Starlight and Storm: The Conquest of the Great North Faces of the Alps (Modern Library Exploration)

Was a little water stained, but the vendor had already identified that, so I knew this before I ordered it.This book is worth the read.

Awesome mountaineering history.

item as described

Gaston tells a great mountain tale in an inspirational and poetic way! I found this book to be very inspirational!

This edition has David Roberts' insightful introduction, which explains Rebuffat's gifts to mountaineering almost as well as the text itself.

This book changed and energized my life. I picked up Gaston's Starlight and Storm from a used book bin while wandering downtown in DC one night when I was 18 years old. I read it a dozen times that year. And I have been climbing mountains with passion ever since. The book and the man changed my life. A year after reading this, I began to climb, initially at Seneca Rock in West Virginia. Then I moved abroad ultimately climbing in Chamonix over a dozen seasons, all over the UK and Western Europe from the Eiger to the Marmolata, and all over the US for some 50 years now. I've bought and reread all of Gaston's books. I've got pictures of Chamonix with Gaston as the main figure photographed by Pierre Tairraz, the photographer for all his books, in collages on most of the walls in my home. They have been up or years and I'm thought of as a curator of mountain photos. 30 years ago, I met Gaston with his pipe in his mouth looking out over the rising clouds from the Auguille du Midi Hut above Chamonix (just like a photo in this book) and had an opportunity to tell him that Starlight and Storm and the vision he shared of climbing in it had gripped me to the core and changed me while a wandering boy to a life-long world-wide climber and mountaineer...and I thanked him. He was gracious and happy that I had found my love of climbing...just like you would expect. My visit on that occassion was to climb his own route on the Midi. Well, it is later now in time, I've slowly become 66 years old, now living in the mountains of Colorado, but I still have this book on my shelf, so worn, so moving, so brilliant an stirring...the comradeship of the rope ..my friend, my companion, my inspiration. The story of my life, actually. Bon voyage, Gaston. Thanks again for your inspiration.

"Starlight and Storm" is one of these rare examples of an outstanding climber who can also write engagingly and with poetic verve!Rebuffat is unquestionably one of the outstanding climbers of the early post WW II mountaineering in Europe and perhaps the most outstanding French climber of the period. His achievements (first French climb of the Walker Spur of the Grand Jorasses; first French Climb of the north face of Eiger, member of the Anapurna expedition) speak for themselves.What also sets apart Rebuffat from many others (many climbers write books to underwrite financially their future expeditions or to underscore their achievements) is his joyful, honest and inspired writing. Rebuffat has a real talent to convey beautifully his emotions and leads us masterfully along his fascinating climbs.This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in mountaineering, and I commend John Krakauer for including it in the new "Exploration" series!

Gaston was one of the worlds best Alpine climber. One of the few to climb all 8 major North Faces in the Alps. He doesn't dwell on the technical aspects of climbing. His other book, ON SNOW AND ROCK deals with climbing techniques, but this book focuses on the story of the climb. One can sense his resolve and melding of his self with the mountain. It was an inspiring book for me. Unlike some reviewers I never fully mastered my fear of heights, and quit after a number of years. But those climbs I did do were in part inspired by wanting to emulate this great climber.Highly recommended for "arm chair mountaineers."

Beautifully written account of some of the great alpine climbs by one of the greatest alpine mountaineers. Best read in a hut or bothy with a fire flickering and a wee dram in hand

A hero! Very well written! Inspiring story for aspiring as well as experienced mountaineers! A must-have in your personal library!