Neige et Roc, French climbing instructional book from 1959
Credit: Nilepoc
The spine is exposed unfortunately.
Credit: Nilepoc
Title page
Credit: Nilepoc
He book is inscribed from Ann Bronson feb 5 1961
Credit: Nilepoc
Old old school shoes.
Credit: Nilepoc
How to aid
Credit: Nilepoc
How to aid a roof
Credit: Nilepoc
So this fine book is looking for a new home. I figured someone here would be happy to care for it and maybe get the binding fixed. PM me first and it's yours. All I ask is that you pay postage. I am cleaning out the bookcase and want to find this gem a home. I imagine it isn't worth a whole lot due to the spine damage.
I spent my summer break climbing and diving in the Calanques, the same heaven for Gaston and Patrick Edlinger, both climbers were climbing for the love of being in connection with the self, not for the quest of records. The simple desire to be in the moment with one self. Both were as close to the rock than the nature close to God. I was the same age as Patrick and we used to free dive by the rocks, today I climb were ever there is a rock, just for the sake of it, invisible of any other climber, just because climbing is were you meet your emotions and learn to deal with them. Gaston was a poet, a man of humanity, a gentle soul, a true free spirit. Climbing gym and people ego for competition has destroy people spirit and replaced it with narcissism which has killed too many climbers. Be true to yourself, be who you are. On and off the rock.
Rebuffat was was my hero and major inspiration at the very first. Classy gentleman, helluva climber.
Gary Hemming liked him too and was inspired to make some of those aiders like his, with aluminum steps, and we tried them on the El Cap Tree. They were horrible! Like climbing with cowbells tied to your feet. But I don't think Gaston had webbing at the time. We quickly reverted to home-tied two-step surplus store webbing aiders.
Here's a weird one on this old thread. Check out Jaybro's satirical comic on Gaston and Buhl on the second page.
Maybe you older folks knew this, but just noticed that Buhl is selling Pervitin. Were they making fun of him for performance enhancing drugs? Or did they really use Pervitin for climbs?
Hey Extremeartiste, I used to work in Pierrefeu-du-Var and would take the small Peugeot 104 company car and drive to the Calanques (about an hour away) regularly. Great climbing and swimming, but nowadays I hear that Cassis is overrun by tourists, but it sort of was back then too (1982).
I did not see a reference to Hermann Buhl in that article. Maybe I missed a link?
edit: OK, I saw the cartoon on page two. Was it speculation or known that Buhl took this stuff? I read his book years ago but can't recall him mentioning drugs, only eating potato skins!
AMPHETAMINES WERE THE FIRST drug of choice in the mountains. In 1953, Austria’s Hermann Buhl took pervitin, the superdrug that Nazi troops took before battle, during his solo first ascent of Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat. Ten years later, during his historic 1963 traverse of Everest, American climber Tom Hornbein gave two teammates, Lute Jerstad and Barry Bishop, dexedrine to aid their descent. “My impression is it didn’t do a damn bit of good,” says Hornbein, who didn’t take the speed himself.
The US Air Force and Navy routinely give 'uppers' to single seat fighter
pilots on long redeployment flights. Hey, it's medicinal, and cheap insurance.
"I had with me a few tablets of Pudutin, a drug with stimulates the circulation and wards off frostbite, and a few pills of Pervitin for extra strength in case of extreme necessity. We had carried them ever since Base Camp."
"Completely exhausted, I fell down on the snow. Hunger racked me, thirst tortured me, but I knew I had to save the last drop as long as possible. Perhaps Pervitin was the answer? It couldn't be many hours before I got back again and the effects would last that long. Doubtfully, I swallowed two tablets and waited for them to take effect; nothing seemed to happen and I felt no benefit. Or was it that they had already done their work and that without out them I would never have been able to get up again? You never know with tablets!"
Let us know!