Vertical Pleasure by Mick Fowler (1995) (SIGNED)

The secret life of a taxman. Mick Fowler has been one of Britain's leading alpinists for a long time. His "gimmick" is climbing hard around the world with a full-time job as a tax collector (referenced in the title). Now retired, he recently plucked a 6,000-meter FA in Pakistan, at the age of 68, climbing with a colostomy bag. But this book rewinds a long ways back, to Mick's days as a young climber: cutting his teeth in the UK and the Alps, before heading abroad for the real challenges in the Andes and the Himalaya. This is a first edition, first US printing published by CloudCap. Signed "Best wishes, Mick Fowler" on the title page. Pages have toning to the edges, and there is a slight waviness to the text block. Some sun-fading to spine. A subtle diagonal mark across back board and jacket - maybe as if something was pressed across it. Overall this book appears nicer than my description is making it sound. 224 pages, with two inserts of color photographs, and an index at the back.