The Measure of a Mountain : Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier

by Bruce Barcott

Release Date: 06 October, 1998

Edition: Paperback

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A good story

Bruce Barcott writes as if you were in the room speaking with him. His style is friendly, to the point (often blunt) descriptive and frequently flowery. He uses such descriptive phrases that I was often left rolling on the floor, tears of laughter flowing from my eyes.

It's hard to categorize this book. It's not really about climbing mountains, though there is plenty of that. It's not really about geology, though there is plenty of that as well. It's not about ecology, though ecologists will certainly connect with Barcott, and it's not really about history, even though there are lots of interesting historical tidbits sprinkled throughout the book. The book is sort of a mish mash of all these subjects that Barcott ultimately ties in with the mountain that defines Washington State, and Seattle in particular: Rainier.

It's hard to say what part of the book I enjoyed the most. I really enjoyed the stories about the mountain's "real" name. Even though I grew up in Federal Way, Washington I never knew about the battle waged by Tacoma in trying to rename Rainier with it's original (or at least one of them) Indian name. There are other interesting historical footnotes like the military plane carrying marines home for the Christmas holidays that slammed into the mountain. And, of course, there are stories about early climbers like Muir.

Barcott describes lots of his hikes around Rainier, particularly the wonderland trail, and he ends the book with an account of his climb to the summit. As it turned out, I had climbed Rainier in June of the same year Barcott climbed it (he climbed in July) and so it was interesting comparing my recollection of the trip with his.

Barcott tries hard not to come across as the typical macho, climb-or-die mountaineer. In fact, he has some rather harsh words to say about some of the people who climb - offering physiological analysis that, although insightful and probably close to the mark, is sometimes pretty insulting. But that's Barcott's style - to the point with no BS. I like it.

The author presents lots of stuff in the book as factual, but there are no footnotes or chapter endnotes. Consequently, at first I was a little skeptical about how much of the book (especially what appeared to be anecdotal) is just fabricated for its story-telling value. Upon reaching the end of the book, however, I had to conclude that Barcott has probably done his homework and research pretty thoroughly. There is a long list of references (roughly 100) with descriptions about many. Some of the references look pretty good, and I'm probably going to get one or two of them for further reading. The book also has a complete index, which is something the forgetful among us always appreciate.

Overall this is a fine book. It's enjoyable, interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes reflective, but always engaging. I read the entire book - all 250 pages - in just a few days. It's a great companion for those cold rainy Northwest nights when there's a log in the fireplace.

Duwayne Anderson Saint Helens, Oregon. November 18, 1999

A great read.

Living in Seattle, I see Rainier everyday it shows itself and like Barcott, I still get a thrill everytime. This was such a well written, enjoyable book by an regular guy instead of the usual mountain book by some super climber. I certainly learned a lot about the mountain itself and it's history. I loved the ending. I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks "hey, I could climb that mountain". It is a lot harder and dangerous than people think. I hope Barcott writes some more books, he's a great writer.