Critical Hours

Search and Rescue in the White Mountains

By: Sandy Stott

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

A misread map, a sudden storm, a forgotten headlamp - and suddenly a leisurely hike turns into a treacherous endeavor.

In the past decade, inexpensive but sophisticated navigation devices and mobile phones have led to alarming levels of overconfidence on the trail. Adding to this worrisome trend, the increasing popularity of ventures into mountainous terrain has led hikers seeking solitude - or an adrenaline rush - into increasingly remote or risky forays. 

Sandy Stott, the "Accidents" editor at the journal of the Appalachian Mountain Club, delivers both a history and a celebration of the search and rescue workers who save countless lives in the White Mountains - along with a plea for us not to take their steadfastness and bravery for granted. Filled with tales of astonishing courage and sobering tragedy, Critical Hours will appeal to outdoor enthusiasts and armchair adventurers alike.

©2018 University Press of New England (P)2019 Tantor

There are better books

Not Without Peril is a much better read of the same stories. Narration is dry and choppy

Book matches book description.

I don’t know why this book is getting a lot of hate on here. It was exactly how it was described. It was a book about SAR history in the Whites. It had plenty stories about real rescues to make it relevant. To those complaining about the acronyms: their definitions are explained at least once for every agency, but more importantly it’s how each agency id’s themselves! Don’t hate on the author for using them.

Rich with history and tales

As a hiker in the northeast,and one interested in SAR work, , I found this entertaining anf poignant t times. I do think there is a select audience that this book caters to.

amazingly eye opening read.

narrated well. eye opening. some of the back "history" had me wandering off but over all... definitely recommend!

hard to listen to reader.

The story is outstanding. The reader has a set cadence of reading that I found very distracting and annoying; such so that I had to concentrate on listening for the benefit of the story.

Superb deeply researched analysis of SAR

This book provides stories, analysis, and viewpoints of SAR in the White Mountains. It includes individual cases, surveying what brought the victim to that point, and the immediate and long term perspectives of SAR support team members and organizations. The author causes you to engage with SAR ethos from a variety of viewpoints (don't have it, volunteer, state funded) and encourages a thoughtful wondering of why we go into the wilderness and how and under what terms we remain connected to society when we do.

I gained a deeper appreciation of the efforts of SAR and reflected on my own decision making process, biases, and motivations. We listened to this book while returning from a February ascent of Mt. Washington, and that certainly helped visualize the extreme terrain and conditions hikers and SAR can face.

Definitely recommend to those who wander.

Narrator not so great but a great story

The narrator took a while to get use to. Other than that it was a great experience. I would recommend to anyone who spends time in the woods.

Search and rescue in NH's White Mountains

First, I live in the White Mountains and hike and ski. With this background, I found the book very interesting. Reading other reviews, I think this book is widely misunderstood by others. It is not a dramatic story of search and rescue, and it is not a collection of adventure stories about people getting in trouble in the mountains. There are other books that better serve those interests. Instead, it is about the people and organizations who go into harm's way to help those in trouble. In New Hampshire there are many such groups all with their own acronyms and idiosyncrasies. If you are interested in learning more about search and rescue, including disputes about funding and philosophy of approach, this is the book for you. With regard to the narrator, I think he did a fine job although he did botch the local pronunciations, such as Coos County and Berlin, but pretty much everyone who isn't from this area does mispronounce these place names.

Terrible Narration

I don't mean to bag on Kyle Tait but he made the book very difficult to listen to. While the subject matter is very interesting, especially for someone with a background in rescue, it is 100% not necessary for the narrator to take a dramatic pause after every 5th word. I feel like I could have gotten through this book in half the time if he had just read it. It was very frustrating and I will be avoiding him in the future, no matter how interesting the book may be. He just ruined it.

Just incredible it took place in my backyard.

Sandy’s book transporters me back home to Franconia. I spent most of my days they’re climbing and hiking the amazing mountains surrounding my town..
We were always hearing about SAR efforts.
I live in Utah now, and I’d like to thank Sandi for transporting me back to my hometown for several nourishing hours.