Climb
Edited by Kerry L. Burns and Cameron M. Burns
Who knew that first ascents were hidden in the depths of Harlem, or that the original Colorado dirtbags wore deerskin trousers?
Climb’s 15 stories run the gamut of the sport’s multi-faceted pursuits. If you are a boulderer, trad climber, alpinist, or peak bagger, there is a story for you.
Opening with “Mind Games,” by David Pagel, the book offers a tale of beginning gumbyism, as the author and his friend leave their toprope crags of Minnesota and hit the road, visiting America’s fabled rock destinations of the 1980s. Of his first impression of Eldorado Canyon, Pagel writes, “Nothing looked even remotely big enough to fit the visions of this place that our imaginations had conjured.”
Like Pagel and his friend, Climb rolls along, traveling back and forth in time. Tales such as Isabella Lucy Bird’s 1879 ascent of Longs Peak are intriguing. Bird’s description of Jim, her climbing guide, is amusing. Over his baggy deer-hide pants is a leather shirt, covered in three or four unbuttoned vests: As she writes, “[H]e was as awful-looking a ruffian as one could see.”
The collection is a unique blend of tales, extending from the 1300s (the ascent of Mont Ventoux) to the near present. Though gems are often found, the ancient language also slows the pace of Climb, and the juxtaposition seems disjointed at points. Unfortunately Climb lacks a story written in the last decade.
Perhaps the standout story is Josh Lowell’s account of bouldering in the heart of New York City. As two titans of East Coast bouldering, Obe Carrion and Ivan Greene, battle for first ascents, Lowell captures their knack of finding inspiration in the strangest places. If you were not subscribing to Rock and Ice in 1999, when this story was first published, then pick up a copy of Climb.
Freestone Press 