Signed copy, A Practice of Mountains by Andrea Mead Lawrence (1932-2009) and Sara Burnaby

New York: Seaview Books, 1980.

Signed: “Andrea Mead Lawrence/ Oslo 1952”

Andrea Mead Lawrence began skiing at age three at Pico Peak, the area founded by her parents Bradford and Janet in 1937. At ten, she started racing. At fifteen, she went to her first Olympics in St. Moritz 1948, as the youngest member of the team. In 1952, at the Oslo, Norway Games, she won the gold medal in the Giant Slalom by 2.2 seconds. Three days later, she won her second gold medal in the Slalom event. After falling in her first run, she came from fourth place to win gold by .8 seconds.  Andrea applied the same determination born from competitive skiing to environmental causes in Mono County, California, and the Sierra Nevadas. She was a leader in protecting open spaces, wildlife habitat, recreation areas, water resources, and air quality. She said, “A lot...has to do with the values that come out of being a Vermonter - a sense of community, a caring about where I live...I think people have a right to comment about the direction and quality of their community...”

This book, written in 1980, is relevant now as the world grapples with climate change.