The Longest Climb: Back from the Abyss

An inspiring, moving, and unblinking view of a battered climber who refuses to turn his back on the mountains.

Born in Bolton, England, Paul Pritchard started climbing when he was 16 years old. In time, he became one of the foremost British climbers of the 1980s and 1990s, climbing difficult routes across the United Kingdom and around the world, including the East Face of Central Tower in Torres del Paine, Patagonia, the first ascent of the West Face of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island, Trango Tower in northern Pakistan, and multiple attempts on the then-unclimbed Shark’s Fin on Meru Peak, in the Indian Himalayan region.

On Friday, February 13, 1998, Paul’s life was dramatically altered when he was struck in the head by a falling boulder while climbing the Totem Pole, a slender sea stack off the coast of Tasmania. He received a traumatic head injury and was left suffering from hemiplegia, which has robbed his right side of movement and continues to play tricks with his speech and memory.

A remarkable story that highlights life’s surprising gifts and crucial lessons, The Longest Climb chronicles Paul’s inspiring journey back to life and reminds us all that ＂When we spend time in the mountains, we do not escape from our woes. We come home and learn how to accept them.＂