On the Ridge Between Life and Death: A Climbing Life Reexamined

I'm a climber only in the sense that I have paid guides to lead me up big mountains, which in the climbing world doesn't count for much. But I have been cold and afraid in the mountains, enough to appreciate what Roberts is talking about. A few days before what was my biggest climb, I met a young Argentine who would die a few days later on Alpamayo. We heard the news on the radio our Peruvian porters listened to incessantly (yes, I used porters). Something that has always bothered me about real climbers is their attitude toward risk, which is a euphemism for death. The 'hard man' attitude that Roberts discusses is very real. It is just casually accepted that people die climbing, and that it is worth the risk. Roberts's unique honesty allows the reader to see where the hard man comes from. He does it by painting a fairly painfully unflattering portrait of himself. Maybe even more unflattering than he intended. I am not a very hard man, and I found his description of Ed's death on Mt. Huntington and the subsequent telling of his parents almost unbearably sad. As is his description of his disastrous high school love affair. Somehow, Roberts has managed to write a book that conveys the majesty of the grand ranges, and why climbing breeds obsession, without letting the tragedy, of which there is plenty, fade entirely into the background. He has also ruthlessly kept out the various hackneyed sentiments often found in mountaineering books. Not any Mark Twight type hard man preening here, and the brooding is more under control than in Joe Simpson's later books, though I like them as well. But,when the rat is gnawing, and you're wondering whether maybe your planned route is too ambitious, like maybe fatally so, this is not the book to read. Save it for a chair and a warm fire.

Wow! Having read many climbing narratives and essays, I was expecting more of the same--exciting adventure writing similar to war accounts. David Roberts' newest book has all the first-person nail-biting drama, of course, of putting up world-class routes in frozen wilderness, but the surprise here is the intelligent, unflinching inner dialogue off the mountain. Roberts has seen and experienced high risk, death and deprivation, has lost and gained much from his chosen battles, and has explored the consequences here in an amazingly conscious way. This rare book sheds a great deal of light on the reasons Roberts was drawn away from the safe, tame and mundane 'everydayness' of modern life, even as he fought the demons that drew him away from his quests, even as he became aware of the spreading ripples that emanated from his passion for the climbing life. Undoubtedly these internal struggles rage inside many who try to balance a burning love for earth's wild and dangerous places (climbers, explorers, kayakers, surfers...) against the tidal pull of human relations.

This book drew me in from start to finish. Being an avid climber myself I enjoyed reading about someone else so caught up in the lifestyle. I was swept away to the remote ranges of Alaska fully entertained by his stories of first ascents and failed attempts on some very respectable peaks. Just when I thought the book had climaxed and couldn't get any better, there he was, telling about another gripping climbing trip back to Alaska, or Canada, or a close call in the states. The book is laced with tragedy, both in his life, and his accounts of what has happened to others in the climbing community. Roberts evaluates what climbing has meant to him and what the impact has been on others. You don't have to be a climber to enjoy this book. Is it worth the risk?, read the book and decide for yourself.

Having read Roberts book, "Mountain of my Fear" I thought I was in for a great mountaineering read. Instead what I received is an introspective autobiography attempting to describe why he climbed and how his life developed. Raised in Colorado Roberts spent a substantial amount of time describing teenage influences that had profound effects on his life forever that he continually revisits in this book, a mountain tragedy and a personal tragedy not handled today in the same manner as the 1950/early 60s. His formative education at Harvard in mathematics gets sidetracked by his love for the mountains and the expeditions to Alaska to climb and conquer new peaks. Along the way his life forms not as a mathematician but a writer. Roberts describes in great detail the hardships and drive required to be a successful climber. And yes, he's seen his share of death and as described in the book, been very close to it himself. The next interesting facet of this book has him at a new-age college in New Hampshire teaching writing and running the outdoors program. Here he meets and helps shape a young obsessed climber, Jon Krakauer. In fact, Roberts takes credit for talking Krakauer out of a life as a carpenter into a career as a budding writer renowned for his book "Into Thin Air." The final part of the book brings closure to this interesting life and how he drifted away from the dangers of the mountain and why. This introspective look is fascinating as he ties his parents, early girlfriend and climbing partners into the web that is his life. If you have an interest in climbing or are interested in growing up in America from the 50s on, I think this book will be enjoyable. David Roberts is truly one of the great climbing writers of his generation and this is a worthy tribute to his legacy.

I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book as I have enjoyed reading David Roberts' other books on climbing and the Southwest. In this book Roberts' gives us an honest, revealing look at his early high school years through to the present day, concentrating on the various aspects of his life from climbing, teaching, and writing and what he gets out of each. He is directly involved in several climbing fatalities and yet continues climbing putting up many extremely difficult first ascents in Alaska. He examines his changing attitudes about the risks of climbing while reasessing the impacts the fatalities have had on his life and more importantly the families involved. Here we have a 62 year old who is looking back over his life, feeling pride over his accomplishments (justly deserved), shame over past behavior, and struggling through career choices, which can help all of us with our own moments of self evaluation. From reading Roberts' other books, I have wanted to know more about him. In this book, he shares his life with us, from the complexities of relationships with women to lifelong friendships he has made with the likes of Jon Krakauer, all interwoven with amazing climbing stories from Colorado to Alaska. Well written, and like usual, I kept a dictionary handy.