Abstract

Why do we have this need to endanger ourselves and even to risk death by climbing mountains? Why do we have this urge to lose ourselves in the wilderness? What is the thrill of suddenly confronting a savage beast? In this book, the author confronts the reader with the dark side of our mind, the wilderness within. He shows how the techniques of the mountaineer parallel those of the mystic, and explains the relationship that all adventurers have with death.