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High Endeavours: The Life and Legend of Robin Smith
Robin Smith was one of the most legendary climbers ever to have tackled a mountain. This definitive biography draws on contributions from people who knew this charismatic and complex young man, as well as diary extracts from Smith himself. As Smith was a friend and inspiration to many climbers worldwide, including fellow Scot Dougal Haston, High Endeavours is a fitting and long-overdue tribute to one of Britain's most revered mountaineers, and one of the finest books ever written on the allure of the mountainside.
- GenresBiography
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 1, 2019
A thoroughly researched biography of the rock climber and mountaineer Robin Smith, who was only 23 when he died whilst climbing in the USSR in July 1962. Although only 23, he was a precocious talent, and had pushed the boundaries, putting up an impressive number of hard new routes.
I had read snippets about him in various other mountaineering books, and had an impression of a talented climber who could rub people up the wrong way. Cruickshank (the author) was a childhood friend of Smith's, who had climbed with him in his early years, so the start of the book is very much personal recollection.
The remainder of the book is a combination of third person biography, with lots of contributions from Smith's friends and contemporaries. It's not the most polished mountaineering book you'll read, and occasionally is hard work, but it all feels very real and honest, if slightly rose-tinted.
By the time I reached the last section, on the expedition to the USSR, I felt I knew Smith much better, and as a result I found it quite moving.
For the general reader looking for a book about mountaineering, I'd rate this at most 3*, but for the people who read this sort of book, I've rated it 4/5.
I had read snippets about him in various other mountaineering books, and had an impression of a talented climber who could rub people up the wrong way. Cruickshank (the author) was a childhood friend of Smith's, who had climbed with him in his early years, so the start of the book is very much personal recollection.
The remainder of the book is a combination of third person biography, with lots of contributions from Smith's friends and contemporaries. It's not the most polished mountaineering book you'll read, and occasionally is hard work, but it all feels very real and honest, if slightly rose-tinted.
By the time I reached the last section, on the expedition to the USSR, I felt I knew Smith much better, and as a result I found it quite moving.
For the general reader looking for a book about mountaineering, I'd rate this at most 3*, but for the people who read this sort of book, I've rated it 4/5.
December 3, 2013
I'm too young to remember Robin Smith. Growing up, my climbing heroes were Joe Tasker, Peter Boardman and Dougal Haston. Chris Bonnington regularly visited my school and fed us tales of their exploits, alongside others. Naturally then, when
Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk
was published at the turn of this century I was delighted and it was through that book that I learned a little more of Robin Smith and the Smith/Haston partnership that at one time threatened to be greater than that of Joe Brown and Don Whillans.
At the time, Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk was greeted with a mixture of praise and vitriol by the climbing community. Haston is a man that has always divided opinion amongst his peers, Smith though, has always been presented as an almost angelic figure - somehow above us all. Haston was clearly an occasionally confrontational and reckless character, and like Whillans (with whom he later formed another effective partnership), he had a chip on his shoulder and paraded his working class credentials like a medal. That, I suspect, explains part of the animosity shown towards him, which is often appended with specific reference to the incident where he drove drunk after recently knocking someone down in his car.
That always struck me as slightly revisionist thinking though - when that occurred drink driving was not an offence and, though it may have been irresponsible was at least almost understandable in the circumstances. Haston was reckless but, by the time of his death at the age of 36 he was a far different, more mature character than his detractors would suggest; grappling with his place in the world. Which brings me to Smith. What to make of a man who died at just 22 years of age?
Clearly, had he lived longer, Smith would have developed as a person. To me, he comes across in this book as largely obnoxious but this is a trait often associated with youth and one he may well have grown out of. He also seemed to me, however, to be manipulative and more than reckless - careless for other people's safety as well as his own. If Haston could be said to have viewed the world as a series of challenges - socially as well as physically - Smith seemed to view it as a toy designed for nothing other than his own amusement. The eulogies just don't make sense to me, however clearly gifted a climber he was. That said, he obviously inspired a lot of love and loyalty amongst those who knew him, not least from Jimmy Cruickshank. Jimmy was Smith's school-friend and first climbing partner, aged 16. At age 17, he got gripped climbing with Robin (who at the time had a leg in plaster) on Skye to such an extent that he never climbed again. Despite this, he chose to write a biography of his former friend fifty years later in his retirement.
Just what inspires such loyalty though? If Haston can be vilified for the drink-driving incident then why does no-one ever mention that Robin, horse-playing with a man more than a decade older than him to whom he'd taken an instant and irrational dislike, should "hold me under until I was breathing water"? Malcolm Slesser's words are the only ones included here not to excuse Robin's actions with a 'but', who refrains from the 'full of life/mischief/intelligence' clichés or even suggesting that Haston led him astray. It's to the author's credit that he includes them, along with one or two references to people refusing to comment on Robin. I suspect that reluctance to speak ill of the dead speaks volumes.
Cruickshank's research is thorough, he plainly spent many years trawling archives and speaking to those who knew Robin. His prose is dull though and the frequent efforts to let others decribe events in their own words breaks the flow. Some, especially Wilfrid Noyce, only serve to highlight the workmanlike quality of Cruickshank's own efforts. Overall, I have to say that I found this a very difficult read - a detailed but dull account of the short, brilliant life of a malodorous man.
At the time, Dougal Haston: The Philosophy of Risk was greeted with a mixture of praise and vitriol by the climbing community. Haston is a man that has always divided opinion amongst his peers, Smith though, has always been presented as an almost angelic figure - somehow above us all. Haston was clearly an occasionally confrontational and reckless character, and like Whillans (with whom he later formed another effective partnership), he had a chip on his shoulder and paraded his working class credentials like a medal. That, I suspect, explains part of the animosity shown towards him, which is often appended with specific reference to the incident where he drove drunk after recently knocking someone down in his car.
That always struck me as slightly revisionist thinking though - when that occurred drink driving was not an offence and, though it may have been irresponsible was at least almost understandable in the circumstances. Haston was reckless but, by the time of his death at the age of 36 he was a far different, more mature character than his detractors would suggest; grappling with his place in the world. Which brings me to Smith. What to make of a man who died at just 22 years of age?
Clearly, had he lived longer, Smith would have developed as a person. To me, he comes across in this book as largely obnoxious but this is a trait often associated with youth and one he may well have grown out of. He also seemed to me, however, to be manipulative and more than reckless - careless for other people's safety as well as his own. If Haston could be said to have viewed the world as a series of challenges - socially as well as physically - Smith seemed to view it as a toy designed for nothing other than his own amusement. The eulogies just don't make sense to me, however clearly gifted a climber he was. That said, he obviously inspired a lot of love and loyalty amongst those who knew him, not least from Jimmy Cruickshank. Jimmy was Smith's school-friend and first climbing partner, aged 16. At age 17, he got gripped climbing with Robin (who at the time had a leg in plaster) on Skye to such an extent that he never climbed again. Despite this, he chose to write a biography of his former friend fifty years later in his retirement.
Just what inspires such loyalty though? If Haston can be vilified for the drink-driving incident then why does no-one ever mention that Robin, horse-playing with a man more than a decade older than him to whom he'd taken an instant and irrational dislike, should "hold me under until I was breathing water"? Malcolm Slesser's words are the only ones included here not to excuse Robin's actions with a 'but', who refrains from the 'full of life/mischief/intelligence' clichés or even suggesting that Haston led him astray. It's to the author's credit that he includes them, along with one or two references to people refusing to comment on Robin. I suspect that reluctance to speak ill of the dead speaks volumes.
Cruickshank's research is thorough, he plainly spent many years trawling archives and speaking to those who knew Robin. His prose is dull though and the frequent efforts to let others decribe events in their own words breaks the flow. Some, especially Wilfrid Noyce, only serve to highlight the workmanlike quality of Cruickshank's own efforts. Overall, I have to say that I found this a very difficult read - a detailed but dull account of the short, brilliant life of a malodorous man.
July 11, 2023
A story that had to be told about a life so extraordinary. A must for all avid readers of climbing history
January 2, 2015
Biography of Robin Smith. Amazing he achieved so much at just 23 before having his life cut short by a simple slip on a snow slope.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews