ONE DAY AS A TIGER. REVIEW

*THIS REVIEW FOLLOWS OUR NEW REVIEW FORMAT FOR BOOKS. PART OF OUR GENERAL STREAMLINING ACROSS THE TRIPS & WEBSITE NOW WE ACTUALLY GET ENOUGH ATTENTION TO WARRANT IT.

THIS BOOK IS GOOD BUT NOT BRILLIANT, A COOL READ BUT NOT NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE OUR PRESCRIBED READING LIST. AS A DABBLE INTO MANY THINGS, NOT LEAST THE LIFE & TIMES OF ALEX MACINTYRE, IT IS MASTER OF NONE – EXCEPT PERHAPS THE MECHINATIONS OF OF THE EARLY BRITISH MOUNTAINEERING COUNCIL WHICH IS AS EXCITING AS IT SOUNDS. THERE IS A LOT OF GOOD DETAIL, AND STUFF YOU WON’T QUITE FIND ELSEWHERE, BUT IT HAS NO DIRECTION AND FOLLOWS NO THREAD SUFFICENTLY TO IMPART MORE THAN ANECDOTE.

NEVER THE LESS, MACINTYRE IS A GIANT AMONG ‘CLIMBERS CLIMBERS’, PERHAPS BEST LEFT NOT BEING THE SUPERSTAR HE HIMSELF MAY HAVE WANTED TO BE. INDEED IT WAS MARK TWIGHT WHO RECOMMENDED WE STUDY THE BOOK, WHICH HINTS AT REAL AUTHENTICITY, AND THOUGH WE NEVER FOUND WHAT TWIGHT ALLUDED TO, IT DID MEAN WE TOOK THE BOOK SERIOUSLY. MACINTYRE HIMSELF IS NOT A BOOK-SELLING NAME, WHICH MAY WELL BE WHAT PRESERVES HIM FROM THE AFFECTS OF MYTH AND HYPERBOLE. HE DIED SO YOUNG HE NEVER REALLY ‘MENTORED’ ANYONE OR DEVELOPED A FOLLOWING, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS PIVITOL IN WHAT HAS BECOME A MARKETING ORGY.

.

REAL CLIMBING CONTENT

JOHN PORTERS SUBTITLE REFERENCING THE BIRTH OF ‘FAST & LIGHT’ ALPINISM IS TANTALISING ON THE COVER, BUT DON’T EXPECT MUCH. DESPITE THE ALLURE OF A BOOK ABOUT CLIMBING, BY A SIGNIFICANT CLIMBER, YET AGAIN WE GET MORE DRAMA THAT SATISFIES THE SHELVES OF BOOK STORES THAN CONTENT ACTUAL CLIMBERS CAN DO MUCH WITH.

THAT SAID, WHAT DOES SEEP THROUGH IS VERY GOOD, AND HINTS AT THE REAL STUFF OF CLIMBING, AND RISES JUST ABOVE THE CLICHES AND TROPES THAT SO MANY MOUNTAINEERING BOOKS FALL AFOUL OF. YES, WE KNOW THE PACKS ARE HEAVY, THE BELAYS ARE BAD, THERE’S NOT ENOUGH FOOD – THAT’S SIMPLY CLIMBING – AND IT’S NICE FOR A CHANGE TO SOMETIMES SMELL THE SPARKS OF STEEL ON GRANITE

TRUTH BE TOLD, THIS LEVEL OF CLIMBING PEAKED AROUND THE TIME DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK, THE WORLD CHANGING FAST AND THE DEATH TOLL BEING SELF-LIMITING. THOUGH THERE’S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF GRAPHIC DETAIL THERE’S ENOUGH TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES IF CROSS-REFERENCED, AND PIECE TOGETHER HOW MENTAL THE CLIMBING WAS AND HOW DEEPLY THE PHILOSOPHY INVESTED IN.

.

PEOPLE STUFF

JOHN PORTER DOES A GOOD JOB DEFERRING TO ALEX MACINTYRE, NOT CRAMMING THE FRAME WITH HIS OWN IMAGE, ALLOWING ALEX TO SHINE THROUGH. ALEX COMES ACROSS WELL, AND JUUUUST JUSTIFIES THE WORDAGE BLOWN ON HIS DOMESTIC AND SOCIAL LIFE, PORTRAYING HIM AS A FRIEND RATHER THAN A HERO.

THIS IS NO FEEDING THE RAT BY ANY MEANS, BUT MAKES A SUITABLE NEXT CHAPTER, WHERE THE BAND OF CHUMS HAS (D)EVOLVED INTO A SCENE. OTHER CLIMBERS ARE A PLENTY, AND THIS BOOK DESCRIBES THE ‘POST-RAT’ GENERATION, DOCUMENTING THE VERY MOMENTS WHERE THE BATON PASSES FROM THE LIKES OF BONNINGTON AND SCOTT. THE DIVERSION BETWEEN THE ‘RAT PACK’ INTO TRIBES IS CLEARLY DETAILED, AS DEATHS AND DISCONTENT ERODE THE GOLDEN GENERATION.

ARGUABLY MOST INTERESTING ABOUT THE BOOK IS THE INTERSECTION WITH THE POLISH, GIVING AN ANGLE PARALLEL TO BERNADETTE MCDONALDS BOOKS THAT FILLS IN MORE OF THE SITUATION. IN ONE OF THE GREATEST INCIDENTS IN CLIMBING CULTURE THE WAY BRITISH AND POLISH CLIMBERS INTEGRATED SEAMLESSLY IS SHOWN, WITH PALPABLE WARMTH OF SPIRIT, THAT ALSO SHOWS MACINTYRES ABILITY AND RESPECT IN THE SCENE.

PORTER DOES EVERYONE THE DIGNITY OF NOT GOING INTO THE ACTUAL INCIDENT OF ALEXS DEATH. THIS IS NOT A SNUFF STORY. IT IS MENTIONED THROUGHOUT IN THE CONTEXT OF OTHER THINGS, AS PART OF ALEXS WEB OF THINKING, BUT THERE IS NO GRAPHIC OR DRAMATIZED ACCOUNT. LIKE A HITCHCOCK FILM, THIS LEAVES THE HEAVY STUFF TO THE IMAGINATION, BUT ALSO SERVES AS THE MEMORIAL OF A MATE, MAKING THIS VERY MUCH THE STORY OF HIS LIFE NOT HIS DEATH. THERE IS NO GRATUITOUSNESS AS FOUND AROUND THE DEATHS OF ALEX LOWE, KURT COBAIN OR MALLORY, PORTER SEEMINGLY INTENTIONALLY AVOIDS ANY TELLING OF THE CHAIN OF EVENTS.

.

COOL STUFF

THOUGH NOT TOLD ALL THAT WELL (BRITISH UNDERSTATMENT IS DULL WHEN NOT PERFECTED), THERE IS A LOT OF COOL STUFF THAT SHOULD WHET THE TASTEBUDS FOR ANY EXPEDITION CLIMBER. TRAVEL ACROSS NOW-DEFUNCT BORDERS, MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN, HINTS AT SKULLDUGGERY AND THE GRIMY GRIST OF EXPEDITION LIVING ALL ARE ALURING, AS ARE THE MENTIONS OF WEIRD PROTOYPE GEAR AND CRAZY WAYS OF CLIMBING.

THERE IS JUST ENOUGH OF THIS STUFF TO KEEP THINGS A STORY OF ADVENTURE AND NOT A PORTRAIT, AND ALEX IS SHOWN AS A REAL GUY WHO INFLUENCED WHAT HAPPENED AROUND HIM. HIJINX AND CAPERS AND THE USUAL BRITISH DRUNKENESS ARE SHOWN TO EXPLAIN A FAIR BIT OF THE TIMES, ALONG WITH HASHISH SMOKING, ILL-PREPAREDNESS AND A ROCK STAR LUST AMBITION TO FOLLOW THE EXCITEMENT.

THIS IS ALL COOL FROM TODAYS PROSAIC ATTITUDES, WHERE THINGS ARE MEASURED IN GRAMS AND DOWN TO THE DOLLAR. IT’S COOL TO SEE HOW THE TOP ALPINISM WAS ONCE A CREATIVE RATHER THAN INSTITUTIONAL THING, AND THAT CLIMBERS PUSHED BACK AT AN ESTABLISHED ORDER INSTEAD OF SIGNING UP TO JOIN IT.

.

CONCESSIONS FOR THE AVERAGE READER

THIS IS THE BOOKS SHORTCOMING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A CLIMBER, AS ABOUT HALF OF IT IS BEDSIT OR KITCHEN TABLE DRAMA MIXED WITH THE GOINGS ON OF BOOZY MOUNTAINEERING COUNCIL MEETINGS, WHICH PRECLUDES THIS FROM BEING A CLIMBING BOOK IN THE WAY STUFF LIKE THE OGRE OR WHITE LIMBO IS.

LIKEWISE – AS WITH MOST BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT – THE POLITICAL SCENE OF THE ERA IS NO MORE THAN WALLPAPER, WHEN REALLY IT IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE CHOICES THE PROTAGONISTS MADE. THE STUFF IN AFGHANISTAN AND SOVIET UNION GETS PASSING MENTION BUT NOT EXPLAINED OTHER THAN WHEN IT INTERSECTS WITH RIPPING YARNS, AND THE ENTIRE BACKDROP OF 1980s BRITAIN IS BARELY MENTIONED PRESUMABLY NOT TO AFFECT SENSIBILITIES.

IF YOUR ATTRACTION IS TO THE MENTION OF ‘LIGHT AND FAST ALPINISM’ ON THE COVER BE READY TO BE DISAPPOINTED. PERHAPS AS A FISH MAY NOT PERCEIVE WATER AND HUMANS DON’T FEEL AIR, JOHN PORTER THE AUTHOR MAY NOT PERCEIVE THE IDEOLOGIES OF THE CLIMBING HE HIMSELF CONTRIBUTED TO. LITTLE IS MADE OF THE REALITIES OF WHAT THE PARADIGM IS OR WHAT A SHIFT IT WAS, OUTSIDE OF BEING A MECHANISM THAT THE STORY IS FLOATED BY. WE ASSUME THE AUTHOR HAS AVOIDED TOO MUCH JARGON AND ALPINE NAVEL GAZING, LIKELY ON BEHEST OF PUBLISHERS, BUT IT ALSO SHOWS A LIMIT TO THE WRITING WHICH ELSEWHERE HAS MANAGED TO INCLUDE IT.

.

AUTHOR QUALIFICATION

JOHN PORTER IS AN IDEAL PERSON TO TELL THE TALES, AND THOUGH CLEARLY NOT A WRITER, HE IS A GOOD WITNESS AND GONZO CHARACTER. LIKE AL ALVAREZ HE WAS THERE, AND HAD HIS OWN EFFECT ON THE SUBJECT, WHICH IS OPENLY PORTRAYED AND WHAT SAVES THE BOOK FROM BEING A B-GRADE BIOGRAPHY.

THE AUTHOR OPENLY STRUGGLES WITH HIS OWN TELLING OF IT ALL, SOMETHING THE BEST WRITING SHOULD, AND HE TELLS THE STORY OF THE STORY IN A HUMAN AND INTIMATE WAY THAT SPEAKS FOR MORE PEOPLE THAM HIMSELF. IT’S ONE THING TO KNOW THE SUBJECT AND ANOTHER TO KNOW THOSE WHO ALSO KNEW THEM, SOMETHING YOU WON’T GET FROM MCDONALD, MOST BIOGRAPHIES AND CLIMBERS OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TELLINGS.

.

PICTURES

THIS IS THE BOOKS STRONGEST POINT, WITH A FINE SELECTION OF PHOTOS THAT SHOW MACINTYRE IN GOOD CONTEXT WITH THE STUFF THEY WERE CLIMBING. IN FACT, THE REAL INSTRUCTIVE CONTENT IS IN THE IMAGES, IF ONE KNOWS WHAT TO LOOK FOR, AND NOT IN THE TEXT (SEE BELOW) WHERE THE IMAGES FILL IN GRAPHIC DETAILS THE WRITING DOES NOT.

.

LEARNIN’ STUFF

WE DON’T SEE WHAT MADE THIS BOOK A RECOMMENDATION FROM MARK TWIGHT, WHO MADE IT AS A REFERENCE TO THE LIMITATIONS OF THE FAST & LIGHT ETHIC OF THE DAY. WHILST THE MENTIONS OF THE FAST & LIGHT PHILOSOPHY GET MADE, THEY DON’T GET REALLY EXPLAINED OR ELLABORATED ON – CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE THE COVER – AND AS STATED ABOVE THIS FORGOES THE BOOK AS MUCH MORE THAN A TALE.

WHAT WE DO LEARN THOUGH IS HOW THE WORLD CLASS ALPINISM SCENE WENT FROM ‘BONINGTON-STYLE’ STUFF TO THE LAISSEZ FAIRE TIME OF THE 80s & 90s, AND HOW WHEN CLIMBING BECOMES A BEHEMOUTH IT WILL SPROUT RADICALISM. PORTER GIVES MUCH MENTION TO THE INTENT OF PUSHING AWAY FROM THE GOLDEN ERA STUFF, SOMETHING THAT CLIMBING WE BELIEVE COULD DO WITH A SOLID 5g DOSE RIGHT NOW.

CHARACTERS LIKE DOUG SCOTT AND VOYTEK KURTYKA GET CAST IN ROLES OTHER THAN JUST LEGENDS, AND WE LEARN THAT THE POLISH-BRITISH CONNECTION WAS A CONCRESENCE THAT SET ARGUABLY THE HIGHEST STANDARDS IN ALPINISM. WE LEARN THAT THE PUNK ATTITUDE COULD BE MORE THAN THE SUPERFICIAL ALLUSION IT USUALLY WAS, AND THAT IT RAN CONCURRENT WITH DEATH, AND THAT TOOK A BIG DOSE OF EASTERN EUROPEAN GRIT, FRENCH NIHILISM, BRITISH ECCENTRICITY AND THE CAULDRON OF FOREIGN LANDS.

.

SHOULD YOU READ IT?

YES, BUT NOT IN ITS OWN RIGHT, AS WE THINK THIS BOOK ONLY WORKS IN THE CONTEXT OF OTHERS LIKE FEEDDING THE RAT, BONINGTONS ANNAPURNA, THE ART OF FREEDOM AND WHITE LIMBO WHERE IT FILLS A MISSING CHUNK. MACINTYRE HERE IS NOT PORTRAYED ENOUGH AS AN INDIVIDUAL TO BUILT A CULT AROUND AND HIS METHODS ARE NOT DESCRIBED WITH ENOUGH DETAIL TO DO MUCH WITH, BUT TO NOT KNOW ABOUT HIM IS TO TO HAVE A BLINDSPOT OVER SOMETHING CRITICAL.

DON’T BOTHER WITH THIS BOOK IF YOU JUST WANT SOMETHING FOR THE FLIGHT, BECAUSE THE BEST PARTS OF IT MAKE IT HALF A MANIFESTO WITHOUT KNOWING IT DOES. AS A TALE ITS QUITE AVERAGE, BUT AS A FULCRUM IN THE CONTINUUM OF ALPINISM THAT SHOULD KEEP A RADICAL EDGE IT IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT, AND AS A TRIBUTE TO A GREAT CLIMBER WHO DIED FAR TOO YOUNG IT HAS A LOT TO TEACH.

.