Cold feet
Subtitle: stories of a middling climber : on classic peaks & among legendary mountaineers
By: the collected writings of David Pagel ; foreword by Michael Kennedy
Publisher: David Pagel
Published: 2014
Place of publication: [Lexington, KY]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 367
ISBN-13: 9780692305560
Subjects: Mountaineers; Mountaineering; Rock climbing; Authors; Alpinistes
Work titles: Works
Description: Written from the wide-eyed, self-effacing perspective of a mountaineer who pursues epic adventure while locked in a perpetual struggle with fear and self-doubt, David Pagel's stories--featured in Climbing magazine, Ascent, and Rock and Ice magazine--are modern climbing classics chronicling the experiences of an Everyman climber who dreams big. From Africa to Alaska, from the sheer walls of Devils Tower and El Capitan to the icy flanks of the Matterhorn and the mythic North Face of the Eiger, Pagel has never let his status as a run-of-the mill, middling climber (from the Great Plains, no less!) deter him from tackling the world's iconic peaks or seeking out the sport's legendary mountaineers. An insightful and hilarious collection of whimsical climbing stories, profiles, and perspective ... including a never-before-published selection of verse!
Table of contents: title: On classic peaks. Mind games ; East face of Bugabook Spire ; Exodus ; Mind over Matterhorn ; Melting moments ; Chamonix diary ; Hanging by a thread ; Leviathan ; The weakest link ; Trial by fire ; The big nasty ; Zero latitude ; Big Bad Ben; title: Among legendary mountaineers. My dinner with Anderl ; The high and mighty ; A conversation with Babu Chiri Sherpa ; House on fire; title: Epics. Strange trip on "the Trip" ; Itsy bitsy spiders ; Chew on this ; All that remain; title: Home turf. What it's like to be a climber in the Midwest ; Superior climbs ; The loneliness of the long distance climber ; That's a wrap! ; Dust storm; title: Mountain profiles. Shipton select: Mt. Kenya ; Climb of the gods ; Devils advocate; title: Perspective. Seeing is believing ; The truth is out there ; Shifting gear ; Grand ambition ; Let the buyer beware ; Introduction to Eiger: wall of death ; Down and out; title: Verse. Preface (Here stanza mountain poet) ; Because it isn't there ; Song of the Alpinist ; Flux ; Crux ; High-ku ; The ballad of the Green Belay ; Lament for the Bastille ; Why can't a woman climb more like a man? ; Pending wall ; Ode to the gentleman's ascent ; Hoard of the rings ; The whiskey song ; Reflections of a run-out leader ; We don't make the rules ; Mount-Blanc dawn.