Teens Only | Half Dome Here I Come

Ok, I'm done procrastinating. It's time I made one of my life goals a reality. I'm going to climb Half Dome in Yosemite. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But this summer I'm going to get serious about training for this awesome adventure.

valleyoutdoors.com

Half Dome? In case you don't know, Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park which rises more thant 4,737 feet above the valley floor. That's about 394 times the height of my stairs at home. Whew.

Why Half Dome? I've heard from several people that when you make it to the top, you are treated (rewarded?) to some of the most breathtaking views you'll ever see. And I think it would be fun. But I'm not insane. I know it's going to take a lot of training. A lot. So I'm going to take up a friend's offer to help me train for this huge undertaking. He's climbed it several times already.

Being that this is a library blog, I do want to mention a couple of books that feature mountain climbing -- climbing Mt. Everest to be exact. And by the way, Mt. Everest is the earth's highest mountain at 29,029 feet. Maybe someday I'll try that. For now, it's Half Dome.

But back to books. Check out these thrilling books about climbing Mt. Everest.  

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer: This book tells of the author's 1996 trek to Mt. Everest, a disastrous expedition that claimed the lives of eight climbers....but it also tells how the author survived! 

And I would be totally remiss if I didn't mention Peak by Roland Smith. Here's the blurb for this great book (by a great author that I happen to have met): After 14 year old Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper, he’s left with a choice: wither away in juvenile detention or fly to Kathmandu with his long-lost father. Peak quickly learns that his father’s renewed interest in him has strings attached. As owner of Peak Expeditions, he wants his son to be the youngest person to reach the Everest summit. The story of Peak’s dangerous ascent -- told in his own words -- is suspenseful, immediate, and impossible to put down. 

It's kind of cool to set a really incredible goal for yourself. And I'm really going to do this. 

In the meantime, check out these great books at a library near you.

See you next Saturday!