Thomas Hornbein

Stimson Bullitt

“A lovely mix of recollections coupled with erudite reflections of an at-times almost too-openly-honest elder.” — Tom Hornbein, author of Everest: The West Ridge * A moving recollection of a life inspired by climbing and redeemed by nature * Stimson Bullitt came to climbing late in life, but with a passion that put him on rock well into his 80s * A memoir that teaches all of us something about aging with both power and grace Stimson Bullitt was born into a privileged and influential Seattle family, a position he did not always find comfortable. He showed his black-sheep tendencies when, after graduating from Yale University, he rode the rails to come back West, where he worked in Central Washington orchards and on a highway crew at Chinook Pass. Later he became a skilled lawyer, a champion of civil and environmental causes, and president of King Broadcasting, the communications empire built by his mother, Dorothy Stimson Bullitt. While he was always drawn to the mountains, it wasn’t until Bullitt reached his 50s and 60s that he sought challenges on North America’s formidable peaks, including Denali and Mount Rainier. Not until he was 70 did he take up rock climbing, but it became a match and foil for his passions and, at times, his inner demons. Illusion Dweller, named after a particularly hard-earned and difficult climb (5.10b) at Joshua tree, is Bullitt’s climbing memoir, published posthumously and based on his own detailed manuscript. He climbed until just before his death at age 89. His achievements serve as inspiration to climbers of any age — and to anyone striving to retain or acquire a spirit of adventure later in life. This title is part of our LEGENDS AND LORE series. Click here > to learn more.

The Climbing Life of Stimson Bullitt

Illusion Dweller

Conrad Anker

In 1963, the American Mount Everest Expedition made mountaineering history. It was the first American venture to successfully scale the legendary peak and the first successful climb up the hazardous West Ridge (a climb so difficult no one has yet repeated it). In 2012, adventurer Conrad Anker led a National Geographic/The North Face team up the mountain to enact a legacy climb. Environmental changes and overcrowding led to challenges and disappointments, but yet the mountain maintains its allure. Now, steely-eyed Anker leads a team of writers in a book designed to celebrate the world's most famous mountain, to look back over the years of climbing triumphs and tragedies, and to spotlight what has changed - and what remains eternal - on Mount Everest. Telltale signs of Everest's current state, never-before-published photography, and cutting-edge science expose the world's tallest peak - its ancient meaning, its ever-present challenges, and its future in a world of disappearing ice.

Thomas Hornbein

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