S3:E3 Jim Herrington

Afterglow, A Mountain Storytelling Podcast

Imagine spending nearly 20 years traveling to remote corners of the globe, on a non-existent budget, in order to compile images of famous climbers and mountaineers. Jim Herrington has committed a large portion of his life to accomplish just this. In the process he has created a staggering work of photographic beauty that will be cherished by climbers for many generations to come. Herrington's seminal work "The Climbers," captures portraits, in stunning black and white analog film, of prominent climbers from the "Golden Age." These iconic pioneers were primarily active from 1920 to 1970 and pushed the ceiling on a fringe and dangerous sport. The list of subjects in Herrington's book is staggering. They include some of the brightest lights to ever tie into the sharp end of the rope, including Fred Beckey, Royal Robbins, Yvon Chouinard, Reinhold Messner, Ricardo Cassin, Jules Eichorn and many, many more. Through his evocative work, Herrington challenges our own concepts of aging and mortality, obsession, determination and what it truly means to live a life well lived. In our wide ranging conversation he touches on all these topics and more, as what as he learned from his subjects. We also talk at length about the influence the work had on him, his background and fascination with early Sierra Nevada climbers, how his other professional passion, rock and roll, exhibits many parallels to climbing and more. I view Jim as a steward of climbing and mountaineering history and I think you will sincerely enjoy a glimpse into the mind of someone whom the climbing community owes a massive debt of gratitude. Jim is a soulful guy with a beautiful lilting voice that can only be found in the South. That voice makes the stories of these iconic climbers sound even more grand and wonderful. Enjoy!