Hidden Mountains

Survival and Reckoning After a Climb Gone Wrong

By: Michael Wejchert

Narrated by: Johnathan McClain

The story of a climbing adventure gone wrong in a remote Alaskan mountain range, the impossible rescue attempt that followed, and the fraught cost of survival

In 2018, two couples set out on a climbing expedition to Alaska’s Hidden Mountains, one of the last wild ranges in North America. A rarity in modern climbing, the peaks were nearly unexplored and untouched, a place where few people had ever visited and granite spires still awaited first ascents. Inspired by generations of daring alpinists before them, the four climbers were now compelled to strike out into uncharted territory themselves.

This trip to the Hidden Mountains would be the culmination of years of climbing together, promising to test the foursome’s skill and dedication to the sport. But as the climbers would soon discover, no amount of preparation can account for the unknowns of true wilderness. As they neared the top of an unclimbed peak, rockfall grievously injured one of the climbers while he was out of sight, leaving him stranded and in critical condition.

Over the course of the next nine hours, the other three climbers worked to reach their companion. What followed was a pulse-pounding rescue attempt by Alaska’s elite Pararescuers in one of the most remote regions in the country—raising difficult questions about wilderness accessibility, technology’s role in outdoor adventure, and what it means to weigh risk against the siren song of the mountains.

With visceral prose, Michael Wejchert recounts the group’s rescue and traces the scars left in the wake of life-altering trauma. Weaving the history and evolution of rock and alpine climbing with outside tales of loss and survival in the mountains, Wejchert gives a full picture of the reward—and cost—of following your passions in the outdoors.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Compelling Story in Need of Trimming

There’s a compelling story in all of this, though the author’s incorporation of excessive technical information bogs it down. Some important ethical considerations are explored which are worthy of deeper societal consideration.

Worth a listen

It stays interesting from start to finish, alternating between the specific storyline about a climbing accident and the lives of the main characters. Well researched and presented.

Was engaging at first, but then faded

Like similar stories, it builds up nicely until the accident, but then it becomes too long and less interesting. Stopped after ~70%.

Best book I’ve read in years

I simply could not stop listening to this audio book. Amazing story, superbly written. I bet this will become an all-time classic mountain novel.

Well written

So well written, I actually felt as though I was in the Hidden peaks witnessing the climb. Not all climbing books actually take you along on te journey. This one does !