A somewhat different book from the world of mountain sports recently reached the PG editorial team. The unusual title "Solo mit Familie" refers to the mountaineer and mountain guide Stephan Keck and retrospectively describes the experiences of a daredevil and family man. An unusual book that leaves the reader oscillating between shaking their head, amazement and appreciation.
The sports journalist Derk Hoberg sheds light on the life of the border crosser Stephan Keck. In this gripping biography, the reader learns about the background, motivations, doubts, fears, successes and failures in the life of a family of adventurers. Almost 50 pages of images complement the entertaining stories from Stephan Keck's busy life.
With his family, Keck traveled to India, the Himalayas, South America and Burma. In 2007, the family of four finally crossed Africa from north to south in an old, converted truck. 17,000 kilometers of desert, jungle, mountains, breakdowns and sea, from Austria to Uganda. Daughter Sina was five years old at the time, son Silas one and a half.
"As long as I have dreams, I'm alive"
Keck once forgot to bring food for himself, his wife and his daughter on a trekking tour in a remote region of South America. Keck was in several life-threatening situations on the highest and most dangerous mountains in the world. These are passages that make the reader shake his head. And yet the very open and honest descriptions of these scenes in particular and the self-critical approach to them are the salt in the soup of this book. They make the book authentic and therefore worth reading and allow an insight into the mindset of an extreme athlete who is trying to master the fine line between family man and extreme athlete. And to anticipate: The Keck family continues to enjoy excellent health. The book shows that it doesn't always have to be "family or mountain sports/adventure", but that a "family and adventure" are also compatible.
Conclusion
The gripping stories of Keck's mountain adventures are likely to meet with strong opposition from people who must find the lifestyle of the extreme Keck family crazy. In his adventurous life, the "border crosser" has experienced more than a few dicey situations that may cause sheer horror in some readers. Mountain sports enthusiasts, on the other hand, can easily understand the Tyrolean's thirst for adventure. They will find a varied, exciting and easy-to-read biography with many background insights into the life and travels of Stephan Keck - solo and with his family. The only point of criticism is that the approximately 50 color photos are bundled together in a few places in the book. Integrating them into the running text would have made it easier to visualize the experiences described in the running text, thus creating an even more impressive overall experience. An interesting book for mountain sports enthusiasts with a family or family aspirations that will make you think about your own actions.
Information
Authors: Stephan Keck/Derk Hoberg
Title: Solo mit Familie - Abseits vom Normalweg. A life as a family man and extreme mountaineer
Scope: 288 pages with numerous photos, format 14 x 22 cm, hardcover ISBN: 978-3-939499-30-5
Price: € 22.90
Publisher: Berg und Tal, Munich, 2011
