Written from the wide-eyed, self-effacing perspective of a mountaineer who pursues epic adventure while locked in a perpetual struggle with fear and self-doubt, David Pagel's stories--featured in Climbing magazine, Ascent, and Rock and Ice magazine--are modern climbing classics chronicling the experiences of an Everyman climber who dreams big. From Africa to Alaska, from the sheer walls of Devils Tower and El Capitan to the icy flanks of the Matterhorn and the mythic North Face of the Eiger, Pagel has never let his status as a run-of-the mill, middling climber (from the Great Plains, no less!) deter him from tackling the world's iconic peaks or seeking out the sport's legendary mountaineers. An insightful and hilarious collection of whimsical climbing stories, profiles, and perspective ... including a never-before-published selection of verse!