DOWNWARD BOUND: A MAD GUIDE TO ROCK CLIMBING

1975 First Edition

By Warren "BATSO" Harding (1924-2002) with illustrations by Beryl "BEASTO" Knauth


This is the first edition (first printing) of Downward Bound. The book measures 215mm tall x 130mm. It has 204 pages, 42 b/w photos, & many sketches. This is the only hardcover edition (unless some new edition has been published recently). The first printing of this book offered here has become very difficult to find in recent years. Even the most recent paperback reprint version is going for $45 and more.

CONDITION: The book is bound in original blue boards (imitation cloth) with yellow lettering spine. The book is in nice condition with less than the usual amount of browning to pages. There is a little tanning at the inside area of hinges caused by the binding materials interacting chemically with the paper. Faint soiling lower rear cover corner near number sequence (see photo). A short gift inscription has been written on the corner of the short title page; otherwise, there is no writing or previous owner's name or mark anywhere on book or pages. No pages or page corners have been creased. The dust jacket is worn at corners and edges. There is small chipping at the spine corners of the dust jacket. There is light staining and soiling on the dust jacket, mainly the rear side. The original price on flap is present. The jacket flaps have not been clipped. Price: $175.

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ALL PHOTOS ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM BEING OFFERED

WE NEVER USE STOCK PHOTOS

WE NEVER USE BAIT AND SWITCH TACTICS

front cover of jacket
 full dust jacket
 rear of dust jacket
front endpapers
 illustration
 illustration
This book is a combination of instruction (first 60 pages), satire, and mountaineering autobiography. Harding (1924-2002) is best known for his pioneering first ascent in 1958 of the Nose route on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. He also made the controversial first ascent of El Capitan's Wall of the Early Morning Light in 1970, a climb that attracted national press attention.

The majority of this book is about Harding's early climbing days in Yosemite with focus on the first ascent of the Nose and the first ascent of the Wall of the Early Morning Light. Anecdotes abound in connection with Harding's contemporary climbers in the Valley: Royal Robbins, T.M. Herbert, Yvon Chouinard, Don Lauria, Chuck Pratt, Galen Rowell, etc.

The book closes with an appendix where Harding rates these and other climbers (61 total) on a scale of 1 to 10, and presents his reasons plus some biographical notes on each climber. Harding describes the rating system as:

"ZONE 1. COLOR OF HAT: WHITE.
Spiritually oriented superclimbers (SOSCs). The real leaders in ever raising the standards, ethics, and organization of American climbing. These fellows are looked up to with great reverence and awe by the hoi-polloi of both the climbing community and the public in general.

It is interesting to note that, in general, those in this group view themselves as enlightened, liberal, hang-loose types. They denounce formal religions, stodgy social mores, and the 'establishment.' They tend to be very intellectual. But, when it comes to climbing, they're about as liberal as Adolph Hitler and his -- uh -- sociological views.

Paradoxically, they come on like some kind of ideological fanatics, treating the (at best) questionable activity known as rock climbing as though it were some profound religious or political entity (might be getting into some metaphysical thin ice here), and go to a great deal of trouble and effort to 'institutionalize' this form of buffoonery. Of course, all institutions require a hierarchy to take charge; zone 1 people certainly are a 'take charge' type. [examples of Zone 1 climbers: Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, Yvon Chouinard] ...

ZONE 7. COLOR OF HAT: DARK GRAY
Climbers who went astray. Those who drifted into other things like serious family lives, professional careers, or bird watching. [examples of Zone 7 climbers: Glenn Denny, Cesare Maestri, Bill Briggs]

ZONE 10. COLOR OF HAT; BLACK.
Those blackguards who climb for heathenish reasons. They are of varying and unpredictable levels of ability and dedication but invariably characterized by shallowness of character, general depravity, and self-aggrandizement." [examples of Zone 10 climbers: Warren Harding, Dean Caldwell, Wayne Merry] ...

Harding didn't rate a few of the people in the appendix; nevertheless, he offers some opinion and description. For example, the entry for Fred Beckey is:

"FRED BECKEY ZONE ?
Mr. Beckey is the object of a complete investigation being conducted by the L.S.E.D. & F.S. to determine the validity of his prodigious (claimed) climbing record -- of which serious doubts have been raised. When one considers the amount of time Mr. Beckey spends driving to and from Seattle, talking on the telephone, and shitting, it seems more than likely that he has done virtually no climbing at all, despite the fact that he is reputed to be the oldest climber in the United States. Zone rating will be withheld pending completion of the inquiry."

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