From the depths of lost to the heights of love

Adventure, tragedy and unexpected romance are all found in Jennifer Lowe-Anker’s new memoir, Forget Me Not, which the author will sign from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at Cyrano’s Bookshop in Highlands.

Lowe-Anker is the widow of mountain-climber Alex Lowe, killed in an avalanche on the Himalayan mountain Shishapangma in 1999. Alex Lowe’s life and climbing achievements have been celebrated by everyone from Outside Magazine (which called him the world’s best mountaineer) to Tom Brokaw (in a one-hour special for Dateline) to Sting (who composed music for a tribute) to John Krakauer (author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air ), who had been a climbing partner of Lowe’s and who wrote the forward for Forget Me Not.

Through letters and expedition notes, Jennifer Anker-Lowe tells about Alex’s loss and how she and their three sons coped with it. She also recounts the surprising story of her burgeoning relationship with Conrad Anker, Alex’s best friend and a member of his climbing team on Shishapangma who lived to tell of what happened during the avalanche.

As Conrad Anker dealt with his survivor’s guilt, he and Jennifer found themselves growing closer together. They are now married and Anker has adopted Alex Lowe’s children. In Forget Me Not, Jennifer Anker-Lowe deftly weaves these stories of danger and redeeming love into an exciting and moving book. Ms. Anker-Lowe is an artist who grew up in Montana; her art work is in the corporate collection of the Patagonia clothing company, as well as the personal collections of Peter Fonda and Jeff Bridges.

For more information call 828.526.5488.

New hiking book aims to save state’s lookout towers

A new hiking book with an interesting theme — Hiking North Carolina’s Lookout Towers — will be the subject of a book signing from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, at the Mast General Store in downtown Waynesville.

The author, Peter Barr will also present a slideshow and discussion based on the book at 7:30 p.m. May 9 at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.

Barr, wrote the book in hopes of spurring the preservation of some of the state’s look-out towers.

“Fire lookouts in North Carolina are a dying breed,” said Barr. “About a third of the lookouts that once stood in the state are gone. Others are so badly deteriorated that they face removal. Most people assume that the towers on public lands are still maintained. Sadly, this is far from the case.”

Barr is the director of the state chapter of the Forest Fire Lookout Association, a group of enthusiasts who restore and protect lookout towers nationwide. The need for lookout towers was brought to the forefront in the summer of 1910, when lightning strikes in Montana and Idaho started hundreds of fires, many of which went undetected for days.

Within 20 years, fire lookouts dotted the North Carolina mountains. Some were stone structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Many were steel towers adapted from a windmill design. Now, after decades of harsh exposure to the elements on high mountaintops, they risk being lost.

“In addition to conserving and protecting our wild lands, it is paramount to also do so for our cultural resources,” says Barr. “These lookout towers not only offer great views, they are historic structures.”

The book promotes over two dozen towers as scenic landmarks accessible to almost anyone who enjoys a brisk walk in the outdoors.