We're going in, ' the pilot said in a calm, quiet voice. We searched the area, looking for a way out. There was none. The plane, with us in it, would crash on the crevasse-lined Ruth Glacier in a very long minute. Found in the farthest reaches of America's most treacherous terrain, Jim Hale is perched atop the country's highest peak. Breathing heavily, he has endured the bitter cold, his body's physical limits, and wind storms that promised to bury him under several feet of snow. From up here he can see the Earth stretch beyond her curve, he can smell the freshness of air unpolluted by man's intrusion, and he can hear the silence that only desperate isolation can bring. But he's not here for the view. Up here, where the world stands still, he's found it at last. That moment when your perseverance and determination lead you to the ultimate high, when you stretch the limits that no man has ever been able to conquer, when life makes sense. This is An Alaskan Life of High Adventure. Through surviving earthquakes, avalanches, faulty single-engine plane crashes, and the bitter cold, author Jim Hale recounts his adventures as a mountain guide and explorer in the country's most desolate region. Join his expansive journey to find the meaning of life as he shows you the breathtaking life of an Alaskan explorer. 'Coursing through the Hale family arteries is not blood but adventure-from parents to grandchildren, the arteries pump pure adventure.' Larry Kaniut, author of Alaska Bear Tales and Cheating Death: Amazing Survival Stories from Alaska 'As an adventure educator, explorer, and history enthusiast, this is a must read.' Dr. Chad Thatcher, Director, Colorado Mesa University Outdoor Education Program gram