WHAT MAKES A GOOD ADVENTURE STORY? WE PONDERED THAT question when compiling this selection of stories. Does a good adventure story involve risk? Certainly there’s risk in just about everything that we do, so maybe. Does it involve unknown geography? It might, but then again, it might not—some of the best adventures occur within a few miles of home. Adversity? Maybe, maybe not.
And, early in the evolution of this book, we realized that true adventure isn’t as much about the objective as it is about the idea of adventure, and what these writers were willing to try. After deep consideration, we realized that good adventure stories aren’t relegated to just time, place, adversity, and risk—among other factors. Rather, good adventure stories come from genuine thinkers—individuals who get themselves out there and not only take it all in, but share, retell, and posit the real, the imaginary, the possible, and the impossible.
Thinkers like the true Class-A adventurers whose stories appear in this collection. Thinkers like Stephen Venables, who in 1988 made the first ascent of the Kangshung Face of Everest, a remarkable achievement by any measure. Stephen, by our definition (and arguably the general public’s opinion, as the Kangshung Face made him world famous in the mountaineering community) is a true adventurer. In this collection, we don’t have a story about his Everest adventure; instead we include a fascinating piece Stephen wrote about a remarkably ambitious and engaging low-key expedition to Patagonia (“Monte Sarmiento”).
In 1977 Robyn Davidson traveled 1,700 miles—solo and on foot—from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean, across the harshest country Australia has to offer. Her subsequent book Tracks (1978) was a worldwide bestseller, and her trek across the Outback became Australia’s best-known adventure story of the period. Here we include a fairly straightforward story by Robyn about traveling the United States on a Harley—this is a massively different adventure from Tracks, and her take on modern America is much more interesting than her observations about camels.
Good adventure stories include reflection on both the part of the author and the part of the reader. Genuine adventurers think differently, and when they look back at what they’ve done, it’s often some of the best reflection one can read. The people who wrote these stories weren’t wondering if they could get something done; they were wondering how they’d get it done.
That said, while many of the stories included here offer a great deal of reflection, some are quite short on reflection—meaning it’s we the readers who need to ponder what’s going on. Chris Davenport’s story (“Pyramid Peak, East Face”) about skiing the sheer east side of Pyramid Peak in the Colorado Rockies is one such piece, as it’s only 511 words. But put in the context of what Chris achieved that winter, the story becomes a window into his amazing world, a world of cutting-edge descents all over the planet to the point where he hardly has time to sit down, let alone write a philosophical treatise on what he’s up to.
The same is true for Christina Dodwell’s horseback adventures in Eastern Turkey (“Bandit Border & Noah Was Here”). When we started reading those pieces, we thought it was good storytelling, but as they went on it became evident that this was one independent, determined, and truly tough woman. (Having rocks thrown at her while she’s riding through various villages in the absolute middle of nowhere? Seriously?)
In all, this collection is a truly eclectic mix—as an adventure collection should be. It’s got BASE jumping and rock climbing, skiing and spelunking, horseback exploration and motorcycle travels, kayaking and cycling. But the thread that ties them together is that they are stories by Class-A adventurers who came back, thought deeply about what they’d done, and shared their journeys—the trials, the strangeness, the dirt, and the beauty.
We hope you enjoy all of them.
—Cameron M. Burns, Kerry L. Burns
May 2014