4. “I looked out the patio door a moment later and saw Greg, standing
barefoot in the snow, scooping up the fish with a shovel, and flipping it, like
that was the most normal thing in the world. And I guess, to him, it was. That’s
when I realized that he’s just not one of us. He’s his own species.” Lila Bishop
Mortenson’s mother-in-law makes this observation in Chapter 18. The family
is grilling salmon in the winter time, and she has asked Mortenson to turn the
fish. The event takes place during a time when Mortenson is undergoing a great
deal of stress as he adjusts to his role as a public figure, and he has found a
peaceful haven at Lila’s home, very near where he and Tara live. Mortenson
spends time in the basement of the Bishop home, poring over the mountaineering
library of Barry Bishop, Tara’s father, who died before Mortenson could meet
him. As she comes to know Mortenson better, Lila grows to share her daughter’s
admiration for him, agreeing that “there was something to this ‘Mr. Wonderful’
stuff.” Yet, like many others in the book, she realizes that Mortenson is so
different from the average person that it is often hard to understand
him.
Lila Bishop’s comment is important because it summarizes many of the
feelings about Mortenson shared in this chapter, while also putting those
feelings into perspective. We know that, during this period, long-time
supporters Jennifer Wilson and Tom Vaughan distanced themselves from the CAI
board because Mortenson would not agree to delegate responsibilities or account
for his time. As Vaughan observes, it was no good trying to exert control over
Mortenson because “Greg just does whatever he wants.” Tara expresses concern
over Mortenson’s lack of regard for his health, which is apparent in his
barefoot trip to flip fish in the snow. She is also unhappy about his lengthy
absences from home. Although Mortenson himself recognizes some of these problems
and tries to change his behavior, we know that he continues to live in his own
reality to a great extent. Lila Bishop, in calling Mortenson a “different
species,” recognizes just how unusual Mortenson is and why he finds it so
difficult to conform.
