Page 30 - 2015 AMA Autumn

Book Reviews
Written by Tomo Thompson
The books are reviewed let to right in the picture. The books that are listed as published by Vertebrate Publishing (of which Baton Wicks is part) are available at significant discount to AMA members, full details in the Members Area of the AMA website.
Title – Lake District / Mountain Landscape
Author – Alastair Lee
Publisher – Vertebrate: Price £25
Many of you will have seen a climbing or mountaineering film that has had Lee behind the camera. A man of many talents, this book is 176 pages of the mountains and high tops seen through the lens of a climbing cameraman. As well as gracing any coffee table, the book is also of immense use for spying potential routes in summer and winter, I found myself pulling out the FRCC guides and relating Lee’s outstanding photographs to identify crags. You might be relieved to read there are few “honey pot” photographs of the lakes and meres of this part of the world, the high mountains in often savage weather are to the fore here. Of particular note is the “Mountin Craft” chapter which includes superb photographs of climbers such as Dave Birkett on high mountain classics like Scafells East Face.
Title – In Some Lost Place
Author – Sandy Allan
Publisher – Vertebrate: Price £24
Had the Olympics not been taking place in 2012 the climb on which this book is centred may well have attracted immense multi-national attention,and justifiably so. Two blokes in their fifties achieve what ten previous expeditions had failed to do; ascend the ten kilometre long Mazeno Ridge to the 8126m summit of Nanga Parbat. “Epic” is a word tossed around modern mountaineering at will, but this route, and indeed this book, truly are epic. A three day descent after an eleven day climb tested the pair to the edge of their being. Awarded the Piolet d’Or for their climb, the book has also been shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker award. It is a brilliant book written with wit, perception and a true appreciation of the mountains, and deserves a place in any serious mountain
literature collection.
Sandy Allan lectured at the 2014 AMA AGM.
Title – A Dream of White Horses Author – Edwin Drummond Publisher – Baton Wicks: Price £10
I read a small bit of this book, and several of the reviews a few decades ago (it was originally published in 1987). Stuart Pregnall of Climbing Magazine considered it to be “the most challenging, disturbing and provocative piece of climbing literature” he had ever read, adding “the consistent brilliance of the writing is astounding”
I perhaps better start the review by saying it is definitely not everyones cup of tea. Part rant, part poetry anthology, part essay collection. The Boardman Tasker judges refused to even shortlist it, and multiple U.S. publishers rejected it. I found it a difficult read; jarring, hugely imaginative, nervous and edgey. Think the best of Mark Twight, Andy Kirkpatrick, John Edwards, Al Alvarez and John Redhead crushed up in to words, poems and actions. Definitely certificate eighteen; definitely thought-provoking; definitely a classic of the genre.
Title – The Storms / Adventure and Tragedy on Everest Author – Mike Trueman
Publisher – Baton Wicks: Price £12.99
This memoir by ex-Gurkha Officer, Trueman, gives a candid account of life on the inside of multiple expeditions to the Himalaya. In August ’79 he got his first taste of the savage potential of nature when he was caught in the storm that became known as the Fastnet disaster. Seventeen years later Trueman descended Everest during the May 1996 tragedy, using his two and half decades of military experience to co-ordinate the rescue effort at Base Camp. Three years later, Trueman summited Everest with Mike Matthews only for Matthews to disappear on the descent.
More than a fair share of close shaves and bad luck, but also a lifetime of deep experiences.
Title – The Beginners Guide for Climbers Author – Sophie Mirchell
Publisher – Rockfax: Price £9.95
I have put this book in to this review for one simple reason; in my humble opinion it is the best (by which I mean easy to understand) book to introduce the basics of climbing to children and teenagers. I have also given copies to adult novice climbers to help them consolidate their early lessons. The handbook of the National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme it is full of witty cartoons and jar- gon-busting explanations. The clincher is that the reinforced back cover has holes in it with a picture of a harness drawn over them so that the reader can practise tying-in (the book comes with a length of cord). If only all mountaineering technique books were this easy to understand !
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