Slayton Praises Writing, Mountains, Growing Old

Author: Rose Boyer

Tom Slayton, devout Vermonter and editor of Vermont Life magazine, addressed a crowd of mountain lovers Feb. 15 at Middlebury College's Twilight Auditorium, marking the fifth of 11 presentations that make up the Green Mountain Club's 10th annual Taylor Winter Series.

As the guest speaker, Slayton spoke of his five-year project to climb the 100 highest peaks in New England and write a book about his experiences. Slayton said he initially planned on titling his book "In Praise Of Small Mountains." However, after recently learning that this name is already used for another publication, he is experimenting with alternative titles.

Throughout his speech Slayton read excerpts from his book and told anecdotes from the trail, revealing his intense admiration and respect for the mountains of New England despite their reputation for being small. He agreed that New England mountains are friendly and even modest, but they are "just big enough to allow us to get into trouble if we take them lightly," he said. Slayton also praised local mountains for their rich historical wealth.

"One of the subtler pleasures for me is knowing that most of the time I'm not walking through a primordial wilderness, but I'm walking through layers of time," he said, describing how every time he hikes the Skyline Trail between the Winooski River and Lincoln Gap, he enjoys feeling the presence of Will Monroe, the man who built the trail. "More than once climbing this steep, beautiful section of the trail I have found myself hiking with Will Monroe," he reflected. In Slayton's writing it is obvious that at the root of his love for the mountains lies a respect for both their natural and human influences.

Slayton's use of Japanese Haibun poetry is one feature of the book that makes it particularly unique. One of his poems which reads, "Boots Slop through black muck, slide over rain-slick rocks, dodging white blossoms," is accompanied by others scattered throughout his book which show how he combines his poetry with his lifetime love of the mountains, along with a creative twist in order to describe his personal backcountry experiences.

Another characteristic of Slayton's book that sets it apart from other nature journey books is its underlying theme of growing older, coping with decreasing mobility and confronting age-dampening physical conditions that hinder mountain climbing.

Slayton began his project five years ago, at the age of 55, thinking that within five years he would be "old." At 60, however, he is still climbing, and though he has finished one list of mountains, he has many other mountain tops and skyline ridges in his future plans.

Even though his love of mountains and hiking remains strong, Slayton did mention that he now has to warm up with the smaller mountains before going after the tallest ones instead of trying to defeat the biggest mountain at the beginning of his backpacking season.

At present, Slayton has completed half of his book, which he plans on publishing sometime in the near future. When asked when he would be finished with his project, however, Slayton laughed and replied, "When I drop."