It happened in seconds. One moment, Jill Kinmont was the golden girl of American skiing, a lock for the 1956 Winter Olympics, and the next, she was a body sliding down a mountain in Alta, Utah, unable to feel anything below her shoulders. If you’ve ever picked up The Other Side of the Mountain book—originally titled A Victory Over Tragedy by E.G. Valens—you know it isn't just a "sports story." It is a brutal, honest, and surprisingly unsentimental look at what happens when a life-defining dream is deleted in an instant.
Most people today know the name because of the 1975 film starring Marilyn Hassett. The movie is fine, honestly. It’s got that 70s melodrama vibe and a sweeping soundtrack. But the book? The book is different. It’s grittier. It deals with the actual mechanics of quadriplegia in a way that movies in the 70s just weren't ready to show.
Jill was only 18. Think about that.
The Snow Was Just Too Fast
The 1955 Snow Cup was supposed to be her coronation. Kinmont was the reigning national slalom champion. She was fast—maybe too fast for the safety standards of the 1950s, which were basically nonexistent compared to today’s padded gates and high-tech helmets. In The Other Side of the Mountain book, Valens describes the crash with a terrifying lack of fluff. She hit a bump, lost her positioning, and flew into a spectator before crashing into a tree.
Her neck was broken.
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The book spends a significant amount of time in the hospital, and this is where Valens earns his keep as a writer. He doesn't shy away from the boredom, the physical pain of the "halo" brace, or the psychological torture of a girl who used to fly down mountains now having to learn how to move a spoon. It’s heavy. But it’s real. You feel the sterile smell of the wards and the frustration of a teenager who just wants to go home to Bishop, California.
What the Movie Left Out About Dick Buek
If you’ve seen the film, you remember the romance. Dick Buek was the "Madman of Donner Pass," a legendary skier who was basically the personification of "live fast, die young." In the movie, their relationship is framed like a Hollywood tragedy. In the actual text of The Other Side of the Mountain book, it’s a bit more complicated and, frankly, more interesting.
Buek was a chaotic force. He had survived his own horrific crashes and lived with pins in his knees and a plate in his head. He wasn't just a love interest; he was a mirror for Jill. He represented the world she could no longer belong to. When he died in a plane crash shortly after her accident, it wasn't just a lost love. It was the final severance of her tie to her old life. The book handles this with a sort of stunned silence that the movie replaces with swelling strings.
Honestly, the way Jill processed grief while paralyzed is one of the most moving parts of the narrative. She couldn't pace the floor. She couldn't throw things. She just had to sit with it.
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A New Kind of Victory
Success in sports is usually measured by medals. In this story, success is measured by Jill becoming a teacher. That sounds like a "feel-good" ending, but the book reveals the massive hurdles she faced just to get a teaching credential.
The Los Angeles school system basically told her "no." They thought a woman in a wheelchair would be a "distraction" or a "liability." It was blatant discrimination, decades before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) existed. Jill didn't just fight her body; she fought a bureaucracy that wanted her to stay home and be quiet.
Why We Are Still Talking About It in 2026
We live in an era of "inspirational content" that often feels manufactured. Jill Kinmont’s story survives because it feels earned. When you read The Other Side of the Mountain book, you aren't reading a Hallmark card. You're reading about a woman who had to reinvent her entire identity from scratch.
- Authenticity: Valens used Jill's own journals and interviews.
- The Reality of Disability: It discusses the lack of accessibility in the 50s and 60s without being overly preachy.
- Sporting History: It captures a dangerous, wild era of American skiing that is long gone.
Jill eventually moved back to Bishop. She taught remedial reading. She painted. She lived a full, long life until she passed away in 2012 at the age of 75. She outlived the doctors' initial expectations by decades.
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How to Approach the Story Today
If you're looking to dive into this story, don't just watch the YouTube clips of the movie. Track down a vintage copy of the book. The prose has a mid-century sharpness to it that fits the rugged Sierra Nevada setting.
- Read for the nuance: Pay attention to the sections on her rehabilitation. It’s a masterclass in perspective.
- Contextualize the era: Remember that Jill was navigating a world without ramps, specialized vans, or voice-activated tech. Everything she did was a manual struggle.
- Look for the 1978 sequel: There is a second book and movie (The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2) that covers her later life and her marriage to John Boothe, but the first book remains the definitive text on her accident and initial recovery.
The real "other side" of the mountain wasn't just the valley below. It was the decades of life Jill lived after the cheering stopped. She proved that while a mountain can break a body, it’s a lot harder to break a person's utility in the world.
To get the most out of this story, start by researching the Jill Kinmont Boothe Foundation. It continues her legacy by providing scholarship funds for students with physical disabilities, proving that her "victory" is still happening long after the final page is turned. Seek out the 1966 Harper & Row edition of A Victory Over Tragedy for the most complete, unedited version of Valens' original work.