Steve B. (fog) - reviewed on 6/17/2023 + 139 more book reviews

the author spent 7 years in the Royal Marine, is a self proclaimed experienced mountaineer and adventurer. But after reading the book I can truthfully say that I was pulling for the bear throughout the whole book. The author makes so many mistakes it's hard to believe his background. First he kills a bear cub by over reacting and not assessing the situation before acting. This sets in motion the rest of the premise for the book, that of being hunted by the mama grizzly bear. In thew following days our author makes too many mental mistakes that an experienced mountaineer wouldn't make. He puts off securing and caching his experience which leads to him losing his tent, map, compass, and the us of his headlamp. At one point he recklessly rolls boulders and huge rocks down the side of a mountain causing mini avalanches with no regard that other climbers might be in the area while at the same time leaving a note to warn other climbers that there is a dangerous bear in the area (without explaining why the bear is dangerous). The author writes of snowstorms where visibility drops to mere feet and wind that almost blows him off his feet but somehow on his descent he is able to pick out his footprints in the snow that he made ascending the mountain. During the final showdown with the grizzly he ascends to the top of an ice tower where he states the top is flat al almost the size of a billiard table but goes on to describe himself running in circles at a fast pace . The book is just ok, and after reading it I have doubts that the events happened as is written but since he didn't write the book until decades after the event I'm pretty sure the events as he describes is how his mind has embellished the story.

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