Caldwell's odds-defying feat was the culmination of an entire lifetime of pushing himself to his limits as an athlete.This engrossing memoir chronicles the journey of a boy with a fanatical mountain-guide father who was determined to instill toughness in his son to a teen whose obsessive nature drove him to the top of the sport-climbing circuit. Caldwell's affinity for adventure then led him to the vertigo-inducing and little understood world of big wall free climbing. But his evolution as a climber was not without challenges; in his early twenties, he was held hostage by militants in a harrowing ordeal in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Soon after, he lost his left index finger in an accident. Later his wife, and main climbing partner, left him. Caldwell emerged from these hardships with a renewed sense of purpose and determination. He set his sights on free climbing El Capitan's biggest, steepest, blankest face--the Dawn Wall. This epic assault took more than seven years, during which time Caldwell redefined the sport, found love again, and became a father.The Push is an arresting story of focus, drive, motivation, endurance, and transformation, a book that will appeal to anyone seeking to overcome fear and doubt, cultivate perseverance, turn failure into growth, and find connection with family and with the natural world.

    Through interviews with some of North America's most notable climbers the book undertakes a quest to find the soul of climbing-- asking what compels men and women to dedicate their lives to the challenges and deprivations of living in a vertical world? What are the sacrifices and what are the rewards? And most importantly, can the lessons learned on cliff faces, frozen waterfalls, and alpine peaks-- lessons of respect, discipline, commitment, humility and simplicity--be brought home and used to benefit society as a whole?

    Love of climbing mountains has lead Swenson to the summits of some of the highest and most dangerous peaks in the world. But over the years, he developed a deep respect for the rugged landscapes and local people found the remote Karakoram Range in South Asia. Readers join him on the trail for numerous attempts on these 8000-meter peaks, getting an intimate look at everything from expedition dynamics among his various climbing partners to the logistics of trip planning. Especially rewarding is the fond relationship that develops between Swenson and Rasool, one of the Balti porters that he becomes close to.

    A man who against expedition orders drove his tractor to the South Pole; a man honoured around the world for his pioneering climbs yet who collapsed on more than one occasion on a mountain, and a man who gave so much to Nepal yet lost his family to its mountains.The author, Michael Gill, was a close friend of Hillary’s for nearly 50 years, accompanying him on many expeditions and becoming heavily involved in Hillary’s aid work building schools and hospitals in the Himalaya. During the writing of this book, Gill was granted access to a large archive of private papers and photos that were deposited in the Auckland museum after Hillary’s death in 2008. Building on this unpublished material, as well as his extensive personal experience, Michael Gill profiles a man whose life was shaped by both triumph and tragedy.Gill describes the uncertainties of the first 33 years of Hillary’s life, during which time he served in the New Zealand air force during the Second World War, as well as the background to the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, when Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit – a feat that brought the pair instant worldwide fame. He reveals the loving relationship Hillary had with his wife Louise, in part through their touching letters to each other. Her importance to him during their 22 years of marriage only underlines the horror of her death, along with that of their youngest daughter, Belinda, in a plane crash in 1975. Hillary eventually pulled out of his subsequent depression to continue his life’s work in the Himalaya.Affectionate, but scrupulously fair, in Edmund Hillary – A Biography Michael Gill has gone further than anyone before to reveal the humanity of this remarkable man.

    Many climbers have seen the value of a carefully planned out, periodized training program. Clearly, such programs work, but many of us can't stick to such a rigid schedule. What if there were a better way? What if there were a more flexible way of planning that provided the same great results? And what if such a program allowed you to maintain high levels of climbing performance much longer than you could on a traditional program? For the climber that has limited time to train, there may be no better program than Logical Progression. For anyone who wants to get fit and stay fit for long trips and redpoint seasons, the program outlined in this book can give you a great advantage. Based on solid science and tested by hundreds of climbers, Logical Progression is a simple and very effective way of organizing your training, and making sure that progress keeps coming.

    Covering everything from rope systems and belaying to advice on group dynamics and rescuing, the manual combines practical how-to instruction with clear graphics, illustrations, and awe-inspiring alpine imagery.

    There are profiles of two stars of the 1980s: the much-loved German Kurt Albert, the father of the ‘redpoint’, and the enigmatic rock star Patrick Edlinger, a national hero in his native France who lost his way.In Crazy Wisdom, Douglas offers fresh perspectives on the impact mountaineering has on local communities and the role climbers play in the developing world. The final essay explores the relationship between art and alpinism as a way of understanding why it is that people climb mountains.

    In each case, we analyze what went wrong, helping climbers prevent or survive similar situations in the future. The 2017 Know the Ropes section is dedicated to the fundamentals of building belay anchors. Danger Zones analyzes accidents in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado, helping climbers plan safer ascents of traditional climbs. Many Essentials stories and other sidebars teach critical climbing and first-aid skills.