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  • The Bond: Two Epic Climbs in Alaska and a Lifetime's Connection Between Climbers

  • By: Simon McCartney
  • Narrated by: RJ Bayley
  • Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (19 ratings)

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The Bond: Two Epic Climbs in Alaska and a Lifetime's Connection Between Climbers

By: Simon McCartney
Narrated by: RJ Bayley
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Summary

Winner: 2016 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature Winner: Mountain and Wilderness Literature Award, 2016 Banff Mountain Book Festival

Simon McCartney was a cocky young British alpinist climbing many of the hardest routes in the Alps during the late seventies, but it was a chance meeting in Chamonix in 1977 with Californian "Stonemaster" Jack Roberts that would dramatically change both their lives - and almost end Simon’s.

Inspired by a Bradford Washburn photograph published in Mountain magazine, their first objective was the 5,500-foot north face of Mount Huntington, one of the most dangerous walls in the Alaska Range. The result was a route so hard and serious that for decades nobody believed they had climbed it - it is still unrepeated to this day. Then, raising the bar even higher, they made the first ascent of the south-west face of Denali, a climb that would prove almost fatal for Simon, and one which would break the bond between him and climbing, separating the two young climbers. But the bond between Simon and Jack couldn’t remain dormant forever. A lifetime later, a chance reconnection with Jack gave Simon the chance to bury the ghosts of what happened high on Denali, when he had faced almost certain death.

The Bond is Simon McCartney’s story of these legendary climbs.

©2016 Simon McCartney (P)2019 Vertebrate Publishing
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Critic reviews

"This book portrays life at the very edge of existence." (Graham Desroy, Chair of Judges, Boardman Tasker Award)

"Recalled and written thirty years after the fact, The Bond is an intoxicating read told with an immediacy that transports one directly onto the face of the mountain. The word epic is the most overused word in the climbers lexicon but this is an epic tale in the true sense of the word." (Paul Pritchard, 2016 Banff Mountain Book Competition Jury)

What listeners say about The Bond: Two Epic Climbs in Alaska and a Lifetime's Connection Between Climbers

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Different type of the climbing book

This book is interesting and sad, sometimes funny. Not typical climbing book, gets better towards the end. Pity that narration is not spot on, sometimes was hard to follow whose diary is read and sometimes narrator was over acting horribly. But despite that, we’ll recommend book to read.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

What a tale well worth waiting for.

A great addition to ant Mountaineers library.pushing the limits to extreme and a very honest book.

Recommended.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it

Brilliant, maybe even my favourite in this genre. Kept me enthralled from start to finish

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The absolute best

A beautiful work of love and loss. More like a novel than a memoir. What a team.

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interesting book

The Bond is Simon McCartney’s story of these legendary climbs.
very interesting book enjoyed listening to the amazing journey

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A worthy winner of The Boardman Tasker award

A brilliantly written book well narrated. At times a harrowing story of 2 cutting edge climbs in Alaska interspersed with adventures in the lesser ranges, The Bond is ultimately a story of courage and friendship. This book is on a par with classics such as Touching the Void or The White Spider. The book brings out in detail just how the human mind and body are able to cope in adversity and the after effects that high altitude climbing has on one's physical self. Many books are read and listened to just once, but The Bond is one I have no doubt will be listened to again.

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