Daniel Arnold's Early Days in the Range of Light

WEDNESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2009
Submitted By: Sherwin Mapanoo

It's 1873. Modern climbing gear and Gore-Tex are a century away, but the high mountains still demand your attention. Imagine the stone in your hands and thousands of feet of open air below you, with only a wool jacket to weather a storm and no rope to catch a fall.

Daniel Arnold did more than imagine - he spent four years retracing the precarious steps of his climbing forefathers, and lived to tell their riveting stories in Early Days in the Range of Light. From 1864 to 1931, the Sierra Nevada witnessed some of the most audacious climbing of all time. In the spirit of his predecessors, Arnold used only rudimentary equipment - no ropes, no harnesses, no specialized climbing shoes. Sometimes he left his backpack and sleeping bag behind as well and, like John Muir, traveled for days with only a little food rolled into a sack slung over his shoulder.

In an artful blend of history, biography, nature, and adventure writing, along with dozens of photographs, Arnold brings to life both the journeys and the stunning terrain. In the process, he uncovers the motivations that drove an extraordinary group of individuals, including Clarence King, John Muir, Joseph LeConte, and Norman Clyde, to risk so much for the summits of one of our most fabled landscapes.

Daniel Arnold will be promoting his book on the following venues:

• November 6: Seattle, WA. Elliott Bay Book Company. 7pm.
• November 13: Bishop, CA. Spellbinder Books. 6:30pm.
• November 14: Mammoth Lakes, CA. Booky Joint slideshow and reading. 4pm.

For more details on this book, please visit danielarnoldearlydays.blogspot.com.