Rock Athlete by Ron Fawcett and Ed Douglas

 

This book is especially valuable for at least 2 reasons. First, there is so little data about Ron Fawcett on the internet or elsewhere, nevertheless he is a true climbing legend. Second, this book was awarded with the Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature in 2010. And it’s about rock climbing, not about mountaineering. 

It is about the epoch era, when “heads were stronger than arms”. He became one of the first pro-climbers. Whilst it is hard nowadays, it was unimaginable back then. 

It’s about dedication and passion. It was unthinkable that they could live off climbing, but they gave it all without any expectations. It’s about self-drive. The story begins from the end (or almost the end) when an already very experienced author challenges himself with one hundred ‘Extreme’ routes climbed solo in a day just to push himself to the limits again. Just to feel where these limits were. Sometimes, it was a rush, sometimes, it was a disappointment, sometimes, it was an inner piece, and sometimes, it was satisfaction, tiredness, and peacefulness. Like all his climbing life… which had begun in

a farm and made a sudden turn to unknown, vertical, terranean. He became a climbing film star, a sponsored athlete, and a father, and he became… But the most interesting aren’t endpoints, but the way to them, his thoughts and feelings, doubts and triumphs about endless challenges, and he and his co-author managed to show it clearly and entertainingly. 

Taking into account the tiny bits of data that are available about Ron Fawcett, the book is worth reading for all climbing fans. We can learn a lot about commitment and courage from such people.

Quotes:

• 'Your favorite new routes are a bit like your kids; they don’t belong to you, but you want people to think well of them.'

• 'I'd do a couple of thousand press-ups before breakfast to keep in shape'

• 'Nothing else mattered beyond climbing. I was obsessed. Looking back, I don’t regret any of it.'

• 'If the weather was bad, we’d hole up in the Beck Hall Café. They were always kind to me there. I’d sit watching the rain, getting endless top-ups of hot water for my teapot. I think my record from the same bag stood at sixteen.'

• 'We knew that if you fell off there was a good chance you’d hit the ground.'

• 'Without access to modern climbing walls, it took longer to become strong. That saved me from overtraining injuries, which climbers would begin to suffer from as walls were built.'

• 'In those days, heads were stronger than arms.'