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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 26, 2015 - 06:41am PT
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Well, I wasn't expecting the thing until this weekend, but it seems to have published overnight. At least online.
I'm unclear whether there's a physical newspaper today, or whether the WSJ team was just getting a jump on the Weekend Edition for the holiday.
Anyway, here it is. I'll link you through a google search, since that seems to do a better job evading their paywall than a direct link. Clicking the top link should take you to it.
Here's the direct link.
If neither of those options works, try googling "Crouch Honnold Free Spirit Wall Street Journal" directly from your own browser. Maybe that'll get you through.
I've posted (what I hope) is a readable image of the review on my website. It's on page C9 of the 11/28-29/2015 issue of the WSJ. (If you click on the image, it should enlarge for easy reading.)
I look forward to hearing people's opinions.
This is the 10th adventure-themed book I've reviewed for The WSJ (more than half of which are climbing books, including ones by Daniel Arnold, Barry Blanchard, and Ed Viesturs). I've done 3 military-affairs related book reviews for The Washington Post. There are additional ones for NPR books and others, including Steph Davis's "Learning to Fly." Here is the complete list, with the requisite links.
The world needs more readers.
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overwatch
climber
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Nov 26, 2015 - 06:53am PT
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I balked immediately at "naught" but you redeemed yourself with "niggling tyrannies". Just kidding. Nice writing.
edit;
The first link worked for me
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 06:55am PT
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Ha! Thanks, Overwatch. Glad you could make it through to the actual text.
I'm interested to learn what trick works best for people. For me, it seems like I hit the paywall about 50% of the time with a google search, and about 90% of the time if I link directly. But I can't figure out the pattern.
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Nov 26, 2015 - 07:08am PT
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Right off the bat I give the article a star for having a great head image that is CREDITED to the photographer - something often lacking, although WSJ may be one who is good about it.
Also a star for crediting *co-author* David Roberts very quickly in the review.
I noted that you mention the book leaves one wishing for greater insight as to "why," otherwise not much about the actual writing. I assume it is good, or you would have had to say something, and I am sure you would have done so politely, as it is clear from the review that you are a great diplomat. But for me, spending the money on a freshly released hardcover is a tough action to take. I don't "keep" books anymore, due to my limited space, and so it's likely I would be giving the book away quickly after reading it. So, I would like to know if I am in for an armrest-clutching read, dryness to the point I feel like I've ingested a sleeve of saltines with no water, or a cross my legs and hope not to wet style of humor. That would help me decide whether to spend the cash as soon as I can find that book, or wait until I return to a residence where i can have it mailed, and buy it on the cheap off Amazon(and donate to the author's foundation to offset the money lost to him by doing so).
That's my review of your review! So, if you can provide a glimpse into the writing style here on the thread, that would be great.
edit: I also go through on the Google link you suggested. A pop up came up with a Black Friday special, but one click removed it and I was left to enjoy the article.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nov 26, 2015 - 07:19am PT
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Thanks Greg, you offer the lay public the valuable insight that climbing, rather than being a thrill sport, is a controlled, calculating endeavor. Most of what appears in the national press is scripted by non climbers and dwells on what they perceive to be the thrill seeking, reckless nature of free soloing.
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WBraun
climber
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Nov 26, 2015 - 07:23am PT
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Gregory Crouch -- "Mr. Honnold is risking everything he’s got, and everything he’s ever going to have,"
The nihilist, sterile and empty materialistic consciousness of "I am the body" only projects such poor fund of knowledge .....
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 07:27am PT
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for me, spending the money on a freshly released hardcover is a tough action to take. I don't "keep" books anymore, due to my limited space, and so it's likely I would be giving the book away quickly after reading it
For the love of Granite, what could possibly be a better way to spend your money than to spend it on a book??? They're pillars of Western Civilization! And think of the pleasure you'll get passing the book along to someone else once you've finished reading it?
I would like to know if I am in for an armrest-clutching read, dryness to the point I feel like I've ingested a sleeve of saltines with no water, or a cross my legs and hope not to wet style of humor. That would help me decide whether to spend the cash as soon as I can find that book, or wait until I return to a residence where i can have it mailed, and buy it on the cheap off Amazon(and donate to the author's foundation to offset the money lost to him by doing so)
Author's royalties are exactly the same if you buy from Amazon as if you buy from a bookstore, so you wouldn't be screwing Alex by using Amazon. You would be screwing the bookstore, however, and that's a worthy consideration.
As for your reading tastes, I don't know you personally (I don't think), so I'm hesitant to recommend whether or not you spend your money on this without knowing more about you. I enjoyed Alone on the Wall and thought it a worthy contribution to the canon of climbing lit. The writing style is clear and straightforward. The climbing scenes are pretty intense, as you can imagine, and Alex/David do a good job of finding the right downtones on which to tell them.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 07:35am PT
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The nihilist, sterile and empty materialistic consciousness of "I am the body" only projects such poor fund of knowledge .....
Sorry to disappoint you, Werner. I'm still waiting for the day I can see my way clear to shed my earthly container and ride the tail of the comet to the evolutionary kingdom level above human. ;-)
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kpinwalla2
Social climber
WA
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Nov 26, 2015 - 07:46am PT
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"unfettered orgy of joyous movement" - just found the name of my next climb. Thanks Greg. Nice article - well done!
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 07:50am PT
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Royalties are nominal for most books.
Volume, baby, volume.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 07:51am PT
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"unfettered orgy of joyous movement" - just found the name of my next climb.
Who isn't looking for one of those? I'd climb it. Or, I'd try.
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Nov 26, 2015 - 08:10am PT
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Excellent review; well written, as usual. I hope he heeds your advice, Mr. Crouch.
In light of another famed soloist’s recent death (that of Dean Potter, albeit in a wingsuit BASE jumping incident), I can’t help worrying that Mr. Honnold has made an Faustian bargain—immortal renown in exchange for brief life.
My sentiments, exactly.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 08:21am PT
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My sentiments, exactly.
I feel that if he wants it to mean something, he has to survive.
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crankster
Trad climber
No. Tahoe
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Nov 26, 2015 - 08:27am PT
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Agree, but that perspective usually comes with age.
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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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Nov 26, 2015 - 08:28am PT
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I always enjoyed Michael Ybarra's articles in the WSJ and have bought some very interesting books based upon your reviews but I'm not sure that this will be one of them .
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 08:38am PT
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I always enjoyed Michael Ybarra's articles in the WSJ
I am painfully aware that all of the adventure-themed WSJ reviewing I've done for them is done in the shoes of a fallen free soloist. (His sister is the one who connected me to Michael's editors in the Books section.)
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ArmandoWyo
climber
Wyoming
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Nov 26, 2015 - 08:45am PT
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Greg, you given us one of the best descriptions of climbing. thanks.
"Difficult for non-climbers to appreciate is the fact that, as outrageous as climbing appears to be in film and photography, at its core it isn’t a thrill sport. It’s a control sport, an unforgiving discipline that unfolds at the pace of resolved, calculated movement in a soul-searingly beautiful landscape that the uninitiated can never experience. Practitioners struggle to control their physical, emotional and mental selves while stifling fear, solving problems and unlocking the gymnastic puzzle of ascent."
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Nov 26, 2015 - 09:31am PT
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Why?
The press, as do I, grasp at this question. The honest exploration of human nature, I believe, gives us the answers, but what happens after the climb is what defines Honnold.
It's fun, solitude, to commune with nature, nah- you can get that on a picnic.
Duality, conflict, self examination, ego; it's raw, it's refined, it casts darkness, it sheds light, are all likely motives. And there's the attention, yeah- it's a big part of it, perhaps the biggest part for most.
What separates Honnold is, when this sheepish, pedestrian looking fellow is done blowing the doors off, he descends back to a "Walden Pond" existence; setting the standard for human achievement without a trace of pretense.
I would guess he's done a few solos nobody is aware of.
Thanks for the article!
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 10:00am PT
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Thanks, Armando. It's definitely a control sport.
Well said, Contractor.
And thanks, Sewellymom.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 26, 2015 - 10:11am PT
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OP, I'd veer away from forms of the verb "be.'
Thanks for the tip.
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Nov 26, 2015 - 10:48am PT
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You're right Mr. AP Lit guy, Walden doesn't quite work-thanks for the tip!
From a lowly highschool drop-out :)
AP Lit guy- Removing your critical post is just being lame :)
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Happiegrrrl2
Trad climber
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Nov 26, 2015 - 11:33am PT
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Thank you for the response Gregory. You're correct - I don't think we have ever met, so it is true you wouldn't know what I "like."
As for what better to spend on than a book? Well, there is food, and dog food for my Lucas, and car insurance...not that they are "better" than a book, but sometimes it is a choice between one or the other and the book would usually not be the chosen one.
But I have always loved reading(first book was "To Kill a Mocking bird" at aged six, and it just went on from there). And I hope to hell that if I ever get my first novel(winding to the end, at on chapter 48, with three years on and off writing under the belt) I surely hope that people will buy it(though not at the expense of food for their doggy).
Anyway - thank you for the response.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 27, 2015 - 08:47am PT
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food, and dog food for my Lucas, and car insurance...not that they are "better" than a book, but sometimes it is a choice between one or the other and the book would usually not be the chosen one.
Okay, Happiegrrrl2, in that case, I think you should hold out for the paperback. Or a loaner. Or use the library. Alex won't hold it against you.
my first novel(winding to the end, at on chapter 48, with three years on and off writing under the belt)
Keep grinding. And congratulations.
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Nov 27, 2015 - 11:39am PT
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Kevin...nice route name!
Mine is "niggling tyrannies". Ha ha!
Nice review, Greg!
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Nov 27, 2015 - 12:02pm PT
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Werner, always whacking away on everyone's poor "knowledge" yet is right here posting away with us cavemen.
Great article!
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 28, 2015 - 07:56am PT
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I've posted (what I hope) is a readable image of the review on my website. (If I've done it right, it should enlarge with a click for easy reading.)
It's on page C9 of today's WSJ. (11/28-29/2015)
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 28, 2015 - 08:27am PT
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Tami, your grandmother is correct.
(And yes, I do remember why you'd appreciate that.)
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Lassitude 33
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Nov 28, 2015 - 06:58pm PT
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Excellent review that accurately captures the essence of the book and Honnold.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 28, 2015 - 08:02pm PT
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Thanks, Lookin Sketchy...
Sorry, Tam... Mum then... Else that or you're actually 25 and have been cartooning since birth
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Rick A
climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Nov 29, 2015 - 06:07am PT
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Got the hard copy yesterday. I agree with Armando on the wonderful, succinct description of climbing.
This was my favorite part:
Crucially, Mr. Honnold does seem to have an exit strategy. “ I don’t think I’ll continue to do this forever… But I won’t stop because of the risk. I’ll stop because I lose the love of it.”
One hopes he recognizes that internal shift one climb too early, rather than one too late.
The terrible consequences of a mistake are emphasized by the cool understatement. Lovely.
A brief note on language. The article includes a quote from “stonemaster John Long”. Does the lack of capitalization indicate that “stonemaster” is now part of the lexicon and will soon appear in the OED?
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nopantsben
climber
europe
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Nov 29, 2015 - 09:33am PT
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I missed a more thorough examination of what makes (or doesn't make) this book a good piece of writing. Is it written well? Is it structured well? Is there a storyline that keeps the reader interested?
And don't say these qualities don't matter much in climbing literature, because Enduring Patagonia is good because it's such a fun read, not because the author is a celebrity :O
I have not read the book, but these are the aspects of a review that I'd be interested in. I really enjoyed reading the review because it's written in such cool style, but it seems to review Honnold as much as his book.
-ben
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Nov 29, 2015 - 09:41am PT
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Very intelligent competent and yet low-key review, here Greg! Thanks very much.
As usual you take an unrivaled look at a very difficult and controversial subject; here it's modern climbing. As well, it is a very good thing that David Roberts and Alex were able to combine forces for the book. As you point out, there still remains the deepest question, why soloing is taking place at all. "Badass" is despite its meaning, weak sauce for to take a reader much further than the empty-handedness one had at page one. Were we to find "this final answer" perhaps it could only be conveyed by other means than prose.
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jstan
climber
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Nov 29, 2015 - 02:44pm PT
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there still remains the deepest question, why soloing is taking place at all.
OK. I'll try that one.
Perhaps deep down we love things like 911, Sandy Hook, and packing heat and arguing about it. Perhaps this is why Bush was able to sell Iraq at all. All these things are meaningful, in the moment. Somehow we all are in search for meaning (however we personally define it).
A climber who is willing to court the ultimate price, seems more meaningful than one who is not so willing. Go with that for the moment. Then we have to ask why it is we used to solo but doing so was never a burning topic of conversation? It never was you know.
Why now? Proceeding under the above assumption, this is happening now because people used to have more meaning in their lives. After college just about everyone got a pretty decent job. They had things to accomplish. Goals.
Now? Even a President can't get things done.
This thread is about Alex and today seems my day to repeat myself. So
In brief, Alex handles himself extremely well and gives evidence of a very well grounded view of himself and the world around him. Very rare. A question. Pick any demographic. ST for example. How many of us on ST have that kind of base?
We are going to need Alex. We need to stop feeding this nonsensical soloing discussion.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 29, 2015 - 03:13pm PT
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Team, sorry to have neglected thread curation for the last 48 hours--had to drive back and forth to LA with my son to attend an Eagle Scout Court of Honor and deliver the Eagle Charge. Feeling a little cross eyed right now.
First off, when I posted the image of the story on my website from my phone while in LA, I neglected to link the image to the media file. Now that I've done that, you can click on the image and read it easily. Sorry about that.
A brief note on language. The article includes a quote from “stonemaster John Long”. Does the lack of capitalization indicate that “stonemaster” is now part of the lexicon and will soon appear in the OED?
Rick A, I suspect the copy editors... It was capitalized in my MSS. They probably just thought, oh, that's a cute piece of wordsmithing, but he clearly shouldn't capitalize that... Usually, they give me a last look at things, but things got pretty jammed for them on Wednesday, which is the busiest day of the year in a newsroom since they have several issues to prepare so people can get home for the holiday. I have insisted on a last look since one of them flexed their google muscle and added "in Oregon" to my mention of Barry Blanchard's clients accident being on Mt. Baker... I had to say, uh, Barry's Canadian, his people were hurt on the Mt. Baker IN CANADA. That stuff irks me no end, but it's surprisingly difficult to eliminate in general interest publications--especially one that is being published six times a week. (If you think that's easy, you've never tried it.) And the WSJ is pretty good at this stuff in my opinion. It's great to be working for a publication that does care about getting things right. They screw themselves up when they get in over their heads. Note, this is commentary on their copy editors. The editor with whom I work is excellent. He ALWAYS listens to me when I say, "No, we can't say it that way. That's not technically true."
The other tweak the CEs made on this story that peeved me is switching "Achilles' choice" to "Faustian bargin." Alex didn't make a deal with the devil, but I fear he HAS made the choice Achilles made when he decided to sail for the Trojan War. The prophecy was that if he stayed home, he'd live a long, but obscure life and would die of old age surrounded by his children. If he went to the war, however, he'd die young and without children but his deeds would be remembered for all time.
Achilles decided for the war.
And don't say these qualities don't matter much in climbing literature, because Enduring Patagonia is good because it's such a fun read, not because the author is a celebrity :O
So you're the one who read it. ;-)
If you're gonna eat cheese like that, NoPantsBen, I suppose I'm gonna have to answer the question...
Okay, so I did find the switch back and forth between David's interpretation and Alex's narration distracting. I didn't like Alex's parts being all in italics. It's hard to read large swaths of italics, in my opinion. However, I'm not sure how else you would have done it.
I think Roberts wrote Alex's parts, too. If that's the case, David would have passed drafts of those parts over to Alex, and Alex would have tweaked them to make them more in his voice, then David would have incorporated those changes. The MSS probably went back and forth several times between them. That's normal.
Is it written well? Yes, of course. The story line is a chronological tour of Honnold's most significant climbs, and it's purpose is pretty much "let's get to know Alex," which I did enjoy. I hope I get the chance to talk to him sometime, at length. But it's a co-authored book, and I never feel like those are as tight and coherent as books with a single, professional author. Two cooks and all. I can think of many of co-authored books I've enjoyed and am happy that I've read, but I don't think they often cross into the canon of "classic."
That said, I'd love to get a co-authoring gig. I'll be actively looking for one when I'm finished with my current book project. Mostly because I'm dying to write a story with just a single source.
So if you happen to know anybody... ;-)
Roberts has done a lot of climbing co-authoring in recent years. Carved himself out a good nitche doing it. I've reviewed two of them for the WSJ. (This one and The Mountain, which he did with Ed Viesturs.) I've enjoyed them both.
Incidentally, David is really struggling right now. He's trying to fight back from a bout with throat cancer. He has been making some very moving posts about it on his FB author page. He says he draws a lot of strength from the good wishes he is receiving from the climbing community, so if you've got a few minutes, pop over, read some of his posts, and give him a like. They're intense. And I'm proud to see that he's getting so much staunch support from his closest friends in the climbing community.
We are going to need Alex. We need to stop feeding this nonsensical soloing discussion.
Soloing is his choice. I get that. But I'm also afraid for him. Maybe I'm a coward for feeling like that. Maybe I'm just older. There were a couple of times when my climbing got pretty wild. Sometimes thinking about them keeps me up at night. I think of everything I'd have missed if things had played out a tiny bit differently, and I'd have gotten the chop instead of surviving. I feel like I'd like Alex if I ever met him, and friends of mine who do know him well have told me that they really do enjoy him as a person--Chris Weidner and Jenn Flemming, specifically. (And I really like and admire both of them.) So the loop's not huge. He's our hero, our champion, if you will. What he has accomplished is simply astonishing. And because of all those things, I really f*#king want him to live. To survive. If he gets killed doing it, I think it will diminish the body of his accomplishment.
So, the question I'd like to ask him is, "Alex, are you learning anything up there without a rope that you can't learn with a rope? Elaborate and explain."
I wish the answer was in Alone on the Wall.
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yanqui
climber
Balcarce, Argentina
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Nov 29, 2015 - 03:52pm PT
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Here's what I read in facebook today:
The Wall Street Journal ran a review of my book Alone on the Wall written by an actual climber! Someone who actually understands the motivations and pleasures of free soloing! "Less obvious, it’s megatons of fun. For serious climbers, good climbing is measured in volume, and a free soloist like Mr. Honnold, liberated from the niggling tyrannies of ropes, hardware and partners, can do more climbing in a long weekend than most climbers manage in a year, an unfettered orgy of joyous movement that, for him, must feel like having wings." Hahah, I've always sought liberation from the niggling tyrannies of a rope!
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jstan
climber
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Nov 29, 2015 - 03:55pm PT
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Greg:
I neglected to say I thought your review very good. Sorry about that.
When this chick asked Alex on national TV whether the bed in his van saw a lot of action, he made a wry face saying, "Don't I wish."
Killer.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 29, 2015 - 04:29pm PT
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Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Yanqui.
From his FB post, I'm super-relieved to read that I still qualify as "an actual climber."
Because anyone who has seen me shaking like a dog shitting peach pits at Lover's Leap, Phantom Spires, Sugarloaf, Donner, or City of Rocks this season might have reasonable doubt.
(Not to worry, Jstan.)
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jsj
climber
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Nov 29, 2015 - 05:04pm PT
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An enjoyable, well-written piece but it didn't seem like a review of the book: Only the third-to-last paragraph really talks about the content of the actual book (the rest eloquently dealing with Honnold and his practice of free soloing). Unfortunately I can't really get a feel for the book's merits from it.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Nov 29, 2015 - 08:19pm PT
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Greg: Thanks for sharing your WSJ review links and your great replies to posts on this thread.
I enjoyed your review, but although I appreciate the review was for the WSJ, it did seem strange to read a climber's thoughts about a fellow climber, who had to be described as: Mr. Honnold.
Oh Well, That's the way of it, in New York City, at the WSJ.
Best Wishes!
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 29, 2015 - 08:26pm PT
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it did seem strange to read a climber's thoughts about a fellow climber, who had to be described as: Mr. Honnold.
Fritz, we'll see if he accords me the same respect should we ever meet.
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roy
Social climber
NZ -> SB,CA -> Zurich
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Nov 30, 2015 - 01:15pm PT
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I enjoyed your review Greg - a very nice job.
Thanks, Roy
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pc
climber
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Nov 30, 2015 - 03:13pm PT
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Thanks Greg. Skillfully written and the ultimate question, artfully avoided.
Cheers,
Peter
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 30, 2015 - 03:52pm PT
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Glad you enjoyed it, Peter and Roy. I'm taking my son to see Honnold speak at the Diablo Rock Gym tonight. Should be interesting.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Glad you enjoyed it, Peter and Roy. I'm taking my son to see Honnold speak at the Diablo Rock Gym tonight. Should be interesting.
And...
How was it? Did you meet him?
(Great piece by the way, and I just purchased China's Wings - looking forward to it!)
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 2, 2015 - 07:48am PT
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Ney Grant: He was exactly as I predicted from his book, an articulate, goofy fellow. He presented on Patagonia, so obviously I was charmed by that. He hit just the right downtones in his talk to come across as badass without being arrogant. It was very well done. And holy cow, what a "gong show." Diablo Rock Gym was packed. I was impressed. He represents us and himself well.
One thing that I found personally funny was when he said something to the effect of, "Well, this is suburban California, so probably nobody in here has any alpine experience, so let me tell you....etc., etc., etc."
And I chuckled out a quiet "ouch."
He went on from that phrase to to describe a cold bivy spooning Colin Haley where the North Face of Cerro Torre joins the West Face route, but at least one member of his audience had crossed over that exact spot in July 1999.
But at least he called me "an actual climber" on his Facebook page, so I've got that going for me.
Totally cool to be sitting next to my 15-year old son during the presentation, to give him a nudge as a couple of slide popped up, and point to specific features Honnold was talking about, and say, "see that _ [INSERT face, notch, summit, ridge or whatever}, I've been in that exact spot." The difference being that I am now a fat piece of sh#t who will likely never get back to those places. But you gotta take your dad cool points where you can get them. They don't come very often these days.
I just purchased China's Wings - looking forward to it
That is damn good news. I hope you enjoy it. Bob Banks started a thread about it when it released. http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1763532/Chinas-Wings-by-Gregory-Crouch-released-OT You might enjoy this large photo gallery as an on-line supplement to the art in the book. There's also a lot of China's Wings related content to be found if you click the China's Wings category of my website. Moon Chin is still going strong at 102 years of age. We should all be so lucky. I wouldn't have discovered that story if it weren't for Charlie Fowler, so there's a strong climbing connection. As there is to just about everything in my life.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Sounds like a good time. It is easy to think otherwise, but Alex may not know about that deep history of alpinism from the bay area starting with John Muir. I remember reading stories of Galen Rowell averaging 90 mph from Oakland to the Sierras and wondering why he didn't just move there (and he did a few years before he died).
Thanks for the links on the books, I will check them out. The gallery sounds great as I read. As an active pilot I'm sure I'll enjoy the book! (my blog: http://www.westcoastflyingadventures.com )
Maybe you can't get to that same spot in Patagonia but there are many fantastic places to go, and there are still dad cool points to be had!
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Spiny Norman
Social climber
Boring, Oregon
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Dec 25, 2015 - 08:43pm PT
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As one of the unworthy, I just wanted to pipe up and say that I got Barry Blanchard's memoir The Calling as a holiday gift, and it's tremendous.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 26, 2015 - 08:00am PT
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Spiny, I reviewed The Calling for the WSJ, too. Barry's accomplishments are so impressive. And everyone's worthy. We're just on different paths.
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Ney Grant
Trad climber
Pollock Pines
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Just wanted to bump this thread and let Greg Couch know I finished his book China's Wings and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was not only a great aviation book but a engaging history of modern day China through its war with Japan, sliding into World War II and then into communism - through the eyes of an American aviator in China.
Definitely recommended for anyone interested in aviation (e.g. "flying the hump") and world war II history buffs.
Great job Greg!
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couchmaster
climber
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^^^Ditto what Ney said about Chinas Wings.^^^ X3 good. Holy sh#t I thought your book is world class good Greg. Engrossing, interesting, solid investigations and well put together. Congrats on the masterpiece. This is genuine praise, I'm not kidding around. I'm not an "Aviation" guy, but I'll note that Greg can spin such a good yarn that it could about shake a bunch of peach pits out of a dogs ass. (LOL, borrowed that one)
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Leavittator
climber
san diego, ca.
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China's Wings deserved to be on the Wall Street Journal list of best selling books. Crouch will be rewarded like that some day.
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Dingus McGee
Social climber
Where Safety trumps Leaving No Trace
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Jstan,
I think those that are satisfied do the Making of Meaning in their lives not the act to Find Meaning.
This subtle rewording of the how meaning happens in one's life is from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Was't he one of your bygone climbing pals?
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Nice review Greg. I am not usually pulled into taking time to read climbing books (I have compared my life expectancy to the number of books I would like to read divided by my reading rate: choose well, read faster, live longer--I am working on all three), but Alex has a knack for engaging humanness juxtaposed against his wildly un-human capacity--I like and respect him very much. You have done a nice bit to bring this into focus.
Free-soloing is an existential bitch. The joy of climbing is tied up in the wilful, direct, and unimpeded flow of our brains to our physical skills. Hard free-soloing probably does not get any better at tapping that flow, the "flow" Csikszentmihalyi identifies, both for the purity and the quantity.
Those of us who know climbing well, know that all good climbers free solo at some level, some of the time, and are not free-soloists: their joy of climbing is not diminished; their skill and commitment are not questioned. We take as tragic a good climber lost to freakish combinations of events that spin them off. But the sense of tragedy (and consternation) projected onto a climber who 'becomes' a free-soloist occurs not at the thin-air end, but at the beginning, at the willful decision to take the Achilles Syndrome plunge--heroic, and tragic, in the oldest, fullest sense.
But we cannot reconcile it. We know that if the end comes, we cannot quite bring ourselves to say, "Nice try. Good effort."
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 6, 2016 - 08:18am PT
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Thanks Ney, Couchmaster, and Napoleo-Leavitt (on the assumption that your cat has hijacked your feed again). Those old CNAC flyers really were something. They lived large. Climbing is dangerous, but what would you have chosen to do if you were getting paid $2,500 per month (in 1943 money--worth more than $34,000 in today's money) and there was a 25% chance that you were going to get killed this year? Save or spend? Plan on having a future or plan on not having one?
Moon Chin is still ticking along at 102 years old. THE most amazing man. And Peter Goutiere is 101 and still flirts with every woman who crosses his path. Like Beckey. Where there's life, there's hope. Right?
From Dingus:
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Was't he one of your bygone climbing pals?
Looking at his pics, I feel like we met years ago and climbed together, but he was never one of my regulars. If we did, I'm a fool for not plumbing his research, because it's some interesting stuff and certainly jibes with my experience of existence, be it climbing, surfing, writing, building, or any other of life's endeavors.
[For others, Here's a Wiki article that summarizes his research.]
Dingus, was he one of the Needles regulars back in late 80s early 90s?
I'm glad you enjoyed the review, Roger. Alex is a fascinating character. My impression is that he's a pretty bookish guy. It'll be interesting to see if he writes another book in later years. I'd have liked him to have addressed "what I've learned doing it" more in Alone on the Wall, as I think you have to have an answer to that question--or at least to have thought a lot about it--to "justify" the extreme free soloing. (Note: I'm a firm believer that it's his life and he can do what he wants with it as long as he isn't actively harming anybody else.) At least to justify it to yourself. I certainly pondered "what am I learning" a lot during the decade or so that I was obsessed with alpine climbing. F*#king glad I lived through it. It wouldn't have been worth it otherwise.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Got the book for xmas and I'm going through it at that leisurely bathroom pace.
The details of his life and climbs addresses curiosity about the man himself. As for the soloing aspect of the book (his or anyone's), I think that can pretty well be reduced down to just the second paragraph of the book.
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