Chap with more money than sense sets out to climb the "Seven Summits" - so far, so yawn-inducing, but this is no ordinary high altitude punter and no ordinary Seven Summits ticklist. In fact Charles Sherwood, a complete mountain enthusiast with a philosophical bent, has produced a very well written and highly readable account of climbing the "best" routes on each continent. These include, the North Face of the Eiger, the Nose on El Cap, and Mount Cook - hardly the standard fare of your average Sherpa-shepherded peak bagger. Needless to say his accounts of these and other adventures are considerably more interesting than that of someone queuing on fixed ropes at the Hillary Step.
As he says, "Even the most casual reader among you will by now have worked out that the whole thing is little more than a delightful ruse for having a very good time," and his goal is neither to seek glory nor to complete a box-ticking exercise, but simply to enjoy himself in the company of his fellow climbers, including Mark Seaton, Andy Kirkpatrick and Stephen Venables, and to appreciate the splendour of his surroundings. Also featuring fascinating historical detail about each route, Seven Climbs is a compelling account of Sherwood's efforts to answer a much-debated question: which are the world's greatest climbs?
With several pages of colour photos and featuring diagrams and maps by Andy Kirkpatrick.
By Charles Sherwood.
Card cover, 23cm x 15.5cm, 192 pages.
Published 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-912560-85-1.
“Charles is from the Mick Fowler school of British understatement,” Andy Kirkpatrick.