The Spirit of the Mountains: Alpine Adventures and Reflections
In stores July 9th 2021
The Spirit of the Mountains: Alpine Adventures and Reflections
RON HAY
PUBLISHED BY MARY EGAN PUBLISHING 9 JUly, RRP $39.95
“This wonderful book is a rare blend of well-told mountain stories and deep reflection on what the mountains mean to us here in New Zealand.”
Mountains can exert a visceral pull. For author and Alpine adventurer Ron Hay, the Southern Alps have been his playground for the past 50 years. Captivating and sacred, they have offered Hay myriad opportunities to unplug from the urban world, reconnect with nature and bond with others.
The Spirit of the Mountains: Alpine Adventures and Reflections captures the majesty, beauty and perils of the alpine world. Hay’s ‘love letter’ to nature is also inflected with a sense of urgency – a rallying cry to protect our wild places from rampant commercialism, tourism and climate change.
Growing up in Gore, within sight of the Hokonuis, Hay has always been passionate about the outdoors. His enthusiasm for climbing and tramping accelerated at university and he became a keen member of the Otago University Tramping Club. Honing his skills and testing his endurance over many years, Hay has summited, among others, Aoraki/Mt Cook, Mt Aspiring and Mt Earnslaw/Pikirakatahi. He has even enjoyed a picnic on Mt Kenya!
Throughout his lifetime, the mountains of Mt Aspiring National Park have been Hay’s heartland; a place he has returned to time and again with family and friends. His mountain adventures have often been challenging and exhilarating. Imagine rocks the size of pianos falling from a sheer wall above you, as happened when Hay was climbing Mt Maori. Yet despite the many dangers – rock fall, avalanches, being trapped on a mountain by a freezing storm, unstable rock or ice, gear failure or falling – the peaks and high country have always been Hay’s ‘happy place.’
Hay says, “Time in the hills has been important in reminding me that there is a world beyond the realm of concrete and asphalt, cell-phone towers and motorways, shopping malls and cafés . . . From the mountains we receive physical, aesthetic and spiritual gifts. Trips into the rugged terrain of the back country build physical stamina and mental resilience . . . In light of the special gifts they give, it is vital that we protect our national parks and wilderness areas for the generations to come. We have received a priceless treasure. We must preserve it and vigorously oppose all attempts at exploitation for commercial self-interest.”
Weaving together personal stories and dramatic tales, The Spirit of the Mountains: Alpine Adventures and Reflectionsmelds Hay’s reflections with quotes from a roll call of local and international poets, writers and mountaineers, including James K. Baxter, Bill Murray and Robert Macfarlane. Hay’s book is a timely reminder of the significance of our wild places and the need to make time to connect with, and protect them.
RON HAY was born in Gore and studied English at Otago University. After graduating, Ron became a secondary school English teacher and thereafter, completed a theology degree and entered the Anglican ministry. He was the vicar of Temuka and then Sumner-Redcliffs in Christchurch before taking early retirement to devote time to writing.
Ron’s first book, Finding the Forgotten God, won the Ashton Wylie Book Award in 2015. He is a member of the New Zealand Alpine Club and has contributed articles to the NZ Alpine Journal and Wilderness Magazine.
Ron and his wife Liz have three children and seven grandchildren. They live in Castle Hill Village, surrounded by the peaks of the Torlesse and Craigieburn Ranges.
“A thoughtful, well-observed contemplation of fifty years of climbs. Written with flair, appreciation for natural grandeur, the joy of shared times and nourishment of spirit imbibed during numinous days in the mountains.”
“From difficult climbs like Mt Tasman to family trips, the author explores the nature of our connection to wild places, including the strong spiritual relationship many people have with the mountains. He also puts this relationship into an international context, with reflections and quotes throughout, in a mature and fascinating narrative. I loved this book, and many others will too. Highly recommended.”
