Stories Off the Wall

This makes book makes you stop and think about life and how to live it. You can sit back like most of us do and just exist or you can push to the limits like Roskelley and enjoy some of the greatest personal achievements possible. But this comes at a cost, he's lost friends and climbing partners and I'm sure it's been very difficult on his family relationships. From the sounds of things though, I don't think he would change how his life has turned out. If your thinking about hooking yourself to a rock anytime soon, read this just to make sure you know what your getting into.

Having enjoyed reading Nanda Devi, I bought this book as I liked Roskelly's writing style and subjects. In this book, Roskelly writes short stories from throughout his climbing career and provides a good framework of how he became a climber and how he stayed alive. Probably the most interesting theme through this book was the value he placed on having good climbing partners and how close he was to the partners. That's interesting because it was very clear from reading Nanda Devi that he was very opinionated and compromise is not his specialty. Not only does he stow high praise on these climbing partners, but there is also a story of a renowned hunter who befriends Roskelly and eventually struggles with cancer. This was a particularly heartwarming story of a great individual and his unique ability to hunt.But the stories that will leave you wanting more involve high-altitude climbing where death is close at hand. One particular story has Roskelly awakening in the middle of the night realizing he is suffering from pulmonary edema and will die if he doesn't drop altitude.This book provides great mountaineering stories as well as insight into the life of John Roskelly, the renowned climber. I highly recommend this book for anyone with interest in mountain climbing.

John Roskelley is arguably the greatest American mountaineer of his generation. His credentials are awesome, and he is alive to tell the tale. He is a rarity: a great climber who can also write. Usually the two do not go together; the only other exception I can think of is Austrian great Kurt Diemburger.Mr. Roskelley's snapshot-style autobiography is a delight. Beginning in his 16th year as a wild child with incredible energy and no focus, he discovered, with the help of his father, the Spokane Mountaineers Club. He never looked back. They treated him as an "adult," which was of vital importance to him, and after his first trek up Mt. Rainier, he knew he had a "forever longing to be above those clouds."He found himself an unlikely partner who was as preppie, straight arrow as John was wild and rebellious, but they made a perfect team. Both were impatient to a fault, resolute and absolutely fearless as you can only be when you are that young. They rock-climbed at Yosemite, climbed icefalls in Idaho and attacked Dengali (otherwise known as Mt. McKinley) in Alaska.At an age when most climbers are totally unrecognized, he was invited on a climb up Dhaulgiri, a 26,800 ft. monster in Nepal, Himalaya. He wasn't quite sure what it was; he just knew he wanted to go. The team's successful ascent was only the third that had ever been made.Mr. Roskelley brings a lot of practicality, bluntness and a touch of the poet when he recounts his adventures and the friends he has made along the way. I am sure he can be a difficult friend. He never minces words and has an appalling way of "laying it on the line" letting tender sensibilities fly where they may. His tenacity in achieving his goals is sometimes like being confronted with a charging Mack truck. He has a reputation of being the worst of the macho, MCP (male chauvinist pig) in a group that is famous for these traits. I don't think this is an entirely a fair evaluation. He doesn't like anything to interfere with the dedication and concentration it takes to successfully climb a difficult peak. Romances and groupies are prime distractions. He has no patience or tolerance for either. Yet he displays in his fine writing a romantic, lyrical side that would probably amaze his good buds on the mountain.I recommend this book highly to anyone from the armchair adventurer to the skilled climber to someone who just wants a highly entertaining read.

For a guy with the reputation of being something of a Neanderthal, Roskelley writes really well. This is an expressive, lucid book which only occasionally slips over the edge into macho and/or sentimentality. Recommended!

Bottom line is that this is a book that is written like it is. Life of a climber means broken relationships, hard times, and amazing acomplishments. This book is down to earth and is a good read from start to finish. Probably the best book he has written