High Risk cover art

High Risk

Climbing to Extinction

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High Risk

By: Brian Hall
Narrated by: Sam Stafford
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About this listen

Through the seventies and into the mid-eighties, a cohort of young climbers challenged the siege mentality of their seniors on high mountains in the Greater Ranges with fast moving, lightweight expeditions run on a shoestring. Brian Hall was one of them and, in High Risk, he describes their daring adventures and the counterculture they lived within, their rivalries and relationships, and the terrible price many of them paid. When all was done, they had raised the standards of mountaineering by changing its style and ethics.

©2022 Brian Hall (P)2022 W F Howes Climbing & Mountaineering Extreme Sports Outdoors & Nature Sports Adventure

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All stars
Most relevant  
A good insight as to the things that mountaineers have to do and go through to get to their end goal.

Risking everything

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Striking an impressive balance between lyrical, descriptive writing and just the correct level of technical detail, this book nailed it.

Excellent performance, excellent pace, amazing stories.

Pitch Perfect

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I listened to this after having enjoyed the film 'touching the void'. Climbing is not one of my own personal passions but I loved getting an insight into that world and the people who's lives revolve around the mountains.

Insight into the world of mountaineering

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Broken down into bite size chunks which flows seamlessly. Learning about the circumstances of accidents while understanding processes taken is brilliant.
Awesome book, a must read for budding adventure people.

Cracking read

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Very good overall and many famous names mentioned, but I really enjoyed the data toward the end

Facts and figures

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Loved every minute of this gripping recital of the true sacrifices mountaineers of the highest caliber have made. Well done

Enthralling story, very well read

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This book really gets under the skin of the mountaineers and can only have been written by another mountaineer it: help explains their motivation which a lot of other mountaineering books I have read have not

Riveting story engagingly told I was hooked on the audible version

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I really enjoyed the personal insights into growing up as a mountaineer, the impact of losing friends and the risk reward considerations of these people pushing themselves into peril.

Entertaining insights into the development of modern mountaineering

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What elevates the book is Hall’s willingness to grapple with the existential dilemmas of mountaineering. He explores the allure of risk, the pursuit of status, and the thin line between courage and recklessness, offering no easy answers. His reflections are poignant, especially as a survivor looking back on a generation that, as he puts it, “climbed themselves to extinction.”

if you love mountaineering you'll love this..

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I have a collection of several hundred Audible titles now, after many years collecting. This must be up there in my top 10. The stories are all gripping, you feel like you get to know all the climbing characters well, above all Brian Hall himself. The stories are incredulous but not exaggerated, in fact it is humbly written. The narrator is excellent, unhurried, clear diction. Can't recommend highly enough.

High Praise

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