Page 20 - 2016 AMA Spring

BookReviews By Tomo Thompson
Let’s Go Climbing Colin Kirkus
Kirkus wrote this book in 1939, and it was published in ’41. The Wellington bomber that Kirkus was a navigator on in 1942 failed to return from a raid and was lost over the North Sea. Kirkus left two indelible marks on British mountaineering; a magnificent series of rock climbs, and this unique guide to the skills and techniques required for the art and craft of climbing. It ought to be sufficient in a review of a climbing book to simply state that Joe Brown and Don Whillans have both referenced the book as being hugely influential to them. Well if it’s good enough for them .....
Imagine you had a father or grandfather that was a very very talented climber and that they had written you a “how to” guide to climbing in a caring, approachable, hand-on-the-shoulder style. A book that paired advice with anecdote and practical application, and was very easy to read. If you have such a relative then you’re very lucky; if not then Kirkus has written one for you. Colin Wells described Kirkus’s writing style as “ .... delivered with a warmly paternal reassurance which would make the parents of any middle- class 1940s schoolchild happy to send their adorable little bunny
off to tackle the Eigerwand” !!!
Anyone interested in the evolution of climbing in Britain will find the book of interest. The current reprints of the book from around 2004 carry several pages of warnings about how some of the techniques and systems in the book are outdated. Indeed the drive for repub- lishing the book was as a historical narrative rather than a modern instructional book. Hopefully, when you read about belaying without karabiners, or putting nails through your climbing boots you’ll appreciate that a few things have moved on
since the thirties.
There are copies of this book on the web for a mere £2. Any discerning climbers
bookshelf isn’t complete without it.
Punk In The Gym Andy Pollitt
Once upon a time there was breeches
woollen socks and fibre pile jackets in climbing. Then along came Pollitt. All lycra tights, Hollywood looks, vests, fags and the ability to establish and repeat some of the hardest routes in the 80’s and 90’s.
Like many a climber, Pollitt’s story begins with a chance encounter with climbing through a school teacher. Hooked, like many, it began to take over his life, and then became his life. This book, more so than many climbing biographies of that era, dives as deeply in to the “human cost” of the climbing as well as the prowess of being among the very very best of his generation. As an analysis of just what it takes to be that good, the book pulls no punches. The self-doubt, the depression, the drinking, the womanising, the injuries, and bigger and bigger run-outs in life as well as on the rock.
The “inside story” of his early repeats of outstanding routes like The Bells The Bells! On North Stack Wall, as well as his own routes like The Hollow Man (E8 at Gogarth) and Knockin’ on Heavens Door on Curbar (given E9 and described as “desperate” and “high in the grade”) are here in detail. I will recommend the book, massively. I won’t spoil the ending however. Forty four days spread over three visits on a route located on the other side of the world is really quite some commitment.
One of the very best biographies of the era. Available at discount to AMA members from Vertebrate Publishing (see AMA website members area for details).
Make or Break (Don’t let climbing injuries dictate your success)
Dave Macleod
“Getting strong is easy, getting strong without getting injured is hard”- Wolfgang Gullich
In an interview about the book with UKC, Dave wrote the following; “Basically I want to help other climbers enjoy their climbing. I set out to write the book on how to maintain your body as a lifelong athlete that I wish I’d had when I was 16. I’d certainly have climbed a lot more and harder if I’d had it. Receiving all of the feedback I’ve had from 9 out of 10, I get reminded every day that knowledge I’ve gained the hard way over 20 years can be so effectively spread through the medium of books. Specific and reliable knowledge on how to deal with climbing injuries is very hard to come by. With the internet, there is more poor quality, non-specific and downright dangerous advice that you could ever trawl through. It’s pretty ironicthattheinformationyoureallyneed(thehighqualityscientific research) is largely hidden behind a paywall unless you are part of an academic institution....So the book is a shortcut to getting the key information from the cutting edge of research out to the climbers who are suffering the injuries.”
So, if that doesn’t persuade you to buy it nowt will. I wonder, had Dave had all of this information 20 years ago, how much harder
18 ARMY MOUNTAINEER
AMA Spring 2016 text.indd 18 01/07/2016 15:41