Grand Obsession: Harvey Butchart and the Exploration of Grand Canyon

Grand Obsession: Harvey Butchart and the Exploration of Grand Canyon

By Tom Myers (Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon) and Elias Butler

Grand Obsession chronicles the fascinating life of the explorer who more than any other, filled in the blanks in the Grand Canyon backcountry, Harvey Butchart. While only a fraction of the 12,000 miles he logged were done by running the Colorado River, those miles were among his most hair-raising and the most tragic. During one air-mattress adventure, sans safety equipment and with waterlogged canvas backpacks, his young hiking companion lost control and was swept away to his death. Harvey was the first to explore the many dangerous, protection-less ascents of the Canyon’s high pinnacles. The book relates all this and the considerable strain on his marriage due to his unrivaled obsession, his unusual childhood in the mountains of China and his effect on thousands of hiking students during his long career as a math professor at Northern Arizona University. The authors uniquely illustrate his feats for the reader by narrating their own trials and trepidations on several of Harvey’s routes. A fascinating read and a must for Canyon lovers of all recreational stripes, the book has 460 pages,over 180 illuminating black and white photographs and Harvey’s own maps.

$24.00, includes US shipping (Canada $1.00 extra).