Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber (Hardcover)

by Steve Roper (Author) "Yosemite Valley had hardly been first encountered by whites before the accolades poured in..." (more)
Key Phrases: siege climbing, aid pitons, aid slings, Half Dome, Sierra Club, Arrow Chimney (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In the 1960s, California's Yosemite Valley was the center of the rock-climbing universe, spawning many of the finest rock climbers in the world and shaping the future of the sport. Camp 4 is Roper's take on his ten years spent in the valley among the era's top climbers. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 255 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898863813
• ISBN-13: 978-0898863819
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #576,155 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling and Exact, July 31, 2002

By	David L. Nelson (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber (Paperback)

I was a Yosemite climber in the 1970's and met a number of the major characters (Frost, Chouinard, Robbins, Harding). Steve Roper has done an incredible job of capturing the ephemeral facts and essential spirit of the climbers and times. He is frank about their weaknesses: "We were thoughtless and immature"(pg 154) and "...we were puerile youths. We had been taught the correct values at home, yet we rebelled against everything," (pg 155-6), referring to the troubles they caused in the Vally. He is honest about his own failures, both in his own character and on climbs he could not do. He is enthusiastic about the successes of the pioneers and freely gives credit to those who deserve it. Steve not only gives you facts, he gives you feelings and insights. You can't get better history than this.

The only criticism I have is that the book ends. I could have kept reading for many more days. If you want to FEEL what it was like, buy this book. I will bet you can't read it only once.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for every rock climber, January 3, 2008

By	Sabrina Oesterle (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber (Paperback)

If you want to understand rock climbing, this book is a must read. Roper's "Camp 4" describes where it all began. This book should be part of every climber's education. It may not be written in the most beautiful prose and some may not always agree with Roper's perspective, but this book is packed with pictures, facts, and stories - many of them exciting, often funny, and some of them tragic and sad. Reading this book has only deepened my fascination with Yosemite and climbing in general. I wish there was a follow-up that tells the story about what happenend since the "Golden Age".

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Golden Era!!!, December 6, 2001

By A Customer

This is probably the best account of the Golden Age of Yosemite climbing that has come off the presses. Very honest portrayal of the figures and players by someone who has there to see it all. Very moving, and also very humurous at times. Roper has truly captured the spirit of a long gone era for the younger generation to enjoy and look up to. Thanks.