High Infatuation: A Climber's Guide to Love and Gravity

I read High Infatuation as a way to gain some inspiration to keep me rock climbing and also to get some insight into the sport. Steph Davis is one of the top female climbers in the world and has accomplished several firsts for women in the sport so I was excited to get her book and read about her experiences. When I bought the book I had expected it to be more of a memoir, but I have to say I was really pleased with the essay format. High Infatuation is a collection of journal entries, photos and published articles by Davis as she finished difficult climbs through the years. While I probably would have preferred the essays to be in chronological order, or at least given more background so we understood where she was at the time and where she was coming from, I don't think it was necessary. Once I got to the end of the book I could see why she ordered it the way she did. If I had to read six essays about Patagonia in a row, I may have ended up getting bored with the book. Each of her quests was amazing to read about, with the last one (the Salathe wall in Yosemite) being my favorite. Her attempt of the Salathe in Yosemite was a difficult climb for her and it made me realize that even the pros still have challenges when it comes to climbing (that's why they're still climbing, right?). The photos in the book really helped me to understand better what she was talking about. They also made me want to get out and climb right away. Unfortunately my climbing partner has a bruised rib so we haven't been out in a few weeks, but hopefully we'll get out there before the weather gets too much warmer (it was 103 here yesterday!). This book definitely inspired me as much as I hoped it would ... but it also made me realize how much I still have to learn about rock climbing. There are about ten techniques I have written down that I have to go look up now and beg someone to teach me about. But then I just have to remind myself that Steph Davis has been climbing for more than 15 years and I feel a little better about my novice climbing skills. In the book I also loved the short clips she included. There was one about running that was only about two paragraphs long, but it was a beautiful image of running and why it feels so great. If you're a climber and want some inspiration (and tons of words you may not have heard before), then I'd recommend checking out this book.

Steph Davis has done it all in climbing and in life. This is one inspiring read that will have you selling up, packing the car and just wanting to climb. Details her career from humble beginnings at university, Patagonian epics, to first big wall ascents and Yosemite. Follow the tale of how one woman had the courage and will to live the life of her dreams.

As climber Steph Davis recounts her many adventures, travels, routes, and hang-ups, High Infatuation becomes a sort of journal, a stockpile of experience and reflection. When I began reading the book, I expected a standard narrative, a chronological movement through her climbing life. What I found instead was, as I mentioned, much more like a conversation with an energetic friend- one who tells a story as it comes to mind rather than as it happened. Depending on the sort of reader you are, this might be appealing or disappointing, but I imagine that, if you are a climbing enthusiast, you will enjoy it nonetheless. Davis does succeed at recounting her climbs with detail and drama. She introduces an emotional element into the sport that you just can't get from most climbing books. And she includes dozens of photos from her travels that add even more depth and realism to her stories. On the whole, Davis never lets the reader forget her humanness. She gives an honest account of her life as a climber and, perhaps more importantly, as a female climber. She is vulnerable, at times eloquent, at times not, full of questions, and persistent- in both her climbing life and her thinking life.

A climbing memoir, less self-obsessed and more literate than most, often humorous, sometimes philosophical. Contains chapters on various expeditions and adventures. I got tired of Davis' complaints about Yosemite rangers but otherwise would definitely recommend this to readers interested in the topic.

Steph gives an honest and open view into what drives her as a climber and as a human. She offers hope as to what is possible mentally and physically. She truely demonstrates how the decisions we make, sometimes in a quick second, can alter our lives forever. I will read this book again and again whether I am looking for inspiration in climbing and in life. thanks!