TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY EXTREME SPORT
“The distant towers of the Great, New and Cloister Courts looming against the dark sky, lit by the flickering lamps far below; the gradations of light and shadow, marked by an occasional moving black speck seemingly in another world; the sheer wall descending into darkness at his side, above which he has been half-suspended on his long ascent; the almost invisible barrier that the battlements from which he started seem to make to his terminating in the Cloisters if his arm slips; all contribute to making this deservedly esteemed the finest view point in the College Alps.”
By turns sage and foolhardy, the advice contained within represents the cumulative experience of three inquisitive, ambitious and daring men – the authors of the three editions of The Roof-Climber’s Guide to Trinity – and their accomplices. Geoffrey Winthrop-Young, John Hurst andRichard Williams were each their generations’ luminaries in an historic sport, now known as Night Climbing; one by its very nature sparsely populated and largely anonymous.
THE ORIGINAL NIGHT CLIMBING CLASSIC
This Omnibus Edition contains the full texts and images from each of those editions, as well as the appendices to the First Edition, and features a special introduction by Richard Williams, author of the Third Edition, in which he details the collected wisdom and history of Night Climbing, andfinally removes the cloak of anonymity that has until now protected the identities of those first intrepid nocturnal explorers.
Although many may baulk at the methods described in the narrative, few could question the diligence spent obtaining that content, or deny the impeccable locution and erudition displayed in presenting the illicit achievements in this cult classic. As the Guide itself posits, its existence “will have been justified if it has succeeded in providing the young stegophilist making his first night venture upon the Trinity Roofs with a clue, however poor, to the creditable unravelling of their somewhat complex mazes.”
OTHER UNMISSABLE NIGHT CLIMBING TITLES FROM OLEANDER:
The Bible of All Climbing Disciplines - The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith Cut and Paste 9781909349551 to search)In this edition we have reproduced the full 1899 text and illustrations, as corrected by G. W-Young in his personal copy. A true parody of the 'Alpine Guides' that started to appear around the turn of the century, this narrative schematic to the 'finest view in the college Alps' is informal, amusing, informative and inspiring as well as being sophisticated, erudite and very witty.
The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity is truly the first of its kind and the original example of the select literary niche that covers free climbing, buildering, and stegophily and now spreads into parkour, free-running and urban exploration. Oleander is pleased to be publishing The Roof-Climber's Guide to St John's, the 2nd (1930) and 3rd (1960) editions of The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity as well as Winthrop-Young's Wall and Roof Climbing.
