In 1995 the 33-year-old British climber and mother of two young children Alison Hargreaves died tragically after reaching the summit of K2, the world’s second highest mountain and arguably the most treacherous for climbers. Mountaineer Ed Douglas subsequently co-wrote the book Regions of the Heart: The Triumph and Tragedy of Alison Hargreaves, in which he and David Rose analyze why the shock and sadness of her death was mixed with harsh criticism about the choices she made and the risks she took. As a featured touring author of the 7th Annual Banff Mountain Book Festival, Douglas will discuss a little-examined side of outdoor adventure and extreme sports—the moral implications of risk-taking—in a slide-illustrated lecture titled The Morality of Risk: The Unexplored Side of Mountain Adventure on Monday, November 13 at 8 p.m. in UCSB Corwin Pavilion. Courtesy of the UCSB Bookstore, books by Douglas will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

When Douglas began examining Hargreaves life and the media scandal surrounding her death in the Himalayas on K2, he was unprepared for the depth of inquiry her story would necessitate, particularly on the subject of the purpose and morality of risk-taking and his own attitudes toward climbing. Many questions arose. Should mothers climb big mountains? Why is it easier for us to accept the risks that fathers take? Do children gain more from mothers who stay home and don’t take risks or from mothers who pursue their dreams, ambitions and challenges wholeheartedly, even if it means taking life-threatening risks in the process?

In Regions of the Heart, Douglas and Rose examine how Hargreaves’ personal history influenced her decision to undertake the climb just two weeks after becoming the first woman ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest without assistance or supplemental oxygen, an event that catapulted her from near anonymity to the forefront of the climbing world. They reveal Hargreaves’ courage, passion and commitment for climbing as well as for mothering, in addition to the complexity and uncertainty of her home life. They also explore her choices in the context of her contemporaries—other prominent women in high-altitude mountaineering like Wanda Rutkiewicz, Catherine Destivelle and Ginette Harrison.

Douglas was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship in 1996 to travel around Mount Everest in Nepal and Tibet. His account of that journey in Chomolungma Sings the Blues, published in 1997, won a special jury mention at the 1998 Banff Mountain Book Festival. Douglas has been associate editor of Climber magazine since 1995 and was appointed editor of Alpine Journal in 1998.

In 1987, his final year at Manchester University, he launched the rock-climbing magazine On the Edge. After graduating, he worked for a year in Istanbul on the English-language daily The Turkish Times and his writing has appeared regularly since 1990 in The Guardian and The Observer.

Douglas has been climbing for 17 years, starting on the grit stone edges of Derbyshire while still at school. He has traveled and climbed all over the world, including in the Himalayas, West Africa, Southeast Asia, Alaska, the Alps and North America.

This event is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. Tickets are $5 for students and $6 for the general public and are available in advance at the UCSB Arts & Lectures Ticket Office and at the door if available, beginning at 7 p.m.

For more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
Roman Baratiak at (805) 893-2080.