Rope Boy

Description

Published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1979, Reissue of 1970 1st Edition, slight foxing edges, D/w, Nr. Fine.   Dennis Gray is perhaps best known as the first National Officer (1972-74) and first General Secretary (1974-1989) of the British Mountaineering Council, holding the latter post until his retirement.   However, he started climbing in the late 1940s, first with ‘The Bradford Lads’ and later with the Rock and Ice Club, climbing with many of the leading British climbers of the day, including Tom Patey, Don Whillans, Joe Brown, Nat Allen, Slim Sorrell, Ron Moseley, Robin Campbell and many more.  He was therefore involved in many first ascents in the UK.  He climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, including with Don Whillans on Gaurisankar in 1964 (they failed to reach the summit by a few hundred feet), and in 1966 led a successful expedition to Alpamayo in the Andes.  He is also an accomplished author, having penned not only this first volume of autobiography but also Mountain Lover (1990), Tight Rope (1993), Slack – The Fun of Climbing (1998), Poems From The Edge (2003), Todhra (2005), and Essays From The Edge (2025).