Humanities Roadshow: Stories of Place: A Year in the Life of Mount Washington
From the vaulted heights of New England’s highest peak, Dan spent a year exploring the very heart of the White Mountains. But Mount Washington - home of the world’s worst weather - is more than just a rock pile; it’s the cultural and natural soul of climbers and tourists from around the world. From car races to bird watching, from bikes to motorcycles, a "railroad to the stars" to a centuries-old observatory, Mount Washington speaks to the adventurer in all of us. In The White Mountain, Dan turned his veteran journalist’s eye toward participating in and exploring the culture, characters, and color of this remarkable place. Through travel writing, normally used to tell an outsider’s story in a new land, we can reacquaint ourselves with home.
About the presenter: Dan Szczesny is a long-time journalist, speaker, and author of several travel memoirs, fiction, and poetry, and an essay collection on fatherhood. His book, The Nepal Chronicles, about a month-long trek to Everest Base Camp and marriage in Kathmandu, won the 2016 New Hampshire state library award for Outstanding Work of Nonfiction. His book, The White Mountain: Rediscovering Mount Washington’s Hidden Culture, is a year’s exploration of the Northeast’s tallest peak. Written with his then six-year-old daughter, NH Rocks That Rock: An Adventure Guide to Twenty-Five Famous Boulders of the Granite State, is a field guide that encourages families to visit off-the-beaten-path places around the state. He’s a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s 4,000-footer club and has written extensively about the outdoors and hiking.
