David Fletcher knew better, but he had acted in a moment of panic and with his ice hammer had killed the young cub. A veteran mountaineer at the outset of a solo climb up Alaskas Mount Hess, Fletcher realized that he took every next step in mortal danger, for the fiercely protective mothers of bear cubs never stray far from their young. And just the day before, hed been warned never to underestimate the grizzly, because they are mean, they are natural killers, and above all, they can think. In this incredible true-life adventure Fletcher recounts with breathtaking immediacy t only his exhausting and exhilarating conquest of Mount Hess but also his battle with the giant grizzly bearten feet tall and weighing three tons, with paws wider than a strong mans chestthat stalked, hunted, frequently outwitted, and, finally, on his descent, furiously attacked him. The hazards of the rugged Alaskan terrain, serial avalanches, and blinding polar sw storms pale in comparison to Fletchers elemental struggle with this vengeful grizzly. She cuts him off from his food supply. She repeatedly corners him. On one occasion, the long talons of her mammoth paws rake his climbing boots as he hangs from a rope only inches out of her reach. And continually she taunts him with a strange intimacy in a deadly game that they play out in ice tunnels, on glacial lakes, and in precipitous crevasses. Hunted is a book that takes you thereinto the awesomely beautiful and perilous heart of the Alaskan interioras David Fletcher unfolds the gripping, suspenseful tale that, remarkably, he has lived to tell.