Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Osprey
climber
|
|
|
May 25, 2016 - 08:39am PT
|
I have been sitting on an early copy which I read over the weekend. Excellent book with many stories which I could relate to when reflecting on my first years in the Valley. Thank you Glen for putting this fine compilation together. As a history lover and a climber, I just cannot get enough of these storiesof climbing in the Valley during the fifties and sixties.
|
|
mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
|
|
|
May 25, 2016 - 09:07am PT
|
Hey, Clint, way to go! Great story of the NA Wall in that link.
Some blurbs which are included there from some pretty good critics--
Tommy Caldwell, professional rock climber:
"Glen Denny’s photos preserved and romanticized the era now referred to as the Golden Age of American rock climbing. His memoir, Valley Walls, brings those photos to life. A superbly written portrait of larger-than-life characters and go-for-broke ideals brings forth a sense of great envy for a time when purity came from the fact that we did not yet know if these walls could be climbed."
Beth Rodden, professional rock climber:
"Glen Denny was part of an age that is iconic to every generation of climbers and epitomizes Yosemite’s spirit and soul. His photographs and stories are as famous as the time, and now his book gives us an even deeper glimpse into such an incredible era."
Yvon Chouinard, co-founder, Patagonia, Inc.:
"Not many of us old guys are left who can remember the history of Yosemite climbing in the sixties. Thankfully, Glen Denny has put together these stories of the great days that were so important."
|
|
dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
|
|
|
May 25, 2016 - 11:00am PT
|
"Looks excellent; thanks for the alert, Clint."
Same here, thanks for the heads up, just picked one up.
|
|
Roger Brown
climber
Oceano, California
|
|
|
May 25, 2016 - 07:07pm PT
|
Thanks Clint,
I ordered a copy today.
|
|
james Colborn
Trad climber
Truckee, Ca
|
|
|
May 25, 2016 - 07:36pm PT
|
Just got my copy. Looking forward to the read.
|
|
Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
|
|
|
May 26, 2016 - 05:55pm PT
|
Glen is someone I always liked, a humble guy with exceptional photographic insight and one of the real pioneers who was there amid it all. It meant all the world to me when he told me he very much liked my book Swaramandal, that it was unlike anything he had seen. That gave me hope, beyond hope, to keep trying. Glad to see this book come out.
|
|
Patrick Oliver
Boulder climber
Fruita, Colorado
|
|
|
May 26, 2016 - 06:04pm PT
|
Rock climbing in America had several beginnings, in the East, for example, with souls such as Weissner, Kraus, and then McCarthy and Goldstone, and in the Tetons, with pioneers such as John Gill (who was doing the most difficult free climbs in the country in the late '50s there), and in Colorado, with Kor, Culp, and a few of us, and -- one of the most important places, of course -- in Yosemite in those pre-golden age years. Glen took part in both those early days and also the commonly-deemed golden age of the 1960's. Not many were so much a part, and such an effective part, of both those first years and later in the '60s. He is a rare American treasure.
|
|
LongAgo
Trad climber
|
|
|
May 26, 2016 - 11:04pm PT
|
Small plug following on Pat's comment about Swaramandal which he says Glen liked. I too liked this old book, out of print I guess. And reviewed it here:
http://www.tomhiggins.net/index.php/book-reviews/22-swaramandal?showall=&limitstart=
In part of my review:
"Swaramandal is a window into the fierce, pathetic, warm and comic ways of several personalities on the stage of American rock climbing. It is a portrait of Layton Kor, like a python, drawing out a lie from Ament and of Kor's later unexplainable conversion to the Jehovah Witnesses; of Royal Robbins and his kingly bent exposed in a letter to the young Ament, "Your ability to think logically is improving, though occasionally I spot a non-sequitur"; of Chuck Pratt writing elegant prose and wrestling with nightmares and beer bouts; of the rare laugh of Dave Rearick, his piercing intelligence and unique gift to Pat of a wooden, Osage-orange nut; of the strong silence clouding the person of John Gill, and the reserve barely veiling feverish passion for perfection; of Peter Haan's explosive tantrums; of my own sentimentality."
A very insightful and artful take on characters of the day.
Tom Higgins
LongAgo
|
|
BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
|
|
|
May 27, 2016 - 08:51am PT
|
Yup! Swaramandal is a great book. We did Nerve Wrack Point because of it. Pat was back in the Meadows a few years after the FA and we got a topo of the route. Not much pro except maybe to keep you from getting seriously hurt. Maybe.
|
|
Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado & Nepal
|
|
|
May 27, 2016 - 09:09am PT
|
I can't imagine anyone would think Swaramandel wasn't a great book.
As for Glen's latest, it's a really good buy for the price since it contains great stories and so many of his classic Yosemite photos for a mere $14.34 in paperback and $8.49 in Kindle.
Amazon has designated it as one of its Best Books of the Month.
|
|
Don Lauria
Trad climber
Bishop, CA
|
|
|
May 27, 2016 - 11:06am PT
|
Ordered it from Amazon on May 11th. Got it 3 days later. Guido had emailed me the "Nice Catch" excerpt and the memories it revived moved me to action.
Great "vivid recollections"!
|
|
the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
|
|
|
May 27, 2016 - 01:46pm PT
|
I've been slowly getting a page or two read, but I hope to have time this holiday weekend to plow through it.
|
|
PhilG
Trad climber
The Circuit, Tonasket WA
|
|
Just finished Glen's book. I enjoyed it greatly. Full disclosure: I was an "employee" of Mr Denny on his Nose film (jumared and carried loads) and for a long time have had a profound affection for his photographic art.
This book fleshes out the narrative. It puts the anthropology into the history behind these great climb. It reveals the pioneers of the "Golden Age" as humans who dealt with human needs, while fostering a love that risked their lives.
If you love rock climbing history, are entertained by stories of Yosemite, or appreciate the human condition, you will enjoy this book.
|
|
go1dens4
Trad climber
Melbourne, FL
|
|
|
Jun 12, 2016 - 09:02pm PT
|
Let me just say that anytime I have sat in Yosemite Lodge it was great to be able to view Glens photography, so I read this book on my plane ride this year and it was great! Go get a copy!!
|
|
BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
|
|
|
Jun 22, 2016 - 04:21pm PT
|
Enjoying the Glen Denny book immensely. The description of the 50' fall on his first ever roped climb was gripping!
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!