climb_when_readyClimb When Ready

by Dave James

ISBN 0 85905 221 4, (1996 new), Soft Cover, 140mm x 215mm, 188pp, illustrated, 240grams

$25.00 + POST


"Climb when ready." These are usually the last words a rock climber hears before he or she steps up onto a sheer rock face.As rock climbing has become a more popular pastime the equipment has become more easily obtainable. But, as little as thirty years ago there were only half a dozen climbers around Perth with the whole of the State's rock areas to themselves. There were little or no rescue facilities, no equipment shops and no clubs. Those pioneering climbers doggedly sought out the rock areas and climbed vertical cliffs with the minimum of ageing equipment. They went about their pastime quietly and few others knew of their exploits.

Climb When Readycontains true accounts, written by the people involved, of how most of those climbing pioneers came to be hanging from Western Australian rock faces, and how rock climbing progressed through the 'golden era' of the '60s and '70s and on into the mid-'90s.

The pioneering spirit, the hardships, the teamwork, the fun, the danger, and the fear.  It's all here from the first known roped ascent of a Western Australian cliff to the present day.  This book is a valuable historical record for rock climbers and other Western Australians with outdoor interests.

THE AUTHOR

David John James was born at Guildford (U.K.) in November 1942. He climbed his first mountain during the Easter holidays of 1963.  Being of adventurous nature he quickly took to mountaineering, rock climbing and caving. He eventually became a member of the Reading Mountaineering Club, and the President and Safety Officer of the Reading Rock Climbing and Potholing Club.

In November 1974, he moved to Western Australia where he settled down and found a group of friends with similar interests.  Over 21 years later, having served spells as, amongst others, Committee Member, Safety Officer, and Secretary for The Climbers Association of Western Australia, and Committee Member and Safety Officer for the Western Australian Speleological Group, he is still going out on trips, enjoying the wonderful State of Western Australia and the companionship of those friends.