Versante Sud La Via Per La Montagna climbing novel

Versante Sud La Via Per La Montagna climbing novel:

The Journey of a Climber between Life and Death

"The only thing I wanted to do was sleep. However, I was sure that if I let go, that would be the last time."

In 1998, Paul Pritchard was climbing in Tasmania a sea stack shaped like a rocky spire called Totem Pole when a falling rock hit him squarely on the head. During the long waits for rescue, between life and death, Pritchard managed to move forward with the promise that, given the chance, he would "at least try to live." Left hemiplegic due to that accident, Pritchard has spent the last two decades trying to live by facing seemingly impossible adventures after such a serious injury and delving into the recesses of a mind almost clouded by his passion for climbing.

Not content to just survive, Pritchard finds ways to return to his old life, cycling across Tibet, expanding his mind with grueling meditation courses, revisiting the past, and understanding his attraction to risk. Ultimately, he returns to climb the Totem Pole, the place where his life almost came to an end.

The Way to the Mountain is an unparalleled adventure book, an exploration of a healing brain, a journey into philosophy and psychology, a test of will, and a triumph of hope.

Paul Pritchard is an award-winning author and one of the most visionary and complete climbers in the UK. Originally from Lancashire, he began climbing as a teenager and went on to repeat some of the most difficult routes in the country before moving to North Wales, where he played a key role in the development of climbing in the slate quarries of Dinorwig and on the imposing cliffs of Gogarth in Anglesey. This period was followed by a transition to mountaineering, with significant ascents around the world, including the east face of the Central Tower of Paine in Patagonia and the first ascent of the west face of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island. In 1998, his life changed radically when he was struck by a rock that fell on his head while climbing the Totem Pole, a sea stack off the coast of Tasmania. He was left with hemiplegia, meaning paralysis along the right side of his body, and he also lost the ability to speak for many months. After the accident, Paul continued to lead a life of challenges, tackling caving, recumbent tricycle racing, sea kayaking, rafting, climbing Kilimanjaro, and in 2009, returning to rock climbing as a lead climber. He is an international speaker advocating for disability as well as an active trainer for diversity and inclusion, volunteering for The Human Library, which challenges the harmful effects of stereotypes and prejudices. He is the author of three books, Deep Play, The Totem Pole, and The Longest Climb, and has won the prestigious Boardman Tasker Prize twice: in 1997 with Deep Play and in 1999 with The Totem Pole. That same year, the latter book also won the Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Book Festival. Paul lives in Hobart, Tasmania.