With Friends in High Places: An Anatomy of Those Who Take to the Hills

The joys, the risks and the motivations of mountain climbing are at the heart of Malcolm Slesser's remarkable book. This autobiographical account spans 64 years of mountain exploration in every continent, during which both attituded and technology have undergone vast changes. It is a story of the joy of discovery shared with friends in high places.Mountain climbing, like life itself, is not without risk. Unlike most sports, climbing is the solution to a very personal equation. The decision to go on or return lies with the climber and is influenced by his or her awareness of the risk. In that awareness lies safety and the ability to navigate the cliffs above and the chasms at your feet. Good judgement comes from experience. And experience comes from poor judgement. Most survive to a reasonable age; some brilliant climbers like Herman Buhl and Dougal Haston have perished through a momentary lapse of judgement. Too many die young, failing to apprecfiate that safety lies in the awareness of danger. The motivation for mountain climbing is not risk. It is the joy of exploration of the vertical, whether it be a virgin summit, lonely precipice or simply a new line or familiar rock face.