Katie Ives, editor-in-chief at Alpinist magazine, has created a wondrous escape into mountainous realms--both real and imaginary--in Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams. Taking as her starting point a fictional mountain, the Riesenstein, which appeared in the June 1962 issue of Summit magazine, Ives explores the history of mountaineering over the centuries.
Going as far back as Sir John Mandeville and other fictitious travelers of the Middle Ages, all the way up to Austin Post, Ed LaChappelle and Harving Manning, the three prankster Washington State mountaineers who submitted photos of "the Riesenstein" to Summit, Ives explores the gamut of imaginary travel. She also discusses what causes people to obsess about being "first" to climb a peak, and the allure the mountains hold for many famous climbers, as well as her own childhood obsessions with mountains. Ives doesn't forget to pay homage to the Native peoples whose contributions to mountaineering have been overlooked for centuries, and shares how the mountains often had a mystical and religious significance for indigenous dwellers.
Meticulously researched and full of gripping stories involving the glaciers and peaks of the Cascades, Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams is a perfect blend of history and adventure, and a lovely meditation on why humans are called to explore. Fans of mountaineering and natural history are sure to enjoy Ives's writing, as will anyone who has ever wistfully wished for a mountainous journey of their own. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Flagstaff, Ariz.