Feeding the Rat: Profile of a Climber

Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989. First Edition. Hard cover. Very Good/Very Good. 8x5x0. This book is a portrait of Mo Anthoine who has been climbing all over the world for almost 30 years. For him, the challenge of the mountain is what he calls "feeding the rat" - the need to get out, to test yourself and, above all, to have some fun. Although his name is almost unknown to outsiders, he is famous in the climbing world both for his talent as a mountaineer and for his anarchic attitude to the sport. He is adamant that is is not a sport, but a pastime and the main object is to have a good time. He has climbed all over the world - in Britain, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Karakoram, New Zealand, Alaska, the Andes, Patagonia and the South American jungle. A. Alvarez has known Mo since 1964 and climbed with him often and this book includes accounts of two of their near disasters - one in the Dolomites, the other on the Old Man of Hoy.