Dennis Gray

Essays from the Edge gathers fifty years of selected writing by Dennis Gray, one of British climbing’s most influential voices. These twenty-one essays, spanning one of British mountaineering’s most exciting periods, provide a compelling narrative of a life studying the art of climbing and of living it first-hand on the cliffs and mountains of the world in the company of some of the sport’s most colourful characters of the last century. Vivid portraits anchor the collection: the legendary Joe Brown and Don Whillans, members of the Rock and Ice Club; American pioneers Royal Robbins, Jeff Lowe and Warren Harding; and unsung originals such as the Barley brothers, Robin and Tony. A wide-ranging 1973 interview with climber Allan Austin gives a fascinating insight into the Yorkshire scene of the early 1970s. Dennis’s commentary expands to cover other issues, such as the 1932 Kinder Mass Trespass, climbing’s debut in the Olympics and the development of modern rock climbing in Belgium. Broad in scope yet precise in observation, Essays from the Edge celebrates the values and spirit of British climbing.

Rope Boy is the story of Dennis Gray, a young lad from Leeds who gets his first taste of rock at age eleven, and goes on to become a prominent figure in the UK climbing scene for decades to come.Gray’s climbing career began with the ‘Bradford Lads’, climbing in Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales, exploring classic crags such as Clogwyn Du’r Arddu, tentatively venturing into an exciting new game, and inspired by the pioneering Arthur Dolphin. Just as the scene was rapidly developing in the 1950s, so was Gray’s desire to climb, and he was soon climbing with the Rock and Ice legends Joe Brown, Don Whillans and Nat Allen, among others, making first ascents such as North Crag Eliminate on Castle Rock in the Lake District and Grond on Dinas Cromlech in Wales.Larger objectives beckoned, and Gray embarked upon multiple expeditions to the Alps as well as to the Himalaya, the Andes, and America, making numerous first ascents along the way including the north ridge of Alpamayo in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, and Mukar Beh in the Kulu valley of India.Rope Boy relays times of frustration, adventure and success, and the hilarious and dauntless friends with whom Gray shared his experiences. Dennis Gray’s transformation from rope boy to expedition leader is an inspiring and encouraging tale of one boy’s journey into adulthood via a world of rock, snow and ice.

The devastating impact of alcohol on indigenous populations is well-known, but debate often overlooks the broad context of the problem and the priorities of indigenous people themselves. This book has been written with the desire to improve the level of informed debate, and lead to constructive action. It aims to provide readers with a coherent explanation of alcohol misuse among indigenous peoples in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The extensive health, economic, social and cultural consequences of misuse are described in the words of the indigenous people themselves. The book finds that patterns of indigenous alcohol consumption cannot be understood in isolation from the impact of European colonialism and its continuing consequences. Its authors argue that our understanding of alcohol misuse needs to be reconceptualised and structural inequalities addressed.