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metoliusmunchkin
Jan 4, 2003, 12:51 AM
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Among others, who exactly is your favourite climbing author?
[ This Message was edited by: metoliusmunchkin on 2003-01-03 16:51 ]
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climbjs
Jan 4, 2003, 1:13 AM
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Pat Ament on John Gill!!!
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milesdesbrie
Jan 4, 2003, 1:18 AM
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John Long. Always fun to read.
I just finished "Kiss or Kill" and Mark Twight is newly among my favorites.
John Krakauer. "Eiger Dreams" is excellent.
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goingtohellquick
Jan 4, 2003, 5:12 AM
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John Krakeur (or however you spell it?) is the best. I have read almost all of his books, including Into the Wild, which i feel is the best non-climbing book by a climbing author. If you havent read it GO GET IT NOW!
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stevematthys
Jan 4, 2003, 5:39 AM
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walter bonatti's book is pretty good. it talks about the k2 controversy and many of his other ascents
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thrashclimber
Jan 4, 2003, 5:39 AM
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Mark twight kiss or kill my new bible
awsome book
great love life tells it how it is
i also am reading a book edid by john long high lonsome about soloing its pretty good its all about soloing storys awsome mark twights in it tomo cesen that one russian guy who first soloed everest? lol
adn i just bought american rock yesterday it seems like it will be an awsome book just from the pictures there is rock i' never new about in idaho nice ehh tetons
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goingtohellquick
Jan 4, 2003, 7:22 AM
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where did you get the soloing book from? I want to go get me a copy.
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peas
Jan 4, 2003, 7:33 AM
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John Long is one of my favs. I also like Tami Knights cartoons, although they used to be a lot better. I also just finished reading The White Spider by Heinrich Harrer and it was pretty intense.
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kalcario
Jan 4, 2003, 7:55 AM
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Tom Patey was the master of dry British humor, he had this Mark Twain-like sarcasm thing going on that always put me in stitches...
The ultimate climbing book is Lonely Challenge by Hermann Buhl, there would be crash pad bonfires all over the U.S. if all the boulderers read it and took it to heart...
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salathiel
Jan 5, 2003, 3:13 AM
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Greg Crouch's Enduring Patagonia is good The section about all the crap he goes through just to get to Patagonia is the definition of suffering.
Blur
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pbjosh
Jan 5, 2003, 3:48 AM
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Herman Buhl's writing/books are indeed great. For what it's worth, I think Bonatti's writing (not his climbing, just his writing) sucks the dog's balls, but Herman Buhl is just inspiring to read.
For a similar comparison, I really liked Jerry Kucuzka's book and don't care at all for Messner's writing... to each their own I guess.
For fun, John Roskelley is a great story teller and so is John Sherman - I recommend Stories off the Wall by Roskelley and Sherman Exposed by the latter.
Krakauer is actually an excellent writer and I enjoyed his stuff very much.
josh
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micronut
Jan 5, 2003, 4:02 AM
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It seems you have to be named John to be good, Roskelly, Long, Sherman, Krakaur, wierd?
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apollodorus
Jan 5, 2003, 4:09 AM
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Warren Harding's sardonic humor was classic. He had the gift of extreme ability mixed with self-deprecating humility. Few climbers were as keen at looking into the mirror and seeing what others saw.
Chuck Pratt had a great style that evoked the heaviness of the climbs to outsiders, but was also humorous and fun to read.
Royal Robbins was almost too factual and reporter-like, but he could break out with the occasional line that let the reader know he was human, and not some robot. His educational writing (Basic and Advanced Rockcraft books, etc.) are classics, only superseded by those who learned from them.
MOST of the TRs that I've found on the web and read are great. Climbing attracts a certain mix of intelligence and zaniness that comes through in the writing. Since many climbers are well-educated, their writing is top-notch from a purely formal point of view. The stories are well constructed, with all of the elements that make for engrossing and entertaining reading.
The fact that most TRs that get written deal with mini-epics and otherwise memorable experiences that most people will never have adds to their appeal.
Sadly, the multitude of campfire stories that deserved to be preserved in print never made it that far. Walt Shipley, for example, was widely known for his fine performances; I have never seen any of them documented for the benefit of the Reading Public.
*edited because I can spell when writing, only on the re-read*
[ This Message was edited by: apollodorus on 2003-01-04 21:12 ]
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benblake
Jan 5, 2003, 4:26 AM
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Joe Simpson is really cool, i loved "Touching the Void". (You know, the one where his partner, Simon yates, aslso a cool writer, cut the rope).
Maurice Herzog wrote some amazing stuff too. His account of the first ascent of Annapurna in 1950 still gives me the shivers.
rock on
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superpars
Jan 7, 2003, 7:53 PM
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Well,as my last post didnt get here
Ill just repeat myself
JOHN MUIR,JOHN MUIR,JOHN MUIR
oh and WH MURRAY !!!!!!!
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mainline
Jan 7, 2003, 10:03 PM
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Gaston Rebuffats' "Starlight and Storm" is a classic. Also Messner isn't a bad writer.
[ This Message was edited by: mainline on 2003-01-12 13:48 ]
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dino
Jan 11, 2003, 1:55 AM
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Good choice mainline. That would be Gaston Rebuffat. Starlight and Storm describes several classics done by Gaston and Co. in the late 40s and early 50s. He was a member of Herzog's Annapurna climb in 1950 as well as a guide in Chamonix. Anything the guy published is accompnied by fabulous photography.
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climber1
Jan 17, 2003, 5:30 AM
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John Long without a doubt. Krakauer is ok.
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climber1
Jan 17, 2003, 5:34 AM
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John Long without a doubt. Krakauer is ok.
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phyre
Jan 20, 2003, 2:26 AM
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I'm just finishing a "A Mountain too Far" by Karl Purnell. It's about him learning to climb in order to deal with the climbing death of his son. It's not extreamly happy but it is really good.
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chalkdusttorture
Jan 20, 2003, 2:45 AM
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Joe Simpson's "Touching the Void" is one of the best mountaineering book I Have read. All should give it a read.
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crux_clipper
Jan 20, 2003, 3:41 AM
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David Breshears "High Exposure" was the first novel i read of the genre, and is still my favourite.
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marcsv
Jan 31, 2003, 3:02 AM
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so far i've only read J. Long
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blackstripe
Jan 31, 2003, 3:11 AM
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I enjoy Pat Ament's writings, not only his books on climbing or his autobiography, but his poems are insperational too!How to be A Master Climber in Six Easy Lessons is a great book
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mnutz
Feb 9, 2003, 3:44 AM
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I just finished Greg Child's "Over The Edge".
The story of Caldwell, Rodden, Smith and Dickey's kidnap and subsequent escape from IMU rebels in Kyrgystan.
The book was really good. Lots of background info on the whole situation in central Asia.
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