The Greater Fool: Brad Gobright and the Blinding Shine of Originality

The Greater Fool: Brad Gobright and the Blinding Shine of Originality
Author: Lucas Roman
Publisher: Di Angelo Publications
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2022-11-17
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1955690383

For as long as stories have been told, we’ve had a peculiar fascination with the wayward among us, with those we call the fools. Our histories are flush with those who stand at the edge of reason, of those who see what others cannot. Among the archetypes, the Greater Fool holds a most special place within the canon. Standing there unphased after the dust and the punchlines settle, the Greater Fool is the one who hangs on when all others let go, the one who turns into the storm when all common sense and foot traffic points the other way. Where the world around them sees only an empty promise, the Greater Fool maintains there is yet worth to be discovered still. Intrepid and unwitting as they may be, they’re also the ones we need. As irony would have it, in every Greater Fool there’s just enough magic to pull us back in their direction. Just enough light for truth to shine an arc of redemption. This is the story of Brad Gobright, one such anomaly who shined for us all a most special and unending light.

Aperture Alike

Aperture Alike
Author: Lucas Roman
Publisher: Di Angelo Publications
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2021-01-25
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1942549806

Aperture Alike began when the author first walked into a rock-climbing gym, and soon after, a community, more than a decade ago. A community held up by friends, mentors, and unlikely prophets of the steep, which quickly presented a fantastic, intoxicating path; a lifestyle without equal. While the sensational, rugged, and itinerant chapters - from high peaks to depraved inner landscapes – of the outdoor life came together, one facet soon became clear. The inner journeys of those friends, mentors, and homely prophets far exceeded any outward feat of will. Aperture Alike attempts to shine light into the deeper realities, the inner character swings and the unplanned arcs of those who have both devoted themselves to an outside craft, and to defining themselves apart from it. Aperture Alike is a collection of short stories about community, about people pursuing their own immutably holy center point, in the midst of a life defined by trials and tribulation.

Advanced Rock Climbing

Advanced Rock Climbing
Author: Topher Donahue
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2016-11-01
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1680510134

“The old way of climbing was systematic, methodical, and consistent. Now it’s anything goes, reacting to every situation differently.” —Tommy Caldwell • For skilled climbers who want to push to the next level • Tips and advice from Tommy Caldwell, Steph Davis, Lynn Hill, Alex Honnold and more of the world’s best climbers • 250 color photographs and 12 illustrations Advanced Rock Climbing: Expert Skills and Techniques is for good climbers who want to get even better—from training to gear, sport climbing to multi-pitch efficiency, and beyond. Each chapter has detailed advice from some of the world’s best climbers and guides—Tommy Caldwell, Angela Hawse, Justen Sjong, Steph Davis, Sonny Trotter, Alex Honnold, Lynn Hill, and more. Through clear, step-by-step instruction, detailed color photographs, and hard-earned wisdom, this new guide helps strong climbers increase their speed on multi-pitch climbs, conserve energy on big faces, train for tendon strength, improvise self-rescue, and more. Advanced Rock Climbing is for someone who has been climbing for several years and aspires to transition from intermediate to advanced levels, experienced climbers who are stuck in a rut, and naturally talented climbers who are climbing high grades but who may not have the experience to go further safely.

Hangdog Days

Hangdog Days
Author: Jeff Smoot
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2019-03-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1680512331

Fast-paced history-cum-memoir about rock climbing in the wild-and-wooly ’80s Highlights ground-breaking achievements from the era Hangdog Days vividly chronicles the era when rock climbing exploded in popularity, attracting a new generation of talented climbers eager to reach new heights via harder routes and faster ascents. This contentious, often entertaining period gave rise to sport climbing, climbing gyms, and competitive climbing--indelibly transforming the sport. Jeff Smoot was one of those brash young climbers, and here he traces the development of traditional climbing “rules,” enforced first through peer pressure, then later through intimidation and sabotage. In the late ’70s, several climbers began introducing new tactics including “hangdogging,” hanging on gear to practice moves, that the old guard considered cheating. As more climbers broke ranks with traditional style, the new gymnastic approach pushed the limits of climbing from 5.12 to 5.13. When French climber Jean-Baptiste Tribout ascended To Bolt or Not to Be, 5.14a, at Smith Rock in 1986, he cracked a barrier many people had considered impenetrable. In his lively, fast-paced history enriched with insightful firsthand experience, Smoot focuses on the climbing achievements of three of the era’s superstars: John Bachar, Todd Skinner, and Alan Watts, while not neglecting the likes of Ray Jardine, Lynn Hill, Mark Hudon, Tony Yaniro, and Peter Croft. He deftly brings to life the characters and events of this raucous, revolutionary time in rock climbing, exploring, as he says, “what happened and why it mattered, not only to me but to the people involved and those who have followed.”

The Sharp End of Life

The Sharp End of Life
Author: Dierdre Wolownick
Publisher: Mountaineers Books
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2019-04-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1680512439

Wife and mother. Teacher and musician. Marathoner and rock climber. At 66, Dierdre Wolownick-Honnold became the oldest woman to climb El Capitan in Yosemite--and in The Sharp End of Life: A Mother’s Story, she shares her intimate journey, revealing how her climbing achievement reflects a broader story of courage and persistence. Dierdre grew up under the watchful eyes of a domineering mother and realized early on that her parents’ plans for her future weren’t what she wanted for herself. Later, what seemed like a storybook romance brought escape, with new experiences and eye-opening travel, but she quickly discovered that her husband was not the happy-go-lucky man he had first appeared. Adapting as best she could, Dierdre juggled work and raising two young children, encouraging them to be fearlessly confident. She noted with delight how her “little lady” Stasia took it upon herself to look out for her baby brother, and watched in amazement as Alex (Honnold of "Free Solo" fame) started climbing practically before he could crawl. After years of struggle in her marriage and her ultimate divorce, Dierdre found inspiration in her now-adult children’s passions, as well as new depths within herself. At Stasia’s urging, she took up running at age 54 and soon completed several marathons. Then at age 58, Alex led her on her first rock climbs. A world of friendship and support suddenly opened up to her within the climbing “tribe,” culminating in her record-setting ascent of El Cap with her son. From confused young wife and busy but lonely mother to confident middle-aged athlete, Dierdre brings the reader along as she finds new strength, happiness, and community in the outdoors--and a life of learning, acceptance, and spirit.

Climbing Glass

Climbing Glass
Author: Lyle Closs
Publisher:
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2020-11-08
Genre:
ISBN:

Climbing Glass is a unique personal view of climbing, climbers and Tasmanian and Australian climbing and mountaineering from a personal perspective from the 1970s to 2010s. Coverings climbs and expeditions in Tasmania, Greenland, Australia, K2 and Antarctica from the 1970s on.

More Than It Hurts

More Than It Hurts
Author: Emily Small
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-11-13
Genre:
ISBN: 9780645032116

Fourteen climbers and mountaineers tell their inspiring, insightful, hilarious, heart-warming and adrenaline filled stories of adventure and misadventure in Australia and beyond.

Schurman Rock

Schurman Rock
Author: Jeff Smoot
Publisher:
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2018-05-04
Genre:
ISBN: 9780692068014

Part history, part biography, part climbing guide, Schurman Rock: A History & Guide describes the design and construction of Schurman Rock, the world's first artificial climbing wall, built in 1938-39 at Camp Long in Seattle, Washington. The book includes a history of the creation of Camp Long by by William G. Long, a Superior Court judge, who seized the opportunity to turn an unused 68-acre tract of swampy forest land into a wilderness camp for youth, and a biography of Clark Schurman, a Scoutmaster and Chief Climbing Guide at Mount Rainier, who envisioned and then built his "dream rock" to provide a place to teach mountaineering skills to youth. Thousands of kids and adults, including Fred Beckey and Jim and Lou Whittaker, learned to climb on Schurman Rock over the past 80 years. In 1938, Schurman published an article describing 22 routes on the rock--"short bits" as he called them. This book expands on this with a guide to several boulder problems on the rock. Includes many historic photos and a foreword by Pacific Northwest climbing legend Jim Whittaker.

Holding Up the Universe

Holding Up the Universe
Author: Jennifer Niven
Publisher: Ember
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2018-05-01
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0385755953

A New York Times Bestseller From the author of the New York Times bestseller All the Bright Places comes a heart-wrenching story about what it means to see someone—and love someone—for who they truly are. Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything in new and bad-ass ways, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone. Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. . . . Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours. Jennifer Niven delivers another poignant, exhilarating love story about finding that person who sees you for who you are—and seeing them right back. "Niven is adept at creating characters. . . . [Libby's] courage and body-positivity make for a joyful reading experience." --The New York Times “Holding Up the Universe . . . taps into the universal need to be understood. To be wanted. And that’s what makes it such a remarkable read.” —TeenVogue.com, “Why New Book Holding Up the Universe Is the Next The Fault in Our Stars” "Want a love story that will give you all the feels? . . . You'll seriously melt!" —Seventeen Magazine