In this riveting centennial history of the celebrated Wasatch Mountain Club, you’ll experience nature’s fury as club members are swept down swollen rivers, lost in a wild cave, buried by an avalanche, and ambushed by bison while bicycling in Yellowstone. Partake too in the sublime: rowing across a lake’s sea glass surface beneath the towering walls of a Grand Canyon cave, swimming in a secret black lagoon, and flaunting a blizzard during a backpacking trip, by sipping daiquiris in a hot pool.
” . . . Ms. Frank’s work proves to be a labor of love in the best sense of the term. She documents the historical impact of the WMC in as thorough and thoughtful a manner as readers could imagine. It’s also a beautifully illustrated work, with plenty of archival color and black-and-white photos taken over the course of a century, which effectively tell a story on their own while still complementing the text. . . . At the same time, the narrative ably brings together stories of mountain adventures, camaraderie, and the spirit of volunteerism—a combination that will appeal to many readers with strong interests in outdoor recreation. Overall, it’s a generous, inclusive account of the group, and as comprehensive a chronicle as one could hope for. A striking and comprehensive account of a century-old institution.” Kirkus Reviews; Kirkus Recommended Review: “OUR VERDICT: GET IT”
“I was struck not only by everything the club has accomplished, but also by how Deb captured the spirit of the club—its bravado, its soul, its heart. These are stories that need to be told.” Julie Kilgore, Wasatch Mountain Club President, 2016-2025
About Deb
After a career in bookstore management at the deeply missed Borders Book Shops, Debra sought out some shelf space of her own. She earned an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and, in June 2026, published her acclaimed centennial history of the Wasatch Mountain Club, Faint Heart Never Climbed a Mountain. Her work has been featured in The Rumpus, Brevity’s Blog, Meat for Tea, Miniskirt, Down in the Dirt, Moss Piglet Zine, the Madville Press anthology Being Home, and elsewhere. Debra lives, writes, and hikes in Salt Lake City, Utah.