At thirteen, he learned to rappel when he joined the 1292 Lord Strathcone's Horse Army Cadets. Soon kicked out for insubordination, he was already hooked on climbing and saw alpinism as a way to make his single mother proud and end his family's cycle of poverty. He describes early climbs attempted with nothing to guide him but written trail descriptions and the cajones of youth. He slowly acquires the skills, equipment and partners necessary to tackle more and more difficult climbs, farther and farther afield: throughout the Canadian Rockies, into Alaska and the French Alps and on to Everest, Peru, and the challenging mountains in Pakistan. From each he learns lessons that only nature and extreme endeavor can teach.
This is the story of the culture of climbing in the days of punk rock, spurred on by the rhythm of adrenaline and the arrogance of youth. It is also a portrait of the power of the mountains to lift us -- physically, emotionally, intellectually,
Author: Barry Blanchard
No of Pages: 440
Page Size: 163 x 242 mm
ISBN 10: 1938340310
ISBN 13: 9781938340314
Publisher: Patagonia Inc
Published Date: September 2014
Edition: 1st ed: Sept 2014
Binding: Hardback
Illustrations: Colour and b&w photographs
Weight: 840g
