High over Boulder

Rating:
Summary: This book is packed with history. A must get for climbers!
Review: High Over Boulder was given to me as a farewell gift by Pat Ament. It is a guide that I could have used the first day I rode into Boulder but 11 years later it serves me better as a guide to the greatest climbing experiences of my life. If you have ever been to Colorado or dream of that day, this book is a must!

I met Pat in 1987 during a short stay in Boulder. As a climbing enthusiast 19 years of age I asked everyone I met to be my climbing partner. Someone at church finally gave me a phone number to a Pat Ament who was thought to have climbed in his younger days. I did not know Pat or any of his history. Little did I know that Pat would take me on a journey "High Over Boulder." Over the next few weeks Flagstaff Mountain, Boulder Canyon, the Amphitheater, and Eldorado Canyon were opened to me. In a folklorish sort of way Pat would share memories and insight about each traverse and finger hold. He would mutter events of his youth with Royal Robins and Layton Kor. I learned of his friendship with Tom Frost & John Gill and how he mentored excellent climbers like Christian Griffith and Grey Ringsby. For the first time in my life I realized the modern climber must pay homage to the memories of the past. We won't get the chance for many first assents. We do not always climb "just because it is there". We climb because we want to bond with those that have gone before.

Two months later on my way out of Boulder I stopped by Pats one room pad to say my farewells. I thanked him for the time he had spent with me and the memories he had shared. From a shelf above his desk he pulled out a book. "Bryce, this is my personal Copy of a guide I put together some time ago." "I hope it will be of value to you some day." Little does he know the meaning of this simple gift.