An interview with author Ken Wylie about his new book "Buried"

[Shorty_J]

Pretty interesting read. In particular I found it a bit scary but not necessarily totally surprising to hear his thoughts on communication and decision making between guides and the implications on the types of people who pass the guide exam.


http://www.powder.com/stories/the-sa...ons-avalanche/

[PNWbrit]

The book itself is quite a good read. Although not particularly well written.

[covert]

A striking contrast to Ruedi's assessment:

"There was absolutely no doubt about it-can I go, can I not go. It was a clean decision. The snow was superstrong, superpositive. Fantastic.” http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor...hite-Line.html

The thing that really jumps out at me is Beglinger's apparent unwillingness to allow a role for uncertainty.

[Shorty_J]

^^^ I'm guessing he no longer thinks that was the case... I assume you're commenting more on his certainty in the initial decision?

[covert]

The quotation was from after the accident. It's not our place to judge him. SME protocols have changed some since then. We can only speculate if that is because of a new sense of humility or risk aversion.

[thewon]

His track record is quite good i'd say.

[covert]

Yes, very good. But to paraphrase, the turkey thought life was grand and he was doing everything right until day 1001 when they cut his head off and stuffed his ass. Not calling Ruedi a turkey or accusing anyone of anything, just saying, everyone encounters the unexpected sooner or later.

[thewon]

totally.

[old goat]

I read "Buried" because a friend died in the avalanche. The book isn't really about the avalanche--only a third is about the events surrounding the slide. There is almost no technical discussion and no serious discussion about how risk is managed in the context of paying clients who expect great skiing and may have little ability to independently assess the risk. The book is really about the author's personal issues--both before the avalanche in his dealings with Reudi Beglinger and in the years after. There is a bit about Craig Kelly and only a very brief mention about a few other guests, including my friend. I'd recommend the book to someone who is interested in the personal struggles of others.

[JoeStrummer]

You would have to be extremely interested in the personal struggles of others. As well as a fan of lengthy reconstructions of the personal romantic conversations of couples. As well as a lover of blow-by-blow descriptions of long, numbing El Cap aid climbs. As well as someone interested in learning that transport logistics in South America can pose a challenge. As well as be interested in the life story of the sort of person who would email blast his friends that he was leaving his wife to "be the man he always dreamed of being."

Dont get me wrong, more people should probably leave their wives and become different kinds of men. I was just turned off by the combination of self-pity and narcissism.

I dont mean to be unkind towards the author, as I am sure writing this odd memoir / self-help book was quite therapeutic. I would guess the author is a fine ski partner. He is no doubt tormented by La Traviata. And the portions about the avalanche and his relationship with Ruedi B are interesting, although RB comes off as a one-dimensional Captain Queeg figure. But the book is a mess. A better editor would've cleaned out a lot of excrutiating detail. Do we care that the author ran from 26th Avenue in Calgary to the alley between 41st and 40th St? Even with cleaner editing, however, I don't think this is a particularly compelling read. I give it one Hugh Conway on the 1-5 Conway scale.

[abraham]

That makes it sound like a book I'd be happier to not read. I'll still look into it to be sure.

And you know Conway is gone, right?