So i’m a couple of books through my whirl wind tour of big named climbing autobiographies. This weekend I finished one that I’ve been wanting to read for a while, Joe Brown’s 'The Hard Years’. Having climbed a few of his routes in the past and usually felt like they where graded a bit optimistically, it was nice to get to know a little more about the person behind the name in the guide books and the legend that is Joe Brown.
The book book is full of stories about Wales, (mostly snowdonia, and Cloggy), the Alps and further afield. The book also describes some of the archeological work that he did in Petra and Persia. The book, as you can imagine is written mostly for climbers, with little or no description of what phrases mean, which is nice for a change! For a climber’s autobiography it is also surprisingly well written. Following a nice sequence making it easy to put down and pick back up again, if you can put it down.
It was interesting to find out about his help with an archeological dig in Persia in the ancient Assassin city of Alamut, where they where hoping to find treasure in previously unexplored caves. Due to their inaccessible position owning to overhanging rock it was Joe’s job to climb up and set up ladders and safety lines for access.
On the other hand reading this book will defiantly motivate you to get out and go climbing! I know Clogwyn is defiantly on my list of places to visit when I’m next around that area now.
Another good point is that it does not solely focus on one area of Joe’s climbing/career, but talk about a mixture of things, and how he evolved as a climber through a period when many things where changing, along with the introduction of vibram climbing shoes, moving away from the nail boots which where common place before.
Reading this book will also make you wonder how these climbers managed to climb such hard routes in either socks. tennis shoes or nail boots. Joe Brown has had a life full of adventure and this book talks about such a small portion of it. I would recommend this to friends to read, so go out and get reading when the weather is rubbish or dark!
For the last few days I have been popping in and out of Andy Kirkpatrick’s 1001 Climbing tips and I plan on writing a blog post of that maybe in a weeks’ time, (really excellent so far). However I also have 'Space Below My Feet' coming as really want to learn more about Gwen Moffat after seeing Operation Moffat on the BMC website over the winter.
The book book is full of stories about Wales, (mostly snowdonia, and Cloggy), the Alps and further afield. The book also describes some of the archeological work that he did in Petra and Persia. The book, as you can imagine is written mostly for climbers, with little or no description of what phrases mean, which is nice for a change! For a climber’s autobiography it is also surprisingly well written. Following a nice sequence making it easy to put down and pick back up again, if you can put it down.
It was interesting to find out about his help with an archeological dig in Persia in the ancient Assassin city of Alamut, where they where hoping to find treasure in previously unexplored caves. Due to their inaccessible position owning to overhanging rock it was Joe’s job to climb up and set up ladders and safety lines for access.
On the other hand reading this book will defiantly motivate you to get out and go climbing! I know Clogwyn is defiantly on my list of places to visit when I’m next around that area now.
Another good point is that it does not solely focus on one area of Joe’s climbing/career, but talk about a mixture of things, and how he evolved as a climber through a period when many things where changing, along with the introduction of vibram climbing shoes, moving away from the nail boots which where common place before.
Reading this book will also make you wonder how these climbers managed to climb such hard routes in either socks. tennis shoes or nail boots. Joe Brown has had a life full of adventure and this book talks about such a small portion of it. I would recommend this to friends to read, so go out and get reading when the weather is rubbish or dark!
For the last few days I have been popping in and out of Andy Kirkpatrick’s 1001 Climbing tips and I plan on writing a blog post of that maybe in a weeks’ time, (really excellent so far). However I also have 'Space Below My Feet' coming as really want to learn more about Gwen Moffat after seeing Operation Moffat on the BMC website over the winter.
RSS Feed
