Overview

How far into the wilderness do you have the courage to go to find out just how tough you really are? How long must you stay before you reach your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual limit? In May 1982 a young man from Zurich, Switzerland headed west across the planet to spend a year in Alaska. His name was Ruedi Glauser. He took with him $5000 purposely saved for the journey, a mini-survival kit wrapped around his waist, a few woolen clothes, and a stout belief that he had the skill required to survive a year in the Alaskan wilderness. Five months after abandoning his mother, sister, friends, and job as a graphic designer, Ruedi found himself hunkered down in the Ray Mountains, having every one of his survival skills tested to the limit. How this Swiss explorer faced much more than he bargained for in the wilderness of Alaska is the extraordinary story of Just To Die. Glauser had wandered up and down the mountains and valleys of the Swiss Alps in his youth, always confident in his ability to endure whatever Nature sent his way. But Switzerland had become too tame. He needed a greater challenge. Settling into a routine lifestyle might have been more comfortable, but ""settling"" would never have forced him to face up to the insecurities so deeply entrenched in his being. Ruedi's initial intent was to go it alone in Alaska, or to have with him at most a pack of dogs. But in the end he opted for one solitary companion to go with him. What challenged Ruedi were not only the unrestrained energies that nature presented, but the constant inward journeys his circumstances forced him to undertake --- journeys that required him to crawl deep into his soul. Ultimately, Switzerland To Alaska: Just To Die is a book about survival. It is about what happened when one human being decided to test his ability to survive at one of the far ends of the earth. It is about one man who wanted to discover what his limits were. How far into darkness was it necessary to go to prove how tough he was? What were his limits? He would have to find out. What was the coldest temperature he could function in? He'd have to learn. What animals could he elude or defend himself from? He'd have to wait and see which ones crossed his path. And if bears, wolverines, or even mosquitoes found him, would they be the death of him? Every circumstance could be dangerous, but he would test himself and see how he'd come out on the other side. The immediate question Ruedi had on his mind before leaving was: If I go in prepared, will that be enough? Will I survive?

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Reviews

By nature I am a voracious daily reader, and when I saw the title of this book I was hungry for adventure. Specifically I bought this book to explore a lifelong dream I've held: which is to know myself as a survivor in circumstances where survival is against all odds.Since I never served in the military, my imagination has only allowed me to wonder what it would be like to survive in the harshest, coldest conditions where immediate rescue assistance might not be available. Ruedi, the main character in Switzerland To Alaska: Just To Die, enabled me to vicariously fulfill my dream in many respects. Ruedi - in a foreign land and far removed from any other human being but one - showed me, the reader, how he devised techniques for avoiding the loss of limbs --- or improvised techniques for avoiding freezing to death. I think all men, at some level, whether privately or publicly, desire to be heroes under the most adverse of circumstances, and Ruedi somehow made me feel as if I were right there with him. He set out with the intention of facing down his fears, inhibitions, and the challenges presented by others. I was able to relate.The second aspect of the book that was appealing: the writing. Having written a book myself (but never published), I am attracted to an uncomplicated style of writing. For example, John Feinstein is my favorite sports author, and John Grisham's novels are irresistible. Both authors have a flow as smooth as fine wine. The author of Ruedi's story did a great job of drawing out details of Ruedi's former life and connecting the past to present circumstances. This book has a smooth flow that engaged me to the very end.I anxiously await the author's next book. ---Bookminer

"""By nature I am a voracious daily reader, and when I saw the title of this book I was hungry for adventure. Specifically I bought this book to explore a lifelong dream I've held: which is to know myself as a survivor in circumstances where survival is against all odds. Since I never served in the military, my imagination has only allowed me to wonder what it would be like to survive in the harshest, coldest conditions where immediate rescue assistance might not be available. Ruedi, the main character in Switzerland To Alaska: Just To Die, enabled me to vicariously fulfill my dream in many respects. Ruedi - in a foreign land and far removed from any other human being but one - showed me, the reader, how he devised techniques for avoiding the loss of limbs --- or improvised techniques for avoiding freezing to death. I think all men, at some level, whether privately or publicly, desire to be heroes under the most adverse of circumstances, and Ruedi somehow made me feel as if I were right there with him. He set out with the intention of facing down his fears, inhibitions, and the challenges presented by others. I was able to relate. The second aspect of the book that was appealing: the writing. Having written a book myself (but never published), I am attracted to an uncomplicated style of writing. For example, John Feinstein is my favorite sports author, and John Grisham's novels are irresistible. Both authors have a flow as smooth as fine wine. The author of Ruedi's story did a great job of drawing out details of Ruedi's former life and connecting the past to present circumstances. This book has a smooth flow that engaged me to the very end. I anxiously await the author's next book."" ---Bookminer"

Author Information

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Graphic Design, Kris set off to explore the world, feed an artist temperament, and satisfy a voracious curiosity --- by taking a job as a flight attendant.When her flying career allowed her the chance to further her education in graphic design at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland, Kris flew at the chance. Who wouldn't want to study with some of the most well-known graphic artists and typographers in the world? Upon arriving in Basel she was calmed by a Swiss craziness for order and precision, and humored by Schweizerdeutsch, a musical Swiss-German dialect which calls all big things small. This calm humor soon turned into enchantment with all things Swiss. From Basel, where the teachers patiently imparted their knowledge of design and typography to her and other foreign students like her...she was able to direct her attention toward the rest of Switzerland --- specifically, the mountains. Taking trips into the Swiss Alps and learning about the traditions that enliven them developed in her a profound respect for this ""tiny"" country. It is in Basel that Kris met the subject of this book, and knew instinctively that because of this artist's way of seeing, because of this artist's way of expressing himself, because of this artist's extraordinary journey into the wilderness, the world would be a poorer place if his story weren't told.

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