220 b/w photos 6 x9 The definitive biography of a rock climbing legend With rare photos of Robbins and other premier climbers in action A classic work on a seminal era of American rock climbing In one of the most important climbing books of the decade, Colorado climber and author Pat Ament has written a superbly evocative and lasting biography of this most influential figure. The American Alpine Journal Royal Robbins, more than anyone, defined American rock climbing in the early days of the sport. A colorful, influential, sometimes controversial figure, he was the first in America to climb a 5.9 route, the first to make a big wall Grade VI ascent (the Northwest Wall of Half Dome), the first to find and conquer new routes up El Capitan. This biography, originally published in 1992, is now returned to print as part of Stackpoles new Climbing Classics series. Rich in climbing lore and anecdote, the book reveals in both text and photos how a master climber made some of his most challenging climbs. Aments prose also captures the spiritual allure of the sport. Pat Ament, an expert climber himself who opened some of the first 5.11 routes in Colorado, is the author of numerous books and articles on climbing and is also a poet and filmmaker. He lives in Westminster, Colorado. Climbing was, for many people, something in which to dabblea romantic dilettantism. For Royal, it was a way of lifea consciousness closely related to the religious impulse. Although agnostic, his discipline was toward mental, technical, and spiritual virtuosity. He was deviled with resistance against less competent climbers who were trying to bolt the spirit out of the game. He found any hint of dishonesty deplorable. His searching, as he wrote in an article, was for the highest human expression. In Yosemite, indeed there was a spiritualization of adventure.