New York, 1989, 1st edition., 1989. 252 pp. Anthology of great climbing stories: Rowell, Clinch, Patey, Bates, Roberts, Tullis, Ridgeway, etc. Vermeulen, a climber and teacher, captures the essence of the sport in his selections -- from the agony of Maurice Herzog's descent of Annapurna, to John Muir on Mt. Shasta, to a frigid bivouac on Mt. McKinley (windchill, Minus 148F).
The material is arranged into five sections that illustrate climbers in action. One piece is an account of organizing a major expedition; other excerpts give details of tragedy on the high peaks, incredible feats of endurance, exhilaration and despair. Tenzing Norgay, who reached the summit of Everest with Hillary, describes his experience with sudden celebrity; Galen Rowell goes on a solitary hike in Yosemite; Eric Newby takes us on a walk in the Hindu Kush. Each journey is superb adventure. DJ, Fine-New.
