num_pages: 240
description: Half a century ago a rag-tag group of innovators was building a foundation for modern American rock climbing from a makeshift home base in Yosemite. Photographer Glen Denny was a key figure in this golden age of climbing capturing pioneering feats on camera while tackling challenging ascents himself.In entertaining short pieces enlivened by his iconic black-and-white images of Yosemite's big wall legends Denny reveals a young man's coming of age and provides a vivid look at Yosemites early climbing culture. He relates such precarious achievements as hauling water in glass gallon jugs up the east face of Washington Column nailing the 750-foot Rostrum in a punishing heat wave and dangling overnight on El Capitans Dihedral Wall in a lightning storm. Each true tale captures the spirit of historic Camp 4 where Denny and others plan the next big climb while living on the cheap and dodging park rangers.
language: English
title: Valley Walls: A Memoir of Climbing and Living in Yosemite
publisher: Yosemite Conservancy