The Cold Inside: A Story about Mountains, Friendship, and Doubt - Paperback

by Paul Hersey (Author)

Mountains may inspire or repel. For climbers, they offer an opportunity for extreme adventure, as well as elusive, precious moments of feeling truly alive.

The Cold Inside takes an intimate look at what it takes to climb. With a unique focus on New Zealand's breathtaking, unparalleled landscape, seasoned mountaineer and award-winning author Paul Hersey is profoundly introspective, and his passion for his crafts -- storytelling and climbing -- is evident from the first pages.

A mix of adventure narrative, prose, and memoir, this book explores the psyche of climbers. It's as much an unflinching recount of risk and loss as it is a love letter to nature, both facets heightened through the deep connection that climbing provides. Drawing on decades of experience, Hersey artfully examines how such a distinct perspective influences everyday life, particularly in his homeland Aotearoa / New Zealand, where nature is equally giving and exacting.

The Cold Inside is a personal, searching journey towards understanding the inspiration as well as the cost of climbing mountains.

Author Biography

Paul Hersey lives in the South Island of New Zealand, next to the sea and close to the mountains. His previous jobs have included newspaper reporter, ice climbing instructor, fisheries enforcement officer, surf lifeguard, photographer, sea kayaking guide, and outdoors retail store manager. Paul has climbed extensively in New Zealand and overseas for the past 30 years, completing numerous first ascents.

An award-winning author and journalist, Paul has written eight books, and he is a contributor to various magazines including Alpinist, New Zealand Geographic, The Surfer's Journal, North and South, and Wilderness.