In December 2015, Stuart Hollaway and Dale Thistlethwaite died climbing Mount Silberhorn in New Zealand’s Southern Alps. This book brings together their finest pieces, originally written for Melbourne University Mountaineering Club’s magazine The Mountaineer and New Zealand Alpine Club’s magazine The Climber. These 15 stories offer glimpses into their personalities, their philosophies and their raison d’êtres.

Rich with introspective, deeply personal writings about the deadly game of mountaineering, this anthology reveals how climbing mountains nourishes the human spirit. It examines the human capacity to summon the physical resilience and emotional resolution needed to transcend hardship, and ultimately transform one’s self.