cave, which they persuaded the U.S. Forest Service to help preserve. This was the first of many conservation projects and cave explorations that members of the organization undertook. A few of the most incredible stories described in these pages include the ascent of Wyoming’s Grand Teton in 1967 by club member Ann McDonald, and when, in 1955, members led by snow ranger Monty Atwater conducted a rescue operation involving a B-25 bomber that crashed into Utah’s Mt. Timpanogos: “The rescuers knew better than to hope they’d find anyone alive—the question now was how difficult recovery would be.” Since 1972, club members have also participated in the grueling Kings Peak Ski Tour, described as "a one-day winter summit of Utah’s highest peak." More recently, in 2007, people from the club saved one of their own who’d been struck by a boulder near Utah’s Hogum Fork.

In addition to the many superb tales of the great outdoors, the book serves as an institutional history, documenting the club’s growth from its origins as a small organization that brought together 13 outdoor enthusiasts to its development into a powerful and influential cultural institution in the region, boasting hundreds of members. The book includes a biographical directory of figures in the organization’s past and present, describing some of their specific achievements within the club. Overall, Frank’s work proves to be a labor of love in the best sense of the term. She documents the historical impact of the WMC in as thorough and thoughtful a manner as readers could imagine. It’s also a beautifully illustrated work, with plenty of archival color and black-and-white photos taken over the course of a century, which effectively tell a story on their own while still complementing the text. The book’s focus is intentionally hyper-specific, which may somewhat limit its broader appeal; because of its highly self-directed nature, the book may mean the most to members of the club itself and to readers who are already familiar with its history. At the same time, the narrative ably brings together stories of mountain adventures, camaraderie, and the spirit of volunteerism—a combination that will appeal to many readers with strong interests in outdoor recreation. Overall, it’s a generous, inclusive account of the group, and as comprehensive a chronicle as one could hope for.

A striking and comprehensive account of a century-old institution.