CLIMBING THE SEVEN VOLCANOES
A Search for Strength
Towards the end of Climbing the Seven Volcanoes, Sophie Cairns’ panoramic account of her quest to be the fastest to summit the highest hotspots on each continent, the author stops to question the personal cost of the venture: ‘Over the years, I’d stared at the moon from the slopes of so many mountains. I’d lain in my tent on Aconcagua with my head outside, staring up at the glittering night sky. Or watched the moonlit waves of Laguna Verde. I loved the beautiful isolation of the mountains. But the problem with being on the Moon is, everyone I loved was far away. They were all back on Earth, moving on with their lives.’
Yet the mountains and volcanoes are the only places the author finds solace and communion with her father, whose death from cancer in 2008 led Cairns to reconsider her life choices, set up a charity in his memory and climb Kilimanjaro to raise funds. Such dichotomies – the competing claims of family and isolation, grief and joy, heat and cold, quest and quietus – form the heart of the story.
Throughout the book, the author’s determination and courage shine – a winning mix of sun and steel, she overcomes near-fatal childhood asthma, family tension and tragedy, grows in confidence and competence as she learns to climb, meets like minds and sees her volcanic heptad through, despite bad weather, altitude sickness and setbacks galore. En route, she faces down sexism, snobbery and the patronising attitude of ‘professional adventurers’ with humour and elán. Cairns’ seven years as a journalist in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Paris can be read in her direct, lyrical prose. Sure-footed on the page as well as the peaks, the author’s deft descriptions of the physical and spiritual elements of her adventure mean the book is often gripping and moving in the space of a page. At one point, Cairns describes herself as ‘unreasonably resistant to the idea of giving up’ after a childhood plagued by illness; as such, this book is a wonderful tribute to the great love and fortitude of father and daughter alike.