On the Ridge Between Life and Death

A Climbing Life Reexamined

By: David Roberts

Narrated by: David de Vries

What compels mountain climbers to take the risks that they do? Is it the thrill in the physical accomplishment, in managing to defy the odds, or both - and why do they continue to do what they do in the face of such great danger? In On the Ridge Between Life and Death, David Roberts confronts these questions head-on as he recounts the exhilarating highs and desperate lows of his climbing career. By the time he was twenty-two, Roberts had already been involved in three fatal mountain climbing accidents and had escaped death himself by the sheerest of luck. And yet, as he acknowledges, few things have brought him more joy than climbing.

In a famous essay on the subject written more than twenty years ago, Roberts judged climbing to be "worth the risk." He continues to climb to this day, and several of his challenging routes in Alaska have never been climbed since. But in reassessing the emotional costs to himself and to loved ones, he reaches a different conclusion, one that is sure to cause controversy not only in climbing circles, but among adventurers of all kinds. Candid and unflinching, On the Ridge Between Life and Death is a compelling examination of the risks we take in order to feel more alive.

©2005 David Roberts. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Always the best

David Robert’s is always great. Highly recommend. One of the most poignant analysis of climbing and risk.

Wtf

Thanks for taking me on your climbs. I have not finished yet but WTF. Huge respect to the men and women for bringing us - armchair adventurers - to places once only meant for the gods.

Not your average climbing book

I have read several climbing books and this one is the best, especially if you are the sort of person who loves it if the author is introspective. The writing is crisp, evocative, and uncluttered. No major drama here but an autobiography about a man who becomes an expert climber, but watches friends die along the way. The author writes with courage about himself, revealing personal doubts and short-comings, as well as achievements.

Engaging, moving, personal, inspiring.

Amazing read that really highlights the depth of life and death in the mountains, especially in Alaska. I didn’t want to stop listening.

very good & informative

I was less than enthralled by the story of his young life , especially his fumbling sexual exploits. I really didn't think that appropriate to the story. The end result of that first love left lasting scars, but we all carry the weight of that tender time and inevitable mistakes. It could have been a few paragraphs instead of chapter. The poignancy would have had more emphasis in the subtlety & indeed more lasting than then the blow-by-blow and inevitable result.