Uplifted by Sonnie Trotter #
Uplifted: The Evolution of a Climbing Life by Sonnie Trotter (audio). As you may notice from the selection of books reviewed here, I have a soft spot for the climbing memoir genre. This latest entry comes from Sonnie Trotter, someone I’ve always admired for a combination of well-roundednessHe’s climbed at the highest level in sport climbing, single-pitch trad climbing, and alpine multipitch climbing. and what seems like genuine humility. This book recounts his history in climbing through many short and digestible essays, many of which can be read (or listened to) independently. Some stories were particularly engaging to me: a trip to Mexico with Alex Honnold, one visit to Patagonia, and the story of the first ascent of Pineapple Express on El Cap in Yosemite. These stories were interesting enough that they overcame what I see as the primary limitation of this book: the prose has a simplicity to it that makes it hard to stay excited on a page-by-page basis. And while there’s certainly no point in complexity for complexity’s sakeLord knows we don’t need more self-aggrandizing angsty-teenager prose in the world., I found myself wanting more from the writing itself. For example, the literal last sentence of the book (in an interesting Epilogue about the recent rockfall in the Bugaboos): “But what will always remain the best part for me is having fun with good friends in high places.” To be fair: I suspect that this is one of those books that’s a hybrid between a memoir and a coffee-table book,Patagonia in particular has been known to make books in that hybrid style. so this may be a case where the medium (audio) really did hurt the message. Grade: B-