How to Climb

Mountain Responder Review

Mountain Responder | www.mountainresponder.com | $16.95 | 4 Stars

Mountain Responder, set in the mountains of Salt Lake County, Utah, is Steve Achelis’ first-hand account of his experiences as the former head of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team.

The assortment of short accounts ranges from descriptions of climbers found hanging from their anchors, embarrassed and ropeless (after dropping a cord), to setting up a triage for seven patients stranded on Mount Olympus.

Though it starts out slowly, the book quickly accelerates into a variety of stories ranging in length from a few paragraphs to several pages. The stories aren’t bogged down with excessive technical explanations, and read simply as exhilarating rescue tales.

The book also moves beyond the actual mountain rescues, covering frustrating jurisdiction disputes, the hard decisions for and against helicopter use, the lingering thoughts about families at home and the routine of dealing with death. Achelis reflects poignantly on the difficulties in many of his decisions and the second-guessing that haunts him: “Crap! Should I have delayed transportation a few minutes to get the IV started or to put him on oxygen? I find myself time-slicing the call, trying to find a way that I could have made a difference.” Readers at least know he did his best.

—Jonathan Vickers