The Library
brought to you by
FIFTY FAVORITE CLIMBS MARK KROESE
Mark Kroese interviewed 50 of the most accomplished climber of our generation and put together a list of their favorite climbs creating an book of epic climbs. I wouldn’t call it a guidebook but more like school book for history class. Jump inside the minds of Tommy Caldwell, Mark Twight, Russ Clune and Peter Croft. These guys tell the tales of their most personal challenges and controversies. Jump on a boat with Joe Terravecchia and follow the first ascent of one of the worlds most remote climbs in Devil’s Bay Newfoundland. The adventure starts after Joe catches wind of a remote cliff Earl Wiggins had seen while on a sailing tour in the area. Less than a year later, Joe, Karin Bates, and Casey Shaw went to investigate. From Yosemite to British Colmbia, Wyoming to Alaska, it is all here. The 50 favorite climbs in North America exposes the minds and souls of the climbers we follow and love. It is not just a coffee table book, it’s an adventure through climbing history.
THE ROSKELLEY COLLECTION JOHN ROSKELLEY
The Roskelley Collection weighs almost as much as my trad rack on some days, but don’t let its girth scare you away. A compilation of John Roskelley’s three books, this tome is intriguing for the author’s brutal honesty and as an insight into a legendary hardman’s technical, mental and emotional development. The journey starts with Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition, a gripping story of the ascent of a new route in India. The trek is full of big personalities (including Roskelley’s), a lack of clear leadership and climbers without the technical ability to complete such a difficult route. Roskelley is direct in his criticism of his team members, while at the same time acknowledging that some were put in impossible positions. The second book, Last Days, recounts the first ascent of Tawoche in Nepal with Jeff Lowe and an attempt on Menlungste. Written many years after Nanda Devi, one can see Roskelley’s maturity as he grapples with the demands of Himalayan climbing while balancing his family life. The collection finishes with Stories off the Wall, the author’s autobiography, which consists of a series of essays covering Roskelley’s experience in the Russian Pamirs, Yosemite, as well as climbing with his son and working in a mine. Read together, The Roskelley Collection gives the reader a true understanding of the author’s life. From his early days struggling with team dynamics to his grown up climbs in the Himalayas, Roskelley doesn’t hold back.