Psychovertical

by Kirkpatrick, Andy

• ISBN13: 9781594857423
• ISBN10: 1594857423
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-01
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books

Summary

Cult hero of vertical rock Andy Kirkpatrick describes his thirteen-day ascent of Reticent Wall, on El Cap in Yosemite, the hardest big wall ever solo-climbed by a Briton, in this award-winning debut first published in the United Kingdom. By turns gut-wrenching and hilarious, his account frames a gritty exploration of his childhood in a grim inner-city housing complex, his challenging battle with dyslexia, and his growing love affair with extreme climbs.

Author Biography

Andy Kirkpatrick has a reputation for seeking out routes where the danger is real and the return is questionable, pushing himself on some of the hardest walls and faces in the world. Raised in a housing project in one of the United Kingdom's flattest cities, he suffered from severe dyslexia, which went undiagnosed until he was 19. Psychovertical is the winner of the 2008 Boardman-Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. He lives in Sheffield, England, with his two children.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. 9
Prologue	p. 11
Hard work kills horses	p. 19
Bird rock	p. 24
The valley	p. 32
Pebbledashed	p. 40
A very brave man	p. 53
Windows	p. 60
Max load	p. 65
Alpinists	p. 73
Solo	p. 87
Snow gets in your eyes	p. 91
Robbins's peg	p. 97
The knot	p. 101
It's all easy until you fall	p. 123
The last time	p. 128
Black bites	p. 139
On fire	p. 146
Expando	p. 158
Fly or die	p. 162
For Emily	p. 173
Hell freezes over	p. 178
Wino	p. 193
Truths and lies	p. 199
Fearometer	p. 206
Mad youth	p. 215
Music lessons	p. 223
Safe	p. 226
Masters of stone	p. 237
Cold war	p. 242
Psycho	p. 253
Down	p. 260
Glossary	p. 263
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