Kerry Burns - Climb: Tales of Man Versus Boulder, Crag, Wall, and Peak

Praise for Climb:

A great anthology that captures the humor, epics, and magic of the game we play.

Sir Chris Bonington, acclaimed British mountaineer and author

Climbers usually have more on their minds than putting pen to paper, such as getting to the next route alive. This lack of time or concentration leads to many dull accounts for those who lazily rise to the occasion. But here, in Climb, the editors have gone to the trouble of scouring the vast body of climbing literature and pulling forth some of the most varied and lyrical pieces of our strange pastime. Its unusual and wonderful to see an account of an ancient French adventure coupled with an eloquent book review-and, of course, all sorts of other fascinating material. Well done!

Steve Roper, noted climber, author, and historian of the Sierra Nevada and founding editor of Ascent

This collection of mountain tales brings together some of the finest and most important stories in climbing history. I am delighted to rediscover many of my favorite treasures, and surprised that Id overlooked a few that were equally good. Here is mountaineering distilled to its essence.

John Harlin, climber, author, and editor of American Alpine Journal

Kerry and Cameron Burns have compiled an eclectic mix of articles and short stories that span the rich history of our sport, from playful humor to the distinctly serious. For me, one gem is a previously unpublished account of the first British ascent of the Bonatti Pillar, which provides new insight of both events and the (now legendary) players of this simply epic tale.

Lindsay Griffin, acclaimed British mountaineer

If you want to learn why the best climbing narratives transcend the adventure genre and speak through the ages, read Climb.

John Long, legendary climber and adventure writer

Glistening narratives from climbings best story tellers.

John Middendorf, American big wall climber and developer of climbing equipment

The Burnses have done a magnificent job of distilling the climbing experience in their selection of writings for this anthology. These accounts by various authors from the 14th century to the present recount every kind of tale from early traditional alpine ascents (to reach summits) to the more varied forms of climbing we now see in the 21st century.

This book is more than just a collection of stories about climbing. These epics recount triumph and tragedy as well as the foibles of humankind itself, exploring the depths of the human psyche. Add this one to your book collection!

Ed Cooper, American climbing author and mountain photographer

Copyright 2012 by Morris Book Publishing, LLC

Previous edition published in 2005 by Lyons Press

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

FalconGuides is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.

Falcon, FalconGuides, and Outfit Your Mind are registered trademarks of Morris Book Publishing, LLC.

All photos by Cameron M. Burns unless otherwise noted

Project editor: David Legere

Text design: Sheryl Kober

Layout artist: Maggie Peterson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Climb : tales of man versus boulder, crag, wall, and peak / edited by Kerry L. Burns and Cameron M. Burns.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7627-7149-3

1. Mountaineering. 2. Rock climbing. I. Burns, Kerry L. II. Burns, Cameron.

GV200.C584 2012

796.522dc23

2011033824

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Mary Jessica Burns, ne Murdoch, for tolerating all this foolishness with humor and unflagging support.

This book would not have been possible without help from many people.

First, a huge thank-you to Beth Heller, Adam McFarren, Alex Depta, and Gary Landeck at the American Alpine Club Library in Golden. Also, for inspiration and ideas, thanks go to David Stevenson, John Harlin III, Dougald MacDonald, Glen Denny, Steve Roper, Layton Kor, Allen Hill, John Catto, Stewart Green, Eric Bjornstad, and Ed and Debby Cooper. Thanks also to Jess Haberman at GPP for pushing us along through the gathering process.

We also want to thank Peter and Sue Burns, Jill Murdoch, Pat Webb, Heather and Rod Gough, Michael Burns and Jan Newall, and Rob and Kian Murdoch.

Thanks to our fellow adventurers: Ann, Zoe, and Mollie Burns; Mike, Penny, Jessie, Nattie, and Katie Sandy; Glenn, Gillian, Ryan, Kelsea, and Jamie Haste; Bob and Sylvia Robertson; Benny Bach; Angie Moquin; Charlie French; Amory Lovins; Luke and Mel Laeser; and Diana and Carlo Torres.

Thanks also to the handful of noted climbers/authors who endorsed this book, including: Ed Cooper, John Harlin III, Steve Roper, Chris Bonington, Lindsay Griffin, John Middendorf, John Long, and Pete Athans.

The selection of stories you hold in your hands started out in an altogether different formClassic Climbing Storiesthat we pulled together for Lyons Press in 2005. While those stories were and remain fascinating, in late 2010 Globe Pequot Press suggested we take another look at the stories gathered therein. So we started looking around, primarily at more modern stories.

One of the remarkable things about climbing literature is its evolution, which has always reflected the evolution of the sport itself. Until about the early twentieth century, most climbing stories, for example, followed a fairly routine path: a description of the objective, the events of the ascent, then a bit of a summationand maybe a brief mention of the wonder of nature and some Divine force.

By the early twentieth century, however, things had changed dramatically. Climbers (still mostly men) were not only talking about conquering features of the Earths crust, they were also writing about everything from the mundane to the surreal to, wonderfully, the imagined (which has by far the biggest presence in climbing). We began to read about how fingers can hurt, how motivation can wane, and how uncertainty can play on psyches.

David Browers 1939 retelling of his climb of the Yosemite Point Couloir with Morgan Harris and Torcom Bedayan is a great example. Certainly, theres a lot of the traditional climbing-story stuff going on, but Brower actually admits to cheating while climbing. Browers account is no lynchpin in the art of climbing storytelling, but it points the way.

If you discount the 1940s because of World War II, what started in the 1930s continued in the 1950s and 1960s, and certainly in the 1970s and 1980s. Climbers werent just writing about fear and uncertainty. They were writing about how companions can stink (in both ways), how bodily functions can become urgent, and what the person on the other end of the rope might be thinking and/or saying, to the point of quoting his lines for him. We also got to hear about death and all its long-lasting consequences for the living.