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Fifty
elite climbers. Fifty of their favorite routes.
One
extraordinary book.
Mark Kroese knew that it would take
all the marketing skills he developed as a former
Microsoft executive to persuade fifty of this
generation’s most accomplished climbers to participate
in his latest ambitious project: a celebration in words
and dramatic full color photography of each climber’s
career and his or her all-time favorite route. It took 137
hours of interviews recorded on tape, 8,700 miles traveled
by car, 37,000 miles traveled by air, and 11 crags climbed
with his subjects during the interview process, but
Kroese’s dream has been realized. The Mountaineers Books
is proud to announce publication of FIFTY
FAVORITE CLIMBS: The Ultimate North American Tick List
Kroese—a
climber himself when not writing about the sport for
publications including Climbing, Outside,
and People—was inspired by Allen Steck and Steve
Roper's seminal 1979 work, Fifty
Classic Climbs of North America. Now Kroese, taking
the “fifty classics” concept to the next level, offers
a new book to inspire a new generation. This time, each of
fifty climbers from Conrad Anker to Jeff Lowe
to Tony Yaniro, from Roxanna Brock to Lynn
Hill to Alison Osius, selects his or her own
favorite rock or alpine route and tells the story behind
it. Each chapter creates the complete climbing experience
in four parts:
·
A revealing climber profile, including a
summary of his or her greatest accomplishments,
insights into training regimes and climbing
philosophies, and personal anecdotes.
- The story behind each climb and why it is that climber's favorite¾recounting
some of the greatest moments and dramatic ascents of
this generation.
- A detailed route description provided by the climber, most
including a personal topo map (many published here for
the first time).
- Beautiful full-color photos by Corey Rich, Galen Rowell, Bradford
Washburn, Gordon Wiltsie, and others among the
“who's who” of outdoor photographers.
The
author will donate 25 percent of the proceeds from this
book to the Access Fund, a national, nonprofit
organization dedicated to keeping climbing areas open and
conserving the climbing environment.
Climbers speak out
More than a stunning coffee table book, more
than a fully-detailed guidebook, FIFTY FAVORITE
CLIMBS is also a window into the lives of those who
have shaped the sport. Throughout fifty
up-close-and-personal interviews, Kroese’s subjects
discuss recurring themes, from why climbers climb, to
the importance of style in climbing, to breakthrough
experiences and rites of passage.
On
the pursuit of climbing
“To
me, [climbing] is an experience-oriented activity, not a
goal-oriented activity. I don’t care what I climb, I
just care about how it affects me.”
—Mark Twight
“To
me, climbing is about adventure and exploring beautiful
places with my friends.”
—Lynn Hill
On
the thrill of climbing
“Once you start doing these things, you get a knack
for it and you get hooked. You want that thrill, that
adrenaline rush of not knowing what’s ahead. It makes
you want to get out there and just do it.”
—Jared Ogden
On
humility in the mountains
“I’m not conquering anything. The key to
continued success is humility, you know, really admitting
that there is a lot of luck involved and that nature is
very powerful.”
—Alex Lowe
On
the ideal of alpinism
“To me, it’s about climbing the biggest feature
on the biggest mountains using as little gear and as much
skill as possible.”
—Steve House
“If
we need rope ladders to ascend the peak, then we’ve
climbed our ladders, not the mountain itself.”
—Todd
Skinner
On
being transformed by the sport
“It
was amazing. For the first time in my life, everything
just clicked…I’m really happy I found climbing. It
totally changed my life in many positive ways. It’s
given me a lot of direction.”
—Chris Sharma
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