Laura Waterman (born 10 October 1939) is an American author, mountaineer and ice climber, homesteader, and conservationist, primarily known for her books on the outdoors, many as a collaborative effort with her husband Guy Waterman.[1] They were early spokespersons and advocates for the hiking movement of the 1970s with their books Backwoods Ethics and Wilderness Ethics.[2][3] The Watermans' writing and advocacy are credited with giving significant impetus to the Leave No Trace program.[4][5]
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| Born | October 10, 1939 Lawrenceville, New Jersey, U.S. |
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Early life
editLaura Waterman was born Laura Johnson in 1939 to Catherine and Thomas Herbert Johnson. Thomas Johnson was a noted teacher and scholar, particularly of Emily Dickinson, at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. In 1962, Laura graduated from Hollins College in Virginia with a degree in English, and moved to New York City to work in publishing. She met her future husband Guy Waterman in the fall of 1969 while on a weekend climbing trip to the Shawangunk Mountains North of New York.[6]
Homesteading and Barra
editIn 1973, Laura and Guy Waterman purchased 27 acres in East Corinth, Vermont, to build a cabin and construct a new life far from the city, gaining inspiration from Helen and Scott Nearing’s book Living the Good Life. [7] They named their cabin Barra, for Guy's ancestral Scottish island homestead. [8]
Climbing
editThe move to Vermont and the adoption of the homesteading lifestyle was in large part a way to simply leave more time to climb mountains.[9] Laura went on to climb all 48 of the 4000-foot New Hampshire peaks seven times, and in 1975 made the first female free ascent of The Black Dike (WI4+, M3), a New Englands most famous ice climbing route that was described by Yvon Chouinard as "A filthy black horrendous icicle."[1]
Writing
editThe Watermans' devotion to the mountains of the Northeast generated two definitive mountain histories, Forest and Crag: A History of Hiking, Trail Blazing, and Adventure in the Northeast Mountains (1989), and Yankee Rock & Ice: A History of Climbing in the Northeastern United States (1993). Their last co-authored book was a collection of fiction and essays, A Fine Kind of Madness: Mountain Adventures Tall and True (2000)[10] was published a few months after Guy's death.
Waterman is the subsequent author of three other books: a memoir Losing the Garden: The Story of a Marriage (2005),[11][12] Starvation Shore, a historical novel on the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of the 1880s (2019),[13][14] and a second memoir Calling Wild Places Home: A Memoir in Essays (2024).[1]
She administers The Waterman Fund, supporting education, trail work, and research in the alpine and subalpine zones of Northeastern North America.[15]
Publications
editSingly authored books
edit- Losing the Garden: The Story of a Marriage, Shoemaker & Hoard, 2005, ISBN 978-1593761042
- Starvation Shore, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 2019, ISBN 978-0299323400
- Calling Wild Places Home: A Memoir in Essays, SUNY Press, Albany, 2024, ISBN 978-1438496245
Coauthored books
edit- Forest and Crag: A History of Hiking, Trail Blazing, and Adventure in the Northeast Mountains (co-author with Guy Waterman), Excelsior Editions, 1989, ISBN 978-1438475301
- Wilderness Ethics: Preserving the Spirit of Wildness, (co-author with Guy Waterman, Countryman Press, 1993 ISBN 978-0881502565
- Yankee Rock & Ice: A History of Climbing in the Northeastern United States (co-author with Guy Waterman), Stackpole Books, 1993, ISBN 978-0811737685
- A Fine Kind of Madness: Mountain Adventures Tall and True (co-author with Guy Waterman), Mountaineers Books. 2000, ISBN 978-0898867343
- The Green Guide to Low Impact Hiking and Camping (previously Backwoods Ethics), (co-author with Guy Waterman), Countryman Press, 2016, ISBN 978-0881502572
References
edit- ^ a b c Goodman, David (2024-03-14). "Vermont Conversation: Acclaimed Vermont author Laura Waterman reflects on her life in the mountains and her husband's death". VTDigger. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
- ^ Mayer, Doug (2012). Mountain Voices. Guy and Laura Waterman, Pioneers of Wilderness Ethics: Appalachian Mountain Club Books. pp. 53–66.
- ^ White, Emily (2021-07-01). "Mountains as Directions for Living". Adventure (2L): 64–69.
- ^ "Leave No Trace: How It Came to be | IJW". 11 December 2018.
- ^ Marion, Jeffrey L.; Reid, Scott E. (January 2001). "Development of the U.S. Leave No Trace Program: An Historical Perspective" (PDF).
- ^ Brown, Chip (2003). Good Morning Midnight. New York: Riverhead Books. pp. 135–137. ISBN 978-1573222365.
- ^ "Interview with Laura Waterman". [Vermont Conversation]. [VTDigger]. 2024-03-14. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
- ^ Goodman, 2024, 15:45.
- ^ Goodman, 2024, 19:30.
- ^ "AAC Publications - A Fine Kind of Madness: Mountain Adventures Tall and True".
- ^ "Losing the Garden: The Story of a Marriage | Wood Lit | Wood Lit". June 2005.
- ^ "Review of Losing the Garden". 18 August 2009.
- ^ "Corinth writer solo-climbs a new literary mountain". Associated Press News. 9 April 2019.
- ^ James, David (December 19, 2020). "Grim fate of the Greely expedition is brought to life in work of historical fiction 'Starvation Shore'". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
- ^ "Board of Directors". The Waterman Fund. Retrieved 2024-04-27.