Fall of the Phantom Lord: Climbing and the Face of Fear

by Andrew Todhunter

Book Overview

In 1989, while attempting a new route on a difficult overhanging rock face, climber Dan Osman fell. Again and again, protected by the rope, he fell. He decided then that it would not be in climbing but in falling that he would embrace his fear--bathe in it, as he says, and move beyond it. A captivating exploration of the daredevil world of rock climbing, as well as a thoughtful meditation on the role of risk and fear in the author's own life. In the tradition of the wildly popular man-versus-nature genre that has launched several bestsellers, Andrew Todhunter follows the lives of world-class climber Dan Osman and his coterie of friends as he explores the extremes of risk on the unyielding surface of the rock. Climbing sheer rock faces of hundreds or thousands of feet is more a religion than a sport, demanding dedication, patience, mental and physical strength, grace, and a kind of obsession with detail that is crucial just to survive. Its artists are modern-day ascetics who often sacrifice nine-to-five jobs, material goods, and the safety of everyday life to pit themselves and their moral resoluteness against an utterly unforgiving opponent. In the course of the two years chronicled in Fall of the Phantom Lord, the author also undertakes a journey of his own as he begins to weigh the relative value of extreme sports and the risk of sudden death. By the end of the book, as he ponders joining Osman on a dangerous fall from a high bridge to feel what Osman experiences, Todhunter comes to a new understanding of risk taking and the role it has in his life, and in the lives of these climbers. Beautifully written, Fall of the Phantom Lord offers a fascinating look at a world few people know. It will surely take its place alongside Into Thin Air and The Perfect Storm as a classic of adventure literature.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385486421
• ISBN13: 9780385486422
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Anchor Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Marvelous

This is one of my all-time favortie adventure books, and I've read many, both modern and classic. Todhunter's book is a marvelous excursion into the realm of fear and adrenaline, poignant and poetic, the inside story on what is otherwise external in nature, i.e. risking your life for mysterious reasons. Anyone who has ever taken seemingly foolish risks should rush out and get this book!

A fascinating, simple man worth reading about

I became fascinated with mountain climbing after reading about the Everest climbs. This book was even better. Osman is a fascinating individual completely consumed with rock climbing. His feats of free-fall are bizarre and will leave you mezmerized. But if you test fate too much, bad things happen.While rock climbing is the center of this book, Osman was more than a climber. It's interesting to a guy who works at least 8 hours a day to read about a man who works only to support his "rock climbing habit". Osman was also a unique individual and I feel for his daughter having to grow up without this unique individual in her life.

Excellent.

I had a hard time putting this book down and thought about nothing else for the few days I was reading it. Absolutely mesmerizing! As a newbie, I appreciated the intro to the lingo of the rock-climbing world. Todhunter's writing was excellent and I enjoyed the contrasting of his own life with his experiences with Dan Osman. Dano was pure inspiration to me. I was shocked when I found out he was dead. Although it is sad for his family and friends that he has died, strangely enough I don't feel sad for him because he died doing what he loved and living his life to the fullest (may we all live so fully!). I do feel sad that there is less beauty in the world now that he is gone. Read the book and you will see!

Incredibly descriptive. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

Though I am not an avid climber and sadly never had the opportunity to see Osman in action, Todhunter described Osman's psyche in such a way that I really felt that I came to know this courageous, reckless, inspiring climber. So much so, that when I learned of Osman's death in Yosemite last November, I literally cried. Todhunter introduced me to a man who, rather than running from his fear, literally jumped into its arms. We should all learn to be so courageous. I highly recommend this book.

the shock of dan osman's death

when i read the book, though it was clear enough in one sense that dan osman's drive toward perfection in climbing skill and the control of fear was also some kind of an addiction of the kind that will destroy you if you can't break its hold, todhunter's prose and osman's character--at least when climbing--made you feel that if anything happened to him it would be down in the flat world of pick-up trucks and parking tickets. i do not climb, and knew the man only through todhunter's words. but because of the book, when i learned of his death, i was hit by a sense of almost personal loss--and the shock of disbelief. how could it happen to him! he was so disciplined a climber. he knew the phantom lord so well. may angels and ministers of grace attend him. and look after his daughter emma