What starts out as a seemingly impossible dream conceived as a teenager, turns into John's personal quest to stand on top of the highest point of every state in the United States of America. He almost accomplished his dream, but on a high ridgeline on his 44th mountain, he was struck by a bolt of lightning in the midst of a freak storm. The fear that hit him at that moment prevented him from ever climbing another mountain again. Many challenges and obstacles faced John during his adventures, but he was always able to persevere until that fateful day on top of Utah when all his highpointing hopes and dreams were gone in a painful flash of light. This pain was not only physical, but played on his mental state as well. This dream that he had worked so hard for and spent so much time and energy on was taken away by fears he did not know he had; fears that were not understood. These fears brought White's highpointing dream to an abrupt end at the base of Borah Peak, Idaho's highest mountain just months after his terrifying experience. 48 Mountains is the exhilarating story of his quest and a moving reflection on the nature of fear.