Kim: A journey between two worlds, by Kim Rangiaonui Logan. Published by Ugly Hill Press, 2025, $55

Kim Logan is a highly regarded mountain guide, but in this book he seeks to dig behind his climbing achievements and examine how his challenging childhood got him there.

Born Māori and raised Pākehā, as a child Logan rarely saw his parents, who had a penchant for travel. Instead, he spent his time with a young caregiver whose inadequacies for the role manifested as cruelty, and at a boarding school where he didn’t fit the norm. He felt the absence of his parents keenly.

Most of the book is given over to his climbing in New Zealand, the Himalaya and Karakoram. It opens with a tragic attempt at climbing Mt Everest’s Hornbein Couloir route, alpine style. In New Zealand, chapters mostly cover climbs on Aoraki Mt Cook and surrounding peaks. 

I kept waiting for the threads of his childhood and climbing to be drawn together, but if that happened, it was too subtle for me to discern. 

The floridly written chapter by Peter Hillary is in contrast to Logan’s more austere prose; and, for me, Logan’s ‘less is more’ approach to story telling is more compelling. 

Despite not really drawing a link between the two halves of his life, this is a worthwhile read for those who enjoy tales of mountain adventure. 

– David Barnes is a book reviewer and Wilderness subscriber