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The Sharp End of Life. Dierdre Wolownick
Читать онлайн.Название The Sharp End of Life
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isbn 9781680512434
Автор произведения Dierdre Wolownick
Жанр Биографии и Мемуары
Издательство Ingram
First practice day on the ninety-foot rope hanging a thousand feet high, Mt. Potosí, Las Vegas (Photo by Karissa Frye)
Dierdre’s parents, when they were courting, shortly before World War II
Dierdre and her brother John in front of the family’s Manhattan brownstone
No sleeping on the floor for Alex: the higher up, the better
Christmas family portrait, 1986: Charlie, Dierdre, Stasia, and Alex
Alex’s first outdoor climb—at age eleven: the Savoy Alps, France (Photo by Philippe Poirier)
Stasia (six) and Alex (almost four) in the French Alps
Stasia and Alex, circa 2015
Some of the climbing tribe: Gary, Dierdre, Michelle, and Steve
Dierdre, Stasia, and Dierdre’s climbing mentor Mark Cicak at Smith Rock, Oregon (Photo by Sean McCartney)
Feeling pretty good at the end of the Lake Tahoe Half Marathon
El Capitan
Practicing on the Heart lines on El Capitan (Photo by Karalyn Aronow)
Jumaring on El Capitan, September 2017 (Photo by Karissa Frye)
THE SHARP END OF LIFE
A Mother’s Story
Dierdre Wolownick
MOUNTAINEERS BOOKS is dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.
1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134
800-553-4453, www.mountaineersbooks.org
Copyright © 2019 by Dierdre Wolownick
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Mountaineers Books and its colophon are registered trademarks of
The Mountaineers organization.
Printed in the United States of America
Distributed in the United Kingdom by Cordee, www.cordee.co.uk
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Copyeditor: Laura Lancaster
Design and layout: Melissa McFeeters
Cover photograph: Dierdre Wolownick gearing up to ascend El Capitan in Yosemite National Park (Photo by Karissa Frye, www.karissafryemultimedia.com)
All photos Wolownick family collection unless credited otherwise.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wolownick, Dierdre, author.
Title: The sharp end of life : a mother’s story / by Dierdre Wolownick.
Description: Seattle, Washington : Mountaineers Books, [2019].
Identifiers: LCCN 2018044364 (print) | LCCN 2018056954 (ebook) | ISBN 9781680512434 (ebook) | ISBN 9781680512427 | ISBN 9781680512427(hardcover) | ISBN 9781680512434(ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Wolownick, Dierdre. | Women mountaineers—United States—Biography. | Mountaineers—United States—Biography. | Women runners—United States—Biography. | Marathon running—United States—Biography. | Musicians—United States—Biography. | Honnold, Alex.
Classification: LCC GV199.92 (ebook) | LCC GV199.92 .W65 2019 (print) | DDC 796.522092 [B] —dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018044364
Mountaineers Books titles may be purchased for corporate, educational, or other promotional sales, and our authors are available for a wide range of events. For information on special discounts or booking an author, contact our customer service at 800-553-4453 or [email protected].
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-68051-242-7
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-68051-243-4
For Charlie, who made my life better in so many ways, and who gave me the greatest gift of all.
And for Stasia and Alex, with all my love, gratitude, and admiration—for being my guides through this adventure of life and life of adventure; for bringing balance, amazement, and so much love to my life; and for always encouraging me to be more than I thought possible.
Author’s Note:
This is my story and my perspective on the events of my life. While I have made every effort to provide an accurate account of the people, places, and events included in these pages, I have relied on my personal memories and journals.
Any errors or misrepresentations are unintentional.
one
AN OCEAN OF ROCK. That’s what my son calls this monster wall of smooth granite that stretches toward the sky for three thousand feet, so high I can’t see the top from the base of the route we’re about to climb. I lean back so far my neck creaks.
“It’s