Inspired by National Geographic

In our Massachusetts basement, my parents kept an iconic collection of adventure literature: National Geographic magazines.  Our collection started in the late 1950s and stretched about 15 years, filling the shelves of our fake walnut bookcase to overcapacity.  Perhaps your house had a similar collection of yellow-bordered treasure.

I spent a lot of time in elementary school flipping through them, awestruck by the compelling exploration and adventure stories. I still have a few of those old original copies, including the May 1963 issue (see photo).

National Geographic cover shot of May 1963

This one is quite special to me as it has an article about Mount Rainier up in Washington.   Back in 1992, Rainier nearly killed me and, sadly, it took the life of my climbing partner and good friend, Mike Price.

Tomorrow, I leave for National Geographic headquarters to give a public presentation about that epic story of friendship and survival.  In presenting “The Ledge” I will share what happened to Mike and me on one of Rainier’s unforgiving glaciers. It is hard for me to believe that four decades after first gawking at NatGeo’s stories, I will soon be in their auditorium to share my own adventure tales, about Rainier and other mountain climbs.

So, if you have too many books and magazines filling your shelves, I strongly advise you to make enough room to keep the inspiring yellow-bordered ones.  You might just be helping a future explorer get their start.

Jim will be presenting “The Ledge” at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 7:30 pm.  Tickets are available to the public here.