36 VIEWS OF MOUNT TOM
Published in the November 15, 2025 issue.
When I lived in Swall Meadows, the right-hand picture window at the front of my house (which kind of jutted out like the bow of a ship) faced Mount Tom. And I found myself looking at Tom. A lot. And thinking that the hoi polloi had it all wrong. That Tom was the California mountain – even if it surrendered a few hundred feet to Whitney (13,658’ vs. 14,505’), or didn’t have the biographical story of Morrison.
And if not for the Round Fire, I’d still be looking down valley, south towards Tom. My favorite view.
Instead, I look westward at it every day from the trails cutting through the sagebrush off Reata Rd. In Bishop.
But for sure, I have a good, long look at Tom at least once a day.
So imagine my delight at the publication of Stephen Ingram’s new coffee table book, “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Tom.”
Ingram lived down the street from me in Swall and also lost his home in the Round Fire but has built a lovely home in its stead.
Though in his essay about the Round Fire which appears in the book, the understated Ingram doesn’t mention his loss.
I visited Stephen last week to get a first look at the book and to talk about his inspiration for it.
… Which are the Japanese artist Hokusai’s “36 Views of Mount Fuji” as well as the collaborations of Poet Gary Snyder and Wood-Cut Artist Tom Killion, who published both “The High Sierra of California” and “Tamalpais Walking.”
The when of Ingram’s inspiration? Fall 2003.
Why did it take so long to come together? The better question might be, how did you get it done so quickly?
As Ingram writes in essay #2 (there’s an essay accompanying every photograph, or ‘view’), “The mind-boggling timeline from the formation of the Sierra Nevada Batholith – the Sierra’s granitic core – to its current shape stretches over 300 million years.”
So 22 years to finish the book is quite speedy.
The research and writing took him the most time. As for the photos, they came incrementally. Good ones replaced by better ones over the years.
Reminiscent of Neil Young writing 126 verses for “Sugar Mountain,” before ultimately choosing four to include.
Ingram’s favorite shot to get? That appears on page 36 (essay #13), the product of a solo backpack 10 miles in to the headwaters of Pine Creek.
In terms of help in putting Ingram’s self-published book together, he assembled a whole lot of pros to make it happen.
Joe Reidhead essentially served as editor/designer. Wife Karen Ferrell-Ingram (Fmr. Eastern Sierra Land Trust Exec. Director, English major and avid reader), Sally Gaines and Robin Morning helped with copy-editing and structure.
Renowned geologist Allen Glazner shepherded Stephen through the subject matter in the opening “physical setting” section.
As for Stephen, the book served as an excuse to appear productive to the larger world while he indulged in a passion project.
Fortunately for us, Ingram’s passion is backed by a boatload of insight and talent.
He’ll be appearing at a book release party at C5 Studios in Bishop on November 21 from 5-6:30 p.m. That event will feature a slideshow and talk.
The book goes on sale to the general public on November 22. Look for it at Spellbinder Books in Bishop and at the Booky Joint in Mammoth.
