Psychovertical

2009 Mountaineering

Author : Andy Kirkpatrick
Release : 2009
Genre : Mountaineering
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 526/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Psychovertical by : Andy Kirkpatrick

Download or read book Psychovertical written by Andy Kirkpatrick. This book was released on 2009. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WINNER OF THE BOARDMAN TASKER PRIZE 2008 Metro magazine recently wrote that Andy Kirkpatrick makes Ray Mears look like Paris Hilton. Words like boldness, adventure and risk were surely coined especially for him. As one of the world's most accomplished mountaineers and big-wall climbers, he goes vertically where other climbers (to say nothing of the general public) fear to tread. For the first time, this cult hero of vertical rock has written a book, in which his thirteen-day ascent of Reticent Wall on El Capitan in California - the hardest big-wall climb ever soloed by a Briton - frames a challenging autobiography. From childhood on a grim inner-city housing estate in Hull, the story moves through horrific encounters and unique athletic achievements at the extremes of the earth. As he writes, 'Climbs like this make no sense ... the chances of dying on the route are high.' Yet Andy, in his thirties with young children, has everything to live for. This is the paradox at the heart of the story. This book - by turns gut-wrenching, entertaining and challenging - appeals to the adventurer in all of us.

Psychovertical

2012-08-27 Biography & Autobiography

Author : Andy Kirkpatrick
Release : 2012-08-27
Genre : Biography & Autobiography
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 44X/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Psychovertical by : Andy Kirkpatrick

Download or read book Psychovertical written by Andy Kirkpatrick. This book was released on 2012-08-27. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CLICK HERE to download the first chapter from Psychovertical Psychovertical is the story of what happens to a nice lower-class kid with dyslexia who gains control over his circumstances by clinging to giant stone faces, thousands of feet in the air, for days at a time. In this case, Kirkpatrick uses his 12-day solo climb of the Reticent Wall on California's El Capitan as the experience that helps him understand how growing up poor and struggling with dyslexia and low self-confidence set him on a path of extreme adventure. Kirkpatrick's writing is gripping and highly entertaining -- even non-climbers will enjoy his raw intensity, gallows humor, and honest, self-deprecating storytelling style. This book is a Boardman-Tasker Prize winner, which is recognition given for outstanding mountaineering literature. From the judges' remarks: “The book is very cleverly structured....The cuts from scene to scene and climb to climb work wonderfully well -- a sort of mountaineering Day of The Jackal -- as Kirkpatrick comes closer and closer to his nemesis on Reticent Wall. And it is this climb, the running narrative of the book, that grips the most: 14 pitches of aid climbing, unrelieved by conversation with a partner other than himself, should by rights be boring. But it grips the heart further and further.”

Cold Wars

2011-10-01 Sports & Recreation

Author : Andy Kirkpatrick
Release : 2011-10-01
Genre : Sports & Recreation
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 376/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Cold Wars by : Andy Kirkpatrick

Download or read book Cold Wars written by Andy Kirkpatrick. This book was released on 2011-10-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I was aware that I was cold - beyond cold. I was a lump of meat left for too long in a freezer, a body trapped beneath the ice, sinking down into the dark. 'I was freezing to death.' In this brilliant sequel to his award-winning debut "Psychovertical", mountaineering stand-up Andy Kirkpatrick has achieved his life's ambition to become one of the world's leading climbers. Pushing himself to new extremes, he embarks on his toughest climbs yet - on big walls in the Alps and Patagonia - in the depths of winter. Kirkpatrick has more success, but the savagery and danger of these encounters comes at huge personal cost. Questioning his commitment to his chosen craft, Kirkpatrick is torn between family life and the dangerous path he has chosen. Written with his trademark wit and honesty, "Cold Wars" is a gripping account of modern adventure.

Kiss or Kill

2002-09-01 Biography & Autobiography

Author : Mark Twight
Release : 2002-09-01
Genre : Biography & Autobiography
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 196/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Kiss or Kill by : Mark Twight

Download or read book Kiss or Kill written by Mark Twight. This book was released on 2002-09-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: * Mark Twight's collected works, some never before published in North America * Includes dramatic black and white mountaineering photos * Features brand new epilogues to all of the stories They call him Dr. Doom. Raving and kicking against mediocrity, his anger and pain simmer close to the surface. He speaks and writes the language of the punk music that defined him. He is extreme alpinist Mark Twight, and he doesn't back down from the truth. He's a one-man literary punk band. If you have any doubt, here comes his knockout punch: the only collection of writing Twight swears he'll ever publish. Kiss or Kill: Confessions of a Serial Climber is raw, unfiltered Twight. These author's cut are the real deal, not the homogenized fluff offered up by magazine editors who are often unwilling to offend. Twight's words make it clear that climbing is only distantly about the summit. Several of these pieces are new to U.S. readers. Twight edited all of the selections and appended each with a current author's note; confessing his inspiration, events that followed, and lessons learned (or not learned, some might say). It adds up to a frightfully lucid look into Twight's personal life as both man and hardcore alpine climber. The dissection scares me sometimes... Whether railing against the spinelessness of American siege-style mountaineering, admitting addiction to pushing the bounds of the possible, or reveling in his ability to cut away anything in life that holds him back, Twight never blinks. Along the way, there is the drama of new and epic routes, unbreakable bonds between climbing partners, and Twight's evolution as a climber and a man. He tells every story in a unique, in-your-face style. Kiss or Kill is not an easy read. It may scare some readers-but that's the point. "I want this book to help you recognize your own anger, which will help you understand mine", says Twight. "Somewhere out there somebody understands these words and knows they matter. They were written in blood, learned by heart."

Down

2020-07-01 Sports & Recreation

Author : Andy Kirkpatrick
Release : 2020-07-01
Genre : Sports & Recreation
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 570/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Down by : Andy Kirkpatrick

Download or read book Down written by Andy Kirkpatrick. This book was released on 2020-07-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book will save your life" Pete Whittaker (Wide Boyz) Down is a groundbreaking encyclopedic study of the art of descent. Its purpose is to create a single source for all descent techniques, both the well established and ideal for the novice climber, as well as the cutting edge, high-value techniques for experienced and pro climbers. The book was written and illustrated over three years by award-winning climber and writer Andy Kirkpatrick (Psychovertical, Cold Wars, 1001 Climbing Tips, Higher Education), and is based on four decades of epics, retreats and F**k-ups. At 80,000 words (400 pages) and 300 illustrations, this is both a labour of love and an important and timely book for a community that loses far too many climbers to rappelling accidents. Book Structure Foreword by Joe Simpson Introduction Chapter 1: Safety; How to stay alive. Chapter 2: Feet; General notes on non-technical descent in both winter and summer. Chapter 3: Tools; The tools of the trade and how to use those tools. This chapter covers all types of descenders, as well as notes on all associated software and hardware (abseil cord, hard-links, prusik cords etc). Chapter 4: Anchors; Everything from slinging trees to retrievable ice screws, bounce testing to non-anchor anchors. Chapter 5: Rappel; Here we start putting it all together, covering the core theory of descent, including back-ups, knots, and optimum set-ups. Chapter 6: Lowering; This covers both standard lowering off sports routes and backing off climbs, to more advanced self-rescue lowering, passing knots etc. Chapter 7: Advanced; This long chapter deals with pro techniques, many that will be new to many climbers, including blocking, ghosting and single rope rappels. Chapter 8: Problems; Sooner or later you’re going to have to deal with problems in descent, such as stuck or damaged ropes, having ropes that don’t reach anchors, or having to return back up your ropes. This chapter aims to come up with practical solutions for worst-case scenarios. Chapter 9: Comms: Many of the problems that arise in descent revolve around a failure in communication. This chapter offers some ideas and solutions surrounding this.

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