Ordeal by Piton: Writings from the Golden Age of Yosemite Climbing

Cultural Writing. Great routes, great writing. It was a special time, this Golden Age of Yosemite climbing. Virgin walls soared 3,000 feet. Immense pinnacles had golden eagles atop them, but no cairns. The phrase "kids in a candy store" springs to mind. Excited by such possibilities, climbers who barely knew what they were up against swarmed up new routes, and then, as if to further savor their adventures, put pen to paper. Steve Roper presents fifty-four selections that represent the most interesting and significant literary output about Yosemite climbing from its beginnings, in 1933, until 1974. Sixty-seven photographs and illustrations.