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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Gaperville, CO
    Posts
    5,845

    Summer reading: Tracking the Wild Coomba

    Just finished the new biography on Coombs. If you're looking for a little escape from summer, and a little motivation to chase what is truly important to you (whether that's skiing your balls off, being a great father, etc) it's worth a few hours of your time. I've always admired videos of his skiing more than anyone's and this book helped me understand a bit of why I felt that way.

    Author obviously got to know many of the most important people in Coombs life including Emily Coombs and Joe Vallone and had enough of their respect that they let him tell the story. At times I wished his editor cut some of the stylistic crud that the author has from writing from a lifestyle magazine. And personally I'd love to read more about the technicalities of Doug's ski descents. Still a good story, well told, with the right cast of characters.

    It's $15 or $20 bucks and worth your time. Its available here http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/Tra...ampaign=Coomba or on Amazon.

    If you order it via Amazon, use Amazon Smile and select the Doug Coombs Foundation as your charity. Or just send them a few bucks anyhow.

    What should I read next? (Besides my yearly dose of "Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain.")

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    204
    Sounds awesome! Thanks for the rec!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Alaska
    Posts
    102
    This looks like an excellent read, he is definitely one of my idols.

    As far as what to read next, David Roberts is an absolutely exceptional author/mountaineer who has written some excellent books. The three of his I recommend most are:

    1. The Last of His Kind (it's a biography of pioneering Alaskan alpinist Bradford Washburn)
    2. Escape from Lucania (another thrilling Bradford Washburn tale)
    3. The Mountain of my Fear

    Okay and a fourth book by him, "Mt. Deborah."

    He also has written some other great books, basically you can't go wrong with David Roberts.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    33,546
    It's pretty good.
    Quote Originally Posted by Downbound Train View Post
    And there will come a day when our ancestors look back...........

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Innsbruck, Austria
    Posts
    561
    For your next read, even if you're not a surfer, try Barbarian Days by William Finnegan.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Gaperville, CO
    Posts
    5,845
    Quote Originally Posted by the_big_lepowski View Post
    ...
    1. The Last of His Kind (it's a biography of pioneering Alaskan alpinist Bradford Washburn)
    ..
    Quote Originally Posted by ClarkleberryFinn View Post
    For your next read, even if you're not a surfer, try Barbarian Days by William Finnegan.
    Thanks for the recommendations. Ordered both of these last night (Barbarian Days I saw in another "Summer Reading" thread.) The only question is which to read first.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Aspen
    Posts
    3,058
    Quote Originally Posted by ClarkleberryFinn View Post
    For your next read, even if you're not a surfer, try Barbarian Days by William Finnegan.
    Yeah, the wife just finished that and really enjoyed it.

    I got Coombs book in the mail two weeks ago but haven't got into yet. Excited.

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