I thought the sample of this sounded good but I cant get past the narrator unfortunately, there is an inflection of a sort at the end of each sentence. Sorry. Thanks for the ARC but I have to DNF

As someone from California who adores the entire West Coast—especially Oregon and Washington—it was especially engaging to read about a place I’ve actually visited. Crisis on Mount Hood is part gripping adventure, part history lesson, and part heartfelt tribute to the brave souls who risk their lives for others.

The author does a great job alternating between historical background on the legendary Crag Rats mountain rescue team and present-day rescue missions. I was amazed to learn how long this volunteer group has been operating and how dedicated they continue to be. He shines a light on the risks of outdoor recreation and the importance of preparation—without shaming those who find themselves in trouble.

It’s hard not to feel frustrated by how many people venture into the wilderness without the proper equipment or knowledge, but thankfully, we have smart, strong, and selfless rescuers like the Crag Rats who show up anyway. I was genuinely moved by their courage and commitment.

I also really appreciated how the author addresses climate change. He presents it with clarity and urgency but avoids condescension or alarmist tones—it feels like a natural part of the story, not a lecture.

Reading this made me admire the author’s outlook on life and left me wishing I lived a more exciting, fulfilling, outdoorsy existence. What an incredible world he reveals—one that’s both beautiful and dangerous, but filled with people who rise to meet the challenge.

My only criticisms: the author references his previous books quite a bit. While it felt a little gimmicky at times, I have to admit it also piqued my interest—so I guess it worked. I also felt the audiobook narrator could’ve been more expressive; a story this dynamic deserves a performance to match.

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I never never never want to climb a mountain because I find heights frightening, and the idea of being cold and injured and waiting for help sounds terrible. At the same time, I am fascinated by the kind of people who look at mountains and think, yes, I definitely need to climb that. These stories of people who needed help on Mount Hood were fascinating to me, and I loved the perspective of the author. He talks about what it's like to be in a group of people who do mountain rescues, what the people are like, and how close they become.
Van Tilburg has been doing this kind of work for decades, so I'm sure he has many more stories, and it must have been hard to choose. I'm glad he does this so I can experience it vicariously while comfortable at home.

Christopher Van Tilburg adds to his collection of Mt Hood rescue stories, this time looking at both the history of the mountain and the rescue group, the Hood River Crag Rats, and the present as the mountain continues to change. With extensive research through the Crag Rats archives and local newspapers, Van Tilburg recounts some of the earliest rescue stories from Mt Hood.

As a local this was a fascinating read, especially knowing people who have been rescued on the mountain. My one complaint is the narrator isn't a local and some of the pronunciations are off. That's a small complaint though, and recommend to those with an interest in outdoor adventure, rescue stories, or local Pacific Northwest history.

This is a difficult one to review, mostly based on the fact that I was provided the audiobook version and think a physical reading experience may or may not have a different result for me.

Crisis on Mount Hood offers first hand accounts as well as historical tales of the Hood River Crag Rats, a team of medical professionals and experienced climbers who perform risky mountain rescues on Mount Hood.

I went into this topic blind - and that made this book interesting and engaging. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse of the personal relationships of the team and getting to know them through their banter and collaboration.

A lot of the storytelling however fell and little flat and began to get a bit too technical for someone with no climbing knowledge - a bit of Googling to fully understand terminology and equipment can be required.

The delivery of the narrator was probably the biggest issue for me. Feeling that the storytelling was a bit dry along with a narrator that, to me very much uses a ‘news reporter voice’ with little natural inflection made this difficult to get through.

Overall I’m glad to have learned about this topic and it has sparked interest to learn more about it (however it confirms I will not be climbing any mountains personally 😂)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance audiobook!

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓸 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓰𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓹𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓥𝓪𝓷 𝓣𝓲𝓵𝓫𝓾𝓻𝓰 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓬!

This was fascinating! I live near(ish) to Mount Hood so I’ve seen it before plenty of times. This was fun to listen to, and I’ve always had an interest in SAR and similar things so I really enjoyed this!

There might be some interesting stories here but there is too much filler. For example when I start this book about stories from my hood I should instantly start hearing a story NOT be taken to Italy and hear about the authors travel. I could care less. I am not interested in a memoir. I’m interested in rescue stories on mt hood.

I finally thought I’d get to a story only to be given all kinds of narrative “setting the scene” that was entirely too long and again—can we just get to the case? Can we get to the presentation?

I am sure there are many good rescue stories but I never got to them because the author beats around the bush. The narrator is also a bore.

This book would have been better if edited to run more like a documentary

As soon as I saw this book available, I knew I had to read it! The author is an emergency room doctor and works on the Hood River Crag Rats, an all volunteer mountain rescue team. Van Tilburg shares a number of rescue stories from over the years at Oregon’s iconic mountain, including ones he personally worked on and even stories from years before, while weighing the effects of climate change on their work (and on outdoor recreation in general). Full of tragedy and hope, I highly recommend for my fellow Oregonians and outdoor enthusiasts.
Thank you to RBmedia for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

For me, the best nonfiction books explain a subject to you and help you understand it even when you go into the subject blind, not knowing a thing about it. While this book does explain mountain rescue to me, an outsider, it didn’t stimulate my interest and make me want to learn more. Sure, there were some harrowing rescues and thrilling situations but I didn’t feel a part of anything; it didn’t make me yearn to learn more about what they do or connect in any way to any of them. It was overly technical in places and mentioned areas that I couldn’t picture. The narration was also somewhat monotonous so that didn’t help either. I appreciate and applaud the work that they do but this wasn’t for me.

Crisis on Mount Hood: Stories from a Hundred Years of Mountain Rescue by Christopher Van Tilburg
Narrated by Chris Sorensen
Publish Date: May 1, 2025

I was interested in this audiobook because I have lived in close vicinity of Mount Hood. I have known friends who are interested in climbing Mount Hood. I myself have hiked in the area many times and love this iconic mountain.
The author is a medical doctor who works in nearby Hood River, Oregon. He is an outdoor enthusiast and has been involved with a volunteer mountain rescue team, the Hood River Crag Rats for thirty years. In his third non-fiction book, he discusses the history of the rescue team, some cases he was involved in, changing nature of the mountain and rescue efforts. It is all fascinating. He also touches environmental and overcrowding issues, which is very important.

To me personally, I felt there are some sections that discusses his accomplishments at length which came across boastful. I understood he is a very skilled mountaineer and a medical doctor, which is important to be included. I felt there was too much of it throughout the book.
Another criticism is for the audio narration which sounded monotonous and robotic for me. It was so flat that I suspected it being done by AI.

The book itself was very interesting and well researched. I sincerely hope the continuation and future success of Crag Rats!!

A copy of this audiobook was provided coutesy of NetGalley and Tantor Audio. Opinions stated herein are my own. Thank you!

What a fascinating read! Most of my hiking has been done in the North East of the US, so most of the search and rescue stories I've heard first and second hand were limited to a much shorter (if older) mountain range. I had never heard of the Crag Rats before, and really enjoyed learning about their history, and the history of the mountain.

This book had some truly gripping moments that made me feel the danger and urgency of mountain rescues. I appreciated Van Tilburg’s firsthand experience, but at times the writing felt a little dry and technical. I found myself wishing for a deeper emotional connection to the people behind the rescues.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5 stars for a detailed, eye-opening look at the real risks behind outdoor adventures.

Crisis on Mount Hood is a mix of memoir and the 100 year history of the Crag Rats, the rescue team for the Mount Hood area. Van Tilburg is at his best when he is writing memoir, especially when he is writing about his fellow Crag Rats on rescues or calling his daughters to tell them about a recent rescue. It is obvious in this book how much Van Tilburg loves the outdoors and his dedication to these rescue missions. His connection between climate change and it’s impact on the frequency of rescues is important, and I don’t think he should shy away from these realities in his writing. He does speak very highly of the Crag Rats and while they sound superhuman I did appreciate that he touched on their limitations. I would have loved to hear the author narrate this book, but the energy of the rescues made this a fast listen. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for offering me an early opportunity to listen to this ARC!

I was first drawn to this book because I live in Oregon, about 45 minutes from Mt. Hood. I’ve heard about the Hood River Crag Rats many times in the past as they are often mentioned on the news after participating in rescues. Prior to listening to this book, I was not familiar with who Dr. Van Tilburg was. Now after listening to this book, I have discovered that we know many of the same people from working in Emergency medicine in the area.

This is a really interesting book- part memoir, part historical nonfiction. I am so thankful that there are people who are willing to volunteer to help rescue people. In several of the stories Van Tilburg discusses the errors that people made that lead to them needing rescue. It’s really thought provoking. He also talks about how increased numbers of people climbing Mt. Hood has affected it. He also touches on climate change as well.

I did find it interesting that the author wrote a book about Mt. Hood and the Hood River Crag Rats and decided to start the book with an experience he had during a trip to Italy. It felt out of place in my opinion.

If you’re interested in Mt. Hood, mountain climbing, and learning more about Christopher Van Tilburg’s life, then I recommend giving this book a listen.

This book was great! I listened to an ARC via NetGalley and loved the audiobook narration by Chris Sorensen. I was drawn to this book because I’m an emergency physician in Portland, so the setting felt right on home turf. Dr. Van Tilburg leads an adventurous, interesting and fulfilling life in Hood River filled with doctoring and various adrenaline junkie pursuits like kite surfing. In this memoir he focuses on his involvement as a volunteer mountain rescuer with the Crag Rats, saving lives and retrieving bodies on Mount Hood. I found this fascinating and very articulately written. He also is coming to terms with his age (60) and reflecting on the history of Mount Hood and various rescue efforts over the decades. He also touches on the impacts of climate change, technological advancements and the peril of the ill-prepared climber. My biggest criticism is the editing of the book- at times many anecdotes were repetitive. I also had conflicting feeling about references to his previous books (which I have not read) in that I felt like I was missing out on past stories. Still, this is worth a read for anyone interested in Mount Hood, mountain rescue, emergency medicine or any other adventure!

By: Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg
Narrated by Chris Sorenson

Narration was okay, just felt his voice was a bit bland. Although the subject matter didn’t encourage multiple voices or excitement.

The author goes back to the beginning of rescue missions on Mount Hood. With old documents hard to find, sometimes it’s only a small article written for a local paper.

These stories go to present day, to show the scope of the Hood River Crag Rats. He tells stories which engage and teach his readers, with obvious fondness from time working with his team.

I’m sadden by how much climate change is destroying our treasured natural forests, mountains, waters etc. This really came to point in the stories he tells.

All of the Crag Rats are volunteers only. Each mission can put them into danger as well. Dr. Van Tilburg tells of safety protocols, how equipment is checked and the different situations needed to keep everyone safe. He also discusses how important comunication is.
Showing how well these rescuers are in tune with each other. He describes his friends and colleagues as The Best of the Best. And Rarely gives himself credit.

The biggest impression was how badly these type of people are needed in every single National Park.

The rescue situations are spoken with barely any emotion, but is understandable when u realize how many years they’ve put in and also the type of people who Can Do rescues where the only outcome can be bringing a loved ones body back to family for burial.

These amazing people do rescues in dangerous situations and any kind of bad weather the mountains throw at them. They’re all Heroes!!

I’m grateful for this free audiobook.
All comments are my own.
#CrisisonMountHood
#NetGalley