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Title: Starlight and Storm: The Ascent of Six Great North Faces of the Alps by Gaston Rebuffat ISBN: 0-19-519061-0 Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (T) Pub. Date: June, 1968 Format: Hardcover List Price(USD): $8.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: For love of nature and friends
Comment: Gaston Rebuffat was the first to climb the six major north faces of the Alps. This book is his narrative of those climbs. This edition includes forwards by Jon Krakauer, series editor, and David Roberts, who, at the time of writing, was doing research for his book TRUE SUMMIT, an investigation of the French Annapurna expedition of 1950.

In his unique way, Rebuffat was an iconoclast. During the time when mountains were to be subdued or conquered like an enemy, Rebuffat extolled embrace, love, teamwork, and finesse. In current mountaineering literature, the accumulation of peaks and grade numbers take the forefront, and teams are mainly accoutrements to the development of a climber's career. For Rebuffat, the growth of a friendship from teamwork, professional calmness, and courage in the face of danger was more important.

Arguably, his later books verged on parody (though they are wonderful to read). Also, on Annapurna, there were instances where he might have fallen short of his ideals (starting with his decision to participate in the first place). By the sixties and seventies, debunking Rebuffat became the common wisdom in mountaineering literature.

STARLIGHT and STORM makes the author's case well, however, and for some of us throwbacks for whom nature and companionship are reason enough to go into the mountains, this book is an inspiration.

Rating: 4
Summary: POETRY IN MOTION...THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROPE...
Comment: Lyrically written, the author, Gaston Rebuffat, one of the world's climbing greats, expresses such joy for mountaineering that it is infectious. No climbing enthusiast's library should be without this book. The photograph of Rebuffat which graces the cover of this book is alone worth the price of the book.

Rebuffat is positively poetic in his description of various climbs. The reader almost feels as if one were one with the mountain. A purist, the author climbed not for the glory of it, but for the sheer joy of the brotherhood of the rope. In these days, where climbing is often just a reason for a media event, the author's approach is refreshing, indeed.