- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: W&N; New edition edition (14 Jun 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297842749
- ISBN-13: 978-0297842743
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 62,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
The early climbing years of Britain's greatest living mountaineer from his schooldays to his ascent of the Eiger in 1962.
Product Description
Mountaineering during the mid-20th century bred a new race of climbers when the era that began with Whymper's ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 ended with the British ascent of Everest in 1953. In those days climbing had for most people the quality of heroic myth and climbers were larger than life figures. But peaks which were previously so inaccessible became increasingly available post-1953 and Chris Bonington was recognised then, as now, as one of the outstanding members of this generation. In I Chose to Climb, first published in 1966, he tells of his first climbing experiences as a schoolboy - his first serious climbing at Harrison's Rocks in Kent and his progress to climbs in Wales and Scotland. Then, with celebrated mountaineering personalities such as Hamish MacInnes, Don Whillans and Ian Clough, Chris Bonington went on to make successful ascents all over the world, including the first British ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1962, Annapurna II in 1960 and in an unhappy expedition in 1961, Nuptse, the third peak of Everest. The story of Chris Bonington's many exploits finishes in this book at 1962 but is continued in his subsequent works of autobiography, The Next Horizon and The Everest Years, also reissued on 12 July 2001 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
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First Sentence
'We have considered your letter and regret that we cannot accede to your suggestion that we should release you to join this mountaineering expedition . . . Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
'We have considered your letter and regret that we cannot accede to your suggestion that we should release you to join this mountaineering expedition . . . Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I first read 'I chose to climb' when I was a dreamy 16-year old living an uninspiring life in an uninspiring part of London. Annual holidays in Scotland had accumulated a latent hunger for mountains and mountaineering, but until I read this first volume of Bonnington's autobiography, I had little understanding for exactly what it was that I hungered after. Twenty years later, the book remains as much an inspiration to me and my students (I am a full time teacher and part time mountain instructor) as it did then.
The central theme of the book is one that all aspiring mountaineers can relate to - the conflict between down-to-earth realities (money, relationships) and the constant, nagging desire to explore the world's great mountain ranges. It is something I have struggled with for all my climbing life sharing much of Bonnington's soul-searching. He speaks a language that all climbers understand. His journey from childhood scrambles to life-threatening forays onto the Eiger is one that we all go through, albeit at a rather more sedate pace.
There is little doubt in my mind that this book should be required reading for all those teenagers whose adrenal glands are tickled by the sight of the first snows touching the hilltops or a glimpse of some mystery crag. Wherever there is the dry tinder of young ambition, here is a book to set it alight.
The central theme of the book is one that all aspiring mountaineers can relate to - the conflict between down-to-earth realities (money, relationships) and the constant, nagging desire to explore the world's great mountain ranges. It is something I have struggled with for all my climbing life sharing much of Bonnington's soul-searching. He speaks a language that all climbers understand. His journey from childhood scrambles to life-threatening forays onto the Eiger is one that we all go through, albeit at a rather more sedate pace.
There is little doubt in my mind that this book should be required reading for all those teenagers whose adrenal glands are tickled by the sight of the first snows touching the hilltops or a glimpse of some mystery crag. Wherever there is the dry tinder of young ambition, here is a book to set it alight.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a must read for aspiring and experienced climbers alike. I have read and re-read this fascinating book time and time again and still enjoy the down to earth (no pun intended) style of writing. This book covers a very formative time for modern British rock climbing and many of the major routes are described together with Alpine and the greater ranges.
3 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I didn't enjoy this as much as some of Bonington's later books: firstly, because he has become a much better writer as his career has developed - his style here is somewaht self-conscious - and secondly because this deals with his early days learning to climb in the UK and his earliest climbs in the Alps. Without a doubt his later exploits in the Himalayas and other far-flung mountains make better reading.
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