Walkin' Jim Stoltz stops to talk

Author: Zachary Hecht-Leavitt

Jim Stoltz is 11,750 feet high atop a cold, wind-blasted mountain summit and heading down. Forty yards of icy slope and a 100-foot drop stand between him and his goal, the snow basin. Hesitating, he kicks in his crampons. They only bite in an inch. Kick. Step. Kick. Step. Kick. Step. Slip.

Jim falls with his face to the mountain. He claws and kicks desperately as the ice shreds the skin off of his fingers. Thirty, 20, 10 feet to go. He rolls onto his back to greet the gap that races toward him. He is over it. He wonders why he's not moving. Jim hangs, suspended from his pack straps, and looks above in disbelief. The neck of his guitar is firmly lodged five feet above in the crust of the ice, its body lashed to his backpack. Good thing he didn't bring the case.

This is not the first time the folksinger, adventurer, photographer, activist and artist has cheated death in the backcountry. After all, no matter how careful you are, when you have been hiking for four months a year, every year, since 1974, you are bound to have your fair share of near-misses. And yet, "Walkin' Jim Stoltz," as he is called, keeps coming back. In fact, he kind of likes it.

"How often does the average American face a situation in which they fear for their life?" asks the bearded bard. "One of the things I really love about long hikes is they put you in a place where you occasionally walk the edge. When you do get through, there's a rush of elation."

But Jim is not your typical thrill-seeker - he is a preservationist who is deeply committed to protecting the last wilderness areas of our country. "I think that we've divorced ourselves from wildness and nature. Pruned trees, managed parks, TV shows like Survivor that make a mockery of what it is to really be out in the natural world. We're so bombarded by facts and figures, we need to have those places where nature can surround us and let our minds rest," says Stoltz.

Rather than campaign politically, Stoltz works to raise awareness of the benefits of nature through art. "By celebrating the natural world, we can get people to care about issues," says Stoltz.

In his traveling show Stoltz uses a variety of mediums, hoping to reach as many people as possible. "In my show, I combine photography and music and put them together to create a real double-whammy. Art plays to heart. Getting more than one sense working makes for a stronger message and touches people in a more powerful way."

Stoltz has been performing around the country, spreading his song, art and mantra for over 30 years. In this year's show, "Forever Wild," he will present images and songs from recent expeditions to Yellowstone, the Yukon, Utah, the Northern Rockies and other untouched areas of North American wilderness.

The show, which received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Environmental Protection Agency, uses two projectors and a dissolve unit to merge pictures taken during his 26,000 miles of hiking through the North American backcountry with the folk songs they inspired.

Jim will present the show here at Middlebury next Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. in Dana Auditorium. The show is free for college ID holders and others can buy tickets for $10 at the door starting at 6 p.m.