Udini

The Eleventh Degree

<p>When a slightly wacky top climber and a likeably creative muddle-head team up to create a book about climbing on the edge of the performance limit, then something like THE XI. GRAD must come out. Klem Loskot and Udo Neumann's quirky insight into the microcosm of mini holds and kicks is fresh and cheeky and a joy to read.</p> <p>Just as Reinhard Karl's writing once did away with the red-socked alpinist pathos, the two authors set out to leave the banality and boredom of modern sport climbing literature, often degenerated into mere lists of routes and moves, far behind and finally trace the essence of climbing again: obsession and enthusiasm to the last, or in the authors' words:</p> <ul>"When you start climbing, you build a world for yourself. If you keep climbing and dreaming climbing, eating climbing and breathing climbing, the world is made from a universe." The wacky texts and the confused surfer layout of the large, landscape-format book do justice to the task, and anyone who gets excited about blurred movement sequences or missing punctuation is in the wrong movie.</ul> <p>The book simply has to be like this, as a reflection of the top end of climbing. The authors present 365 days of climbing and bouldering in many pictures, texts and sketches as a lively road movie, furthermore there are small portraits, song quotes, snippets of thoughts.</p> <p>In short: a successful and entertaining snapshot. Anyone who "eats climbing" will get a really tasty bite here.</p> <p>Udo Neumann, Klem Loskot | Udini Verlag | Format 21 x 31 cm</p>