The name Rick Ridegway will not be known to
many. Amongst mountain climbers and
environmental enthusiasts, however, it is.
Part of the first American team to climb K2, he has gone on to be one of
television’s leading producers of environmental documentaries and the author of
several books, all generally focused on mountaineering. Despite having an interesting personal
history, his 1998 Below Another Sky: A
Mountain Adventure in Search of a Lost Father has other aims: to kindle an
appreciation of mountain wildernesses in a daughter who lost a father climbing.
In the early 80s, Ridgeway was climbing with a group of friends, among them Jonathan Wright. Descending, they decided to have a little fun by sliding down a snowfall. Something they’d done often, an avalanche nevertheless ensued, and Wright died in Ridgeway’s arms minutes later. Asia, Wright’s daughter, was just a baby when the incident occurred. At the age of 20, however, she desired to see her father’s beloved mountains and the place he died. Asking Ridgeway to be her guide, Below Another Sky is that journey.
