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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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Bill Denz worked for me back in the seventies, I guess around 1975.
He was very bright, silently intense as hell, and a tough little thing; he could work as hard as anybody. But like so many of us, was of course a surefooted thinker and had no problems maintaining his point of view and would. He was also an even better friend of Russ McLean. They did Tis-sa-ack together.
Bill could be disparaging towards other climbers (most of us are) and clearly was on a quiet mission toward the really extreme and whose plans were not completely divulged, as we would sit in the Catalyst having beers and chips on summer evenings in Santa Cruz, laughing and telling each other climbing stories. When Russ and I knew him he was trying to get down to Patagonia....We liked him and considered him a good friend but it was clear there was a white-hot core in there, regardless of his skill sets.
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Nov 11, 2011 - 10:12am PT
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Thanks donini. Yeah, my own book, seemingly well-liked by the Banff Book Festival folks:
http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainfestival/competitions/book/2011/#panel-6
And another shout out for Robert MacFarlane's Mountains of the Mind. This, so far (only up to page 100) is superb. Everything that Pilgrims of the Vertical wants to be.
A significant book, though peripheral to climbing, is Last Child in the Woods. Examines the importance (to children specifically, but this applies to adults, too) of unstructured play in wild nature. Something fast disappearing in our world of computers, video games, TV, organized sports. Kinda drags a bit toward the end (I don't have kids), but fascinating, really strikes a chord.
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cliffhanger
Trad climber
California
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Echoes by Nick Bullock - Exclusive Excerpt
by Nick Bullock 28/Aug/2012
+Echoes front cover. Nick Bullock downclimbing the North Face of Quitaraju, Peru, after making the first ascent of the Central B, 226 kb
Nick Bullock was a prison officer working in a maximum-security jail with some of Britain's most notorious criminals. Trapped in a world of aggression and fear, he felt frustrated and alone. Then he discovered the mountains.
Making up for lost time, Bullock soon became one of Britain's best climbers, learning his trade in the mountains of Scotland and Wales, and travelling from Pakistan to Peru in his search for new routes and a new way of seeing the world – and ultimately an escape route from his life inside.
Told that no one ever leaves the service – the security, the stability, the 'job for life' – Bullock focused his existence on a single goal: to walk free, with no shackles, into a mountain life.
Bullock's debut book Echoes is a powerful and compelling exploration of freedom – and what it means to live life on your own terms.
Exclusive excerpt:
http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=4888
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