160 b/w photos & 6 x 9 "This book is a masterpiece. It really shows bouldering like it is: raw, pure, all-encompassing. John Gill is the man!"--Bobbi Bensman. John Gill has been called the conceptual father of sport climbing. His one-armed front levers and inspired aerial moves radically reinterpreted the sport, showing peers and critics that bouldering is as valid as alpine and big wall climbing, or any other focus of climbers' attention and energy. In Master of Rock, the second in Stackpole's Climbing Classics series, Pat Ament, who climbed with Gill at Horse Tooth Reservoir and Flagstaff Mountain, provides rare insight into John Gill, the man, and his evolution into a climbing pioneer. Pat Ament, an accomplished climber himself, is the author of numerous books on climbing, including Royal Robbins: Spirit of the Age . He lives in Westminster, Colorado.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Engrossing Biography of a Climbing Legend,
By A Customer
This review is from: John Gill: Master of Rock (Climbing Classics) (Paperback)
I own several of Pat Ament's books (including his soul-baring autobiography), and I've enjoyed reading them all. John Gill has become virtually the patron saint of modern bouldering, and the many intriguing photographs in this book amply show why. Simply put, Gill was an entire generation ahead of his time--both in terms of his ability and his recognition of dynamic bouldering as the cutting edge of free climbing.Ament's writing style here is more straightforward, and less dense, than in his other writings. Rather than attempt to speak for disparate voices, as he does in his Royal Robbins biography, Ament generally lets those voices speak for themselves in this book. The result is an expository style that makes for light, enjoyable reading. Given the fascination that Ament and Gill share with the spiritual aspects of climbing, one would almost expect Ament to devote much of his attention to Gill's metaphysical philosophies (as did Jon Krakauer in his article on Gill that was later reprinted in _Eiger Dreams_). However, by concentrating on the events of Gill's life and his wanderings among the boulder patches of the American continent, Ament has painted a vivid picture of Gill as Johnny Appleseed, putting up routes--and leaving his legacy--everywhere. I think that is what Gill will most be remembered for, even if his spirituality makes him that much more a climbing guru.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still the nucleus of American bouldering,
By rickr@bally.com (Carson City, Nevada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: John Gill: Master of Rock (Climbing Classics) (Paperback)
I was first exposed to Master of Rock in the seventies with its first publication. Being at the time, a devoted climber and student of style, I spent hundreds of days in the Valley watching John Long, Ron Kauk, John Bachar, Barry Bates, Jim Bridwell, and all, polish their individual styles while applying everything and anything I could grasp from them. I could'nt walk past a door jam without cranking out the requisite finger tip pull-ups. I was 86'ed from Modesto Junior College's campus dozens of times while explaining to the authorities that "my frisbee is on the roof" . . . Imagine my surprise and joy to discover this relatively unknown man through Pat Ament's timely biography of John Gill. I was floored by this person who stayed so low-key yet with so much incredible climbing talent, in a sport not lacking in ego! For this book, Pat Ament deserves my gratitude for it is through this book that I found that element of climbing I was looking for. To me, John G! ill is still the consumate hero of motion on rock, however minimal that motion was. Yes, big walls were beckoning, Yosemite and Tuoloumne test pieces were fondling my emotion, and the smell and taste of my ruck sack permeated my VW Beetle, but to me, none of it mattered without style and art with every climb, as the end result. I grew up as a climber by studying the greatest students and teachers of style and ethics through the seventies. John Gill defined style before I called myself a climber. Thank you Patrick O. Ament for taking time from your study of climbing to write this book and allowing me to discover John Gill. I will always charish knowing who John Gill is now and who he was then.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE GREAT JOHN GILL IN WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS !!,
By RBSProds "rbsprods" (Deep in the heart of Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: John Gill: Master of Rock (Climbing Classics) (Paperback)
Five Stars!! Pat Ament, a great climber in his own right, proves to be a very good writer as he takes on the life and times of rock climber John Gill. Using some mindboggling photographs of Gill combined with Ament's dead-on prose, we are introduced to the world of 'bouldering'. Most boulder climbers never go more than 20 feet above the ground, they instead are concerned with solving ridiculously hard climbs that are short but brutal in some cases, requiring great strength, tenacity, and explosive climbing moves. How hard can the routes get? I once read a guide book that descrilbed the following climbing move: "place your right foot beside your right ear and pull with both arms" LOL
John Gill possessed the mental toughness and physical strength, partially combining his God-given strength and hard training, to be able to actually do a one-finger pullup on an overhead parallel bar. That capability placed him far beyond most cllimbers. (Don't try that at home) In particular, the high point of the book involves Ament's description of the difficulty of a 30 foot steep vertical spire of rock called 'The Thimble' and Gill's first ascent of it (combined with pictures of the Thimble and the dangerous area below it if one should fall.). It is one great piece of fantastic writing and Gill's ascent set off a sensation within the climbing world. It also helped to validate bouldering as a valid branch of climbing with Gill as the father figure. I've read and re-read that description and it is breathtaking. Ament outdid himself. John Gill's exploits as a climber are AMAZING as the pictures will attest. This book is well worth your time, regardless if you are a climber or not. Five Stars
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