The Five College Film Festival returned for the first time in person since 2019, featuring screenings of films made by students and recent graduates of the Five Colleges on April 1, 2023, at Amherst College. An awards ceremony was subsequently held, in which two Mount Holyoke students were awarded prizes. Ayu Suryawan ’23 won Best Documentary Prize for their film “Loving, Moving Boy” and Olive Rowell ’24 won Best in College for Mount Holyoke with their film “Photo Album.”
On March 29, the department of film, media and theater hosted a screening of the film “Where the Pavement Ends,” followed by a student-moderated discussion with filmmakers Jane Gillooly and Khary Saeed Jones. “Beginning with a 1960s roadblock that divided then-white Ferguson from black Kinloch, the film depicts a micro-history of race relations in America.”
On March 2, the Odyssey Bookshop hosted Lydia Moland, author of “Lydia Maria Child: A Radical American Life,” published in October 2022 by the University of Chicago Press. Moland, a professor of philosophy at Colby College, provided a brief but comprehensive overview of Child’s work as an active proponent of abolition in the 19th century.
Michael Wejchert discussed his book “Hidden Mountains” at the Odyssey Bookshop on Jan. 26. Photo by Lucy Isaacs ‘25.
By Lucy Isaacs ’25
Staff Writer
On Jan. 26, the Odyssey Bookshop hosted Michael Wejchert, author of “Hidden Mountains: Survival and Reckoning After a Climb Gone Wrong,” published in January 2023 by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing. Wejchert opened the event by sharing an excerpt from the book, described by his website as “the story of a climbing adventure gone wrong in a remote Alaskan mountain range, the impossible rescue attempt that followed and the fraught cost of survival.” After the reading, he fielded questions from the audience, many of whom identified themselves as recreational climbers, and went on to explore ideas relating to faithfully capturing true tales of survival.
Although Wejchert was not involved in the accident that his book recounts, he is a climber himself, having traversed mountains from Alaska to Peru, and is currently serving as a climbing guide with Cathedral Mountain Guides, based in New Hampshire. “Hidden Mountains” is Wejchert’s first book, but he is hardly a stranger to writing and publishing about adventure, having had articles featured in publications like The New York Times, Alpinist and Ascent.
His recent book recounts the true and harrowing story of four climbers who experienced tragedy while making their way through the Hidden Mountains of Alaska when a potentially fatal accident prompted a rescue mission that would last nine hours. Though he only read a few pages aloud, the atmosphere in the room was palpably tense as Wejchert described the conditions under which Emmett Lyman became severely injured, falling out of the view of the three other climbers with whom he had embarked on this journey.
After reading the passage, Wejchert was quick to reassure the audience that Lyman had survived the ordeal, though stated that he could not resume climbing as a result of injuries to his brain and spinal cord. Wejchert reported that Lyman stated that he would still climb if he were physically able to, and the other three people involved in the incident remain recreational climbers today, undeterred by the traumatic event.
Wejchert retold the story faithfully, choosing not to shy away from the more horrifying details of the accident. He chose to share that the other climbers had admitted to him that they were initially determined to make their way to Lyman, not to save his life, but to be with him when he died. Wejchert spoke about the difficulty associated with interviewing the survivors of such a traumatic event, stating that one of the four climbers had requested their name be changed in the book for the purpose of anonymity.
Wejchert gave immense credit to the satellite messenger device used by one of the climbers, which allowed the group to communicate a distress signal to rescuers. Wejchert extended further praise to the rescue team, who made their way to Lyman despite perilous conditions. They recalled a conversation with the pilot in which they were told that the fog was so thick that he had almost no visibility as he attempted to lower down a pararescueman.
When describing what he believes to be his primary responsibility as the author of another person’s story, Wejchet stated that his paramount concern was honesty. However, he admitted that despite his dedicated and detailed reporting, he can never know with absolute certainty what details of the event his book omits or mischaracterizes.
“It could have been more exciting, like a traditional thriller, but I appreciate the way he wrote it. It was clearly more important for Wejchert as an author to stay true to the story instead of throwing in a little extra flair as a means of engaging the reader,” Katharine Kurdziel ’25, who attended the event, said.
Towards the end of the evening, Wejchert expressed a desire for his book to initiate conversations concerning wilderness rescue resources and how they might be updated. Characterizing the outdoors as “trending,” Wejchert argued that an increased number of climbers necessitates a more modern approach to search and rescue, while also urging all climbers to be thoroughly prepared before attempting potentially dangerous excursions. Describing his own experience with search and rescue, he admitted that there's only so much small groups like his can do for injured hikers and climbers.
“It was definitely a little aggressive, but I think it’s also a necessary and effective commentary about how little funding goes into these projects,” Kurdziel added in reference to Wejchert’s stark honesty.
After the event concluded, Wejchert conversed with members of the audience and signed physical copies of his book, which are currently for sale at Odyssey Bookshop.
“Where does the need for partnership/heteronormative gender roles in partnership come from in Jewish mysticism?” This was one of the essential questions explored by Mollie Leibowitz on Nov. 20, when the Office of Community and Belonging and the Mount Holyoke Jewish Student Union co-hosted “Torah Queeries: Jewish Mysticism, Relationship Dynamics & Queerness.” Leibowitz, who has served as a Springboard Ezra Jewish Education Fellow at the University of Vermont since August 2021, joined the conversation virtually and assumed the role of an active facilitator.
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, the Odyssey Bookshop hosted a discussion with author Margot Anne Kelley, author of “FoodTopia: Communities in Pursuit of Peace, Love & Homegrown Food,” published this August. Kelley was joined in conversation by Tyler Sage, who operates Sage Farm in Bernardston, Massachuestts, and was one of the many farmers featured in Kelley’s book.
