From Chamonix to the Himalayas to Peak Communism in the Pamirs, extreme climbing has been Twight's response to "stupidity and mediocrity" and at times it is even "a tool to forestall suicide." Following Extreme Alpinism, this volume collects more than 12 years of Twight's extreme outdoor journalism for such magazines as Climbing, Outside and Men's Journal. Punk rock lyrics pepper these essays, providing context and form for his rage, cynicism and obsessive, masculine drive. Avalanches, rotten ice, the deaths of fellow climbers, the rescue of others, dwindling food supplies, lost tents at 18,000 feet Twight survives mortal dangers and tragedies, writing, "No matter what I did, the suffering I experienced did not satisfy me. I had to have more." Twight's in-your-face style is both his strength and his weakness fans of Henry Rollins or Charles Bukowski may find a sport nut analogue in Twight. Deeply personal, arrogant, grandiose, thrilling and unapologetic, this record of his 15-year career will gratify and repel extreme athletes, their admirers and their detractors. 40 b&w photos.

Details

Paperback: 208 pages

Publisher: Mountaineers Books (February 2002)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0898868874

ISBN-13: 978-0898868876

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Reviews

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earthquakes

Wow!

Voted 5/5

Good read. You won't be disappointed. I picked this up because I was tired of reading all the other books that seem to be the same blah, blah, Everest, blah, Eiger, blah, K2, blah, Denali, blah, blah, blah. There needs to be more of this type book in the climbing community IMO.

This book is a collection of Mark's short stories/essays that he submitted to Climbing magazine and some other rags over the years. From climbing in Chamonix to the Himalaya to Alaska, he recounts his experiences there with the routes as well as with the people he climbed with and or met. He's not afraid to speak his mind either. He even criticized friends of his, Will Gadd, to name one. Mark is of the "Fast & Light" alpine style ascent school. Along with Steve House and Marko Prezelj (sp?), two climbers he's climbed with and whom he admires, he has openly criticized siege style and expedition style climbing.

Mark talks the talk and he walks the walk. Even though most of these chapters/articles were written before the book came out in 2000, he includes remarks about each article updated in 2000.

Posted Nov 14, 2007 4:47 pm

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