Bob Culp recounts the story of the Northwest face of Chief's Head -- a climb which went unrepeated for eleven years. Royal Robbins writes ofhis amazing one-day ascents of the Diamond with Layton Kor. Kor describes the first winter climb of the Diamond. Pat Ament tells the story of the first ascent of the infamous Supremacy Crack.

JohnGill ponders the finer points of bouldering. Bill Forest shares hisexperiences on Colorado's big walls. Jim Erickson writes of the firstfree ascent of the Naked Edge, and Steve Wunsch tells of the first freeascents of Kloeberdanz, Jules Verne, and the Psycho roof.

Throughthese accounts the evolution of Colorado climbing is presented in itsentirety; from the carefree scrambles of the early days, through the'piton era' of the fifties and sixties, to the hardest free climbs ofthe seventies.'

In this book Godfrey and Chelton have broughttogether a collection of gripping tales of Colorado's most legendaryfirst ascents, from 1870 to the present day. Many of the accounts arepresented first hand by the pioneer climbers who did them. Tom Hornbeindescribes the Northwest Passage and the Hornbein Crack. Ray Northcuttgives his version of what really happened on the first ascent of theDiagonal, and also describes his ascent of what may well have beenAmerica's first 5.10 climb. Bob Culp recounts the story of theNorthwest face of Chief's Head -- a climb which went unrepeated foreleven years. Royal Robbins writes of his amazing one-day ascents ofthe Diamond with Layton Kor. Kor describes the first winter climb ofthe Diamond. Pat Ament tells the story of the first ascent of theinfamous Supremacy Crack. John Gill ponders the finer points ofbouldering. Bill Forest shares his experiences on Colorado's big walls.Jim Erickson writes of the first free ascent of the Naked Edge, andSteve Wunsch tells of the first free ascents of Kloeberdanz, JulesVerne, and the Psycho roof.

Through these accounts the evolutionof Colorado climbing is presented in its entirety; from the carefreescrambles of the early days, through the 'piton era' of the fifties andsixties, to the hardest free climbs of the seventies.'

Thecontributors -- several have climbed Mt Everest and other Himalaya& Karakoram giants -- include some of the greats of Americanmountaineering :

JACK MOOMAW -- Alexander's Chimney (1922).RUDOLPH JOHNSON -- Scaling the Flatirons (1923). BAKER ARMSTRONG -- TheFlatirons. JOE STETTNER -- Stettners Ledge (1927). TOM HORNBEIN -- TheNorthwest Passage (1949). HAROLD WALTON -- The Window (1950). DALEJOHNSON -- The Maiden: Northwest Overhang (1953). HARVEY CARTER --Garden of the Gods. RAY NORTHCUTT -- The Diagonal (1959) The First 5.10(1959). GERRY ROACH -- The First Ascent of T.2. (1959). HUNTLEY INGALLS-- The Glenwood Canyon Mudwall (1960). GEORGE HURLEY -- The GrandGiraffe (1960). DAVID REARICK -- The Diamond: First Ascent (1960).STEVE KOMITO -- Outer Space (1961). BOB CULP -- The N.W. Face ofChiefshead (1961). JACK TURNER -- Genesis: Colorado's First A.5 (1962).TEX BOSSIER -- The Diagonal Direct (1963). ROYAL ROBBINS -- Jack ofDiamonds (1963). PAT AMENT -- Supremacy Crack (1966). LAYTON KOR -- TheDiamond: First Winter Ascent (1967). LARRY DALKE -- X-M: First FreeAscent (1967). BILL FORREST -- Solo on the Diamond (1970). JIM ERICKSON-- The Naked Edge (1971). ROGER BRIGGS -- Diving Board (1971). DUNCANFERGUSON -- Wide Country (1972). HENRY BARBER -- Solo - Gorilla'sDelight (1973). MOLLY HIGGENS -- The Green Spur (1975). STEVE WUNSCH --Jules Verne (1975) Psycho (1975). DAVID BREASHEARS -- Perilous Journey(1975). JOHN GILL -- American Bouldering (1976). WAYNE GOSS & JIMLOGAN -- The Diamond: Free (1975).