Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

While we were in Alaska’s Denali National Park, we attended a presentation about the brave (crazy) mountaineers whose passion was to scale the summit of Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.

The presenter — I’ll call him Mr. New Zealand after his country of origin — talked of the outer and inner gear one needed to climb such a mountain. Since he had not only stood on the top of McKinley but also on the top of Everest, the tallest mountain in the world, he spoke from firsthand experience.

While clothing has certainly changed since the first men reached McKinley’s summit almost one hundred years ago, the basics still include various types of shoes for various snow conditions, food, tents, ropes, and books to pass the time when the mountain forces climbers to hunker down and wait out a terrible blowing storm.Pared to the essentials, this list is similar to what one needs to survive at sea level.

Mr. New Zealand passed samples of these items among the audience members. Then he talked about the inner gear a mountain climber needs: desire, training, commitment, determination, and patience.I was struck by the notion that the required inner gear for climbing a world class mountain is the same as is required to write a world class book.

The New York Times Best Seller List is my Mt. McKinley.