Ed Drummond's climbing essays initially gained prominence in the prestigious American Journal Ascent. First published in a book in 1987 they formed a loose autobiography covering an eventful private life from school and college days in the sixties, a long sojourn in the United States and a return to Europe in the mid-eighties. Yet it is principally a climbing book so the main chapters concern big climbs: first ascents on St. John's Head and the Troll wall, a solo ascent of El Capitan's Nose and an audacious solo attempt on the North America Wall on which the author nearly froze to death. Political and social concerns also figure prominently as Drummond has used his climbing skills to draw attention to a variety of causes - an anti-apartheid protest on Trafalgar Column and building climbs in the US in support of civil-rights activists. More recently he organised the 'Climb for the World' extravaganza. This attention-gaining Ed Drummond roadshow is tempered by a more private, darker side of his character. Adolescent sexual pre-occupations curdled into a sequence of failed marriages and relationships, bringing him to the edge of despair. This too is reflected in his writing, as is his tenacious struggle away from the brink, and his scorn for attempts to romanticise such pressures which emerges in one particularly trenchant essay. Indeed, this collection, though rooted in climbing, uses danger, elation, toil and intense relationships to allow a thorough literary examination of the psyche that leaves the reader both enlightened and exhausted in its wake.
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"The most challenging, disturbing and provocative piece of climbing literature I've ever read - the consistent brilliance of the writing is astounding." Stuart Pregnall, Climbing magazine; "An intoxicating mixturea| Drummond takes risks as big as he did on his climbs and has the courage to use climbing as a metaphor for wider truths." Dave Cook, Mountain magazine; "The best climbing book I've ever read." Lito Tejada Flores High magazine.
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