The Mountain Never Cries: A Mother's Diary

By Ann Holaday

This book is a moving story, written by the mother of Giles Thompson, a survivor of the Mount Hood Tragedy of 1986. It is a page-turner in which deep emotions are expressed and the journey of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1885221630
• ISBN13: 9781885221636
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Bookpartners
• Length: 233 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

The Will to Survive

This moving and poignant story begans on Monday afernoon, May 12, 1986, when a routine climb on Mt. Hood, Oregon, turned into a nightmare. Ten students from Oregon Episcopal School and three adults were caught in a freak snowstorm. With no visibility and at least one student suffering from hypothermia, the party dug into a samll snowcave. The next morning, the guide and a student managed to decend the mountain, thus begining a frantic search that would end up lasting well over two days.Ann Holoday, the author, was one of the parents who saw hope fade as the storm left any sign of the cave and its climbers buried under an emmense white blanket, while another approaching storm left rescuers with a dwindling timeline. Her son, Giles Thompson, was one of the sophomores on the annual climb. As she recalls those dark hours of gazing at Mt. Hood from Timberline Lodge (Built as one of F. Roosevelt's WPA projects), Ann recalls the circumstances that led her family to the Pacific Northwest, from England, Puerto Rico, and Texas. The author recalls times of joy, but also uncertainty about leaving England, guilt about a career that left too little time for her three children, and a bitterweet recollection of a marriage that almost ended, but came together before her husband's death from cancer. Remarriage led her family to Longview, WA, and her children to OES in Portland, OR.As rescuers were about to end their search on Thursday afternoon, May 15, a probe struck a backpack near the cave's entrance. Of the 11 who had been in the cave 72 hours, only two would survived; Giles, and a girl, Brittany.For Giles, recovery would be especially grueling. For a week he was unconsious with his survival in doubt, before doctors were forced to ammutate Gile's legs. The proceedure worked, freeing his system from the toxins brought by dead tissue, but the following weeks brought more compications, infections, and multiple surgeries. One feels the pain of Giles as his mother recalls in detail the long ordeal.Finally, in August, Giles was able to return home, and, the following month, to OES. Memories of the climb, trying to study with nerve damaged hands, and learning to walk with prosthetics provided more challenges.Giles adjusted, though, and Ann recalls with pride her son's success at learning to ski again, even participating in the Handicap Olympics and becoming active in Ted Kennedy Jr's (who lost a leg to cancer) organization, Facing the Challenge.Giles gruaduated from OES and Colorado College and now lives in Seattle with his wife and two young children. His brother and sister are doing well, too, as are Ann and her husband. Yes, there are happy endings.Ann's ending for her book includes this statement: "If this book leaves the reader with any one thought, I would like it to be the celebration of this human spirit which brings us closer together in times of trouble. I don't think we will ever completely recover from the

The Mountain Never Cries

I know the expression "couldn't put is down" is not original, but that's how it was with this book. So often I had to blink back tears and swallow the lump in my throat as I read. The story of the devasting impact the Tragedy has on a family and the way courage, hope and prayer help them carry on is awe-inspiring.

Agony, estacy and soul searching for answers

Retelling this incredible true story is a triumph and needs a place on every parent's bookshelf. While reading about Giles and his tremendous ordeal, one cannot help but wonder what his/her own reaction would have been if put into a similar situation. Mrs. Holaday's factual account of what happened is so moving - going from the lowest depths of human emotions to the highest possible ones is told with a frankly refreshing candor. The compilation of feelings running through Mrs. Holaday as she maintains her vigil at the Providence Hospital in Portland are soul revealing. Gazing upon her son struggling for life, she takes us back to her English background and then her travels into the world and all the factors that came to make her and her family what they are. Definitely a worthy read of the 5 star caliber. Hopefully, Mrs. Holaday will publish a children's version of the accident for a younger audience.

young skier almost loses his life on Oregons Mt. Hood

The Mountain Never Cries takes the reader on a journey from near tragedy to miraculous recovery for a young man who takes part in a climb on Mt. Hood, in Oregon. The climb is supposed to last only day and in the beginning the day is sunny but by noon,that faithful day in 1986, the weather turns bad and the lives of the fourteen-member climbing party are changed forever. Unable to make their way off the mountain, most of the climbing party try to dig a snow cave while three members of the party hope to walk out for help. As they dig, their climbing gear behind them, they begin to realize the swiftly falling snow has all but buried their gear. They scramble into a cave too small for the remaining 11 members, hoping for survival. Yet, in the end, only two survive. This remarkable story tells of the mother and the three days spent anxiously waiting for word of her son Giles. The book also discribes the arduous stay in the hospital, for her son, as he fights for his life and limbs. This book further gives an intimate insight into the inner workings of a hospital and the modern medical technology used to fight for this young man's life.

The Mountain Never Cries--an amazing story of courage!

Ann Holday is a mother who has been through an unbelievable ordeal that no one should ever have to go through. For three days she waited while rescuers searched Mt. Hood in Oregon for a missing climbing party of which her son Giles was a member. Miraculously, he survived three days in a snow cave. She had to wait again by his hospital bed while he fought for his life. The Mountain Never Cries takes you from moments of deep despair to a celebration of the human spirit, as Giles recovers against all odds. The triumphant ending to this extraordinary story will fill you with inspiration because of the courage and strength faced by Ann Holday, her son Giles, and the entire family.