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Click on a title or book cover to learn more about that book, or to place an order.

NEW: Two Shadows -
The inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity

From the darkness of a six foot by eight foot cell in solitary confinement to the top of the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, this is the captivating story of one man's struggle to recover from a troubled past.

The Trad Guide to Joshua Tree
60 Favorite Climbs from 5.5 to 5.9
Full-color guide to 60 moderate, trad rock climbs at Joshua Tree.
* Detailed directions to locate each climb
* High-quality, moderate climbs that are sure to become your favorites
* Descent instructions for every climb

The ESSENTIAL Guide to
GREAT SAND DUNES
NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE

Hikers, dunes skiers, sand-castle builders, photographers, and tourists will find the information you need for adventures in the National Park and Preserve.

Highpoint Adventures

1st Ed: A Pocket Guide
to the 50 State Highpoints
Yes, we have copies in stock!

2nd Ed: The Complete Guide
to the 50 State Highpoints
Now available as an eBook
from Google Books!

Both editions Out of Print - collector's items

Try visiting the highest spot in each of the 50 states for a different slant on seeing this beautiful and sometimes off-beat land of ours.
Whether you are a serious hiker and climber, or prefer to see the sights through the windshield of your car, you can find state highpoints to suite your style
Click on a title or book cover to learn more about the book, or to place an order.

Author to donate to Movember to benefit Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG

2010-11-18T17:15:00.000-07:00

Charlie Winger, author of the new memoir Two Shadows - The inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity announces that he will donate $5 per book sale to Movember, a global, non-profit men's health initiative.

Mountaineer, guidebook author, and prostate cancer survivor Charlie Winger announced on November 18, 2010 that he will make a donation to Movember, a fundraising campaign raising awareness and funds for the number one cancer affecting men – prostate cancer. The donation will be based on sales of Winger’s autobiography, Two Shadows - The inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity.

Winger was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May 2009, and subsequently underwent surgery to remove his prostate. All indications are that he is now cancer-free. He has been impressed with all the awareness campaigns and support for women and men diagnosed with breast cancer, and wanted to find a way to reach out to men with prostate cancer as well as to support organizations fighting this disease which will kill 32,000 men this year. Movember USA uses the moustache (called a “mo” for short) as the “ribbon for men’s health,” and is partnering with the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG to address this health issue.

From now through November 30, 2010, Winger will donate $5.00 per paperback copy sold and $1.00 per Kindle copy sold of his latest book to Movember. Two Shadows is available in paperback or e-book (Kindle) format from Amazon.com and other online booksellers. Winger’s wife, Diane, has also set up an individual donation page on the Movember website, http://us.movember.com/mospace/1281804/, where direct donations to Movember can be entered.

Recent Reviews of "Two Shadows"

2010-11-15T15:29:00.009-07:00

Reviews on Amazon.com:

Raw and honest storytelling...
This book was not only a fast and fun read, but it was a raw and honest telling of the ups and downs life sends our way and how the author chose to play the hand he was dealt. After reading the first few chapters describing his troubled childhood and youth, I would never have expected him to pull away from a life of delinquency and lawbreaking to later become a successful alpinist, husband and friend to many. In fact, I found these early, candid anecdotes to be jaw-dropping...(read more)

From the Depths to the Heights - a long, hard climb
Because I am a mountaineer, I have read other of Charlie Winger's books, so I knew his work would be well written, accurate and often funny... Wow! I am also a psychologist and part of my work is with juveniles, detained at our facility while on their way to prison. As I read, I thought a lot about a youngster I worked with for a year and a half. He was incarcerated when he was 14--"doing stupid stuff"--and has now, at 18, left the Juvenile Detention Center to complete his sentence elsewhere... I have bought another copy of "Two Shadows" which I will send to him ... Thank you to the author, thank you for publishing this fine book!(read more)

A Great Read
As a mountaineer, I loved this book because it was so obviously written by a climber -- not some armchair travel writer. The trip descriptions that fill the middle of the book are littered with the foibles, accidents, screw-ups, and unexpected encounters that always seem to accompany complex adventures in distant places. They keep the book lively and unpredictable, and Winger describes them in what can only be described as his own voice...(read more)

Across Many Decades
Far too often, autobiographies are written before the entire story has been told. Famous people droning on about how they became famous when they are still fairly young. Two Shadows, however, is written the way an autobiography is meant to be and is a much more compelling story than those frequently offered by the rich and famous...(read more)

Inspiring Adventure
Two Shadows takes you on a journey from a childhood no young boy should have to endure to a positive, uplifting adult life that is to be admired. Until I read Charlie Winger's book, Two Shadows, I thought I had seen the world, or at the very least, the most unforgettable places. I now know I have only traveled the perimeters...(read more)

From HikeBikeTravel.com:
Charlie Winger, the author and the subject of the book, takes you on his inspirational journey from a truly miserable childhood in Chicago and Kansas to his life as a petty criminal, to a five year stint behind bars and finally to that of a white collar worker and world-class mountaineer....(read more)

Press Releases

2010-10-28T13:04:00.001-06:00

Read a sample

2010-10-17T18:34:00.001-06:00

Read a sample from Two Shadows...
(for best results, click the 'full screen' icon below)

Two Shadows - Contents

2010-09-26T09:44:00.003-06:00

Back to Two Shadows page

Acknowledgments

Forward

Introduction

In the Beginning

Chapter 1 The Windy City

Life in the Trenches

Chapter 2 This Land of Oz

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

Chapter 3 Crossbars Hotel

On the Inside Looking Out

Chapter 4 Free at Last

Return to Oz

Chapter 5 Second Chances

Transformation and New Beginnings

Climbing Adventures

Chapter 6 Special Relationships

Climbing Partners

Chapter 7 Ecuador - Climbs in the Andes

Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, & Tungurahua

Chapter 8 Denali – The Great One

West Rib & West Buttress

Chapter 9 Argentina - Chile

Aconcagua

Chapter 10 Africa

Mt. Kilimanjaro & Mt. Kenya

Chapter 11 USSR - Russia - Climbs in the Pamirs

Peak Communism & Mt. Elbrus

Chapter 12 India

Trisul

Chapter 13 Nepal - Climbs in the Himalaya

Annapurna Sanctuary, Fluted Peak, Gokyo Ri

Chapter 14 Peru - Climbs in the Cordillera Blanca

Pisco, Chopicalqui, Huascarán Sur

Chapter 15 Bolivia - Climbs in the Cordillera Real

Huayna Potosi, Illimani, & Condoriri

Chapter 16 European Blitz - Climbs in the Alps

Matterhorn, Mount Blanc, Grossglockner

Chapter 17 Scandinavia

Land of the Midnight Sun

Chapter 18 El Picacho del Diablo

A Devil of a Peak

Chapter 19 High Mountains & Slot Canyons

Boundary Peak & The Subway

Chapter 20 One Last Time (The Finale)

Ama Dablam & Ishinca

Chapter 21 Here, There & Everywhere

A Collection of Vignettes

Reality Check

Chapter 22 The Old One-Two Punch

The Big “C” and Falling is a Catchy Term

Chapter 23 Pardon Me?

Resolution & Rehabilitation

Shipping & Handling

2010-09-25T15:14:00.017-06:00

We ship our books using USPS Priority Mail.

Shipping costs:

1 book ....... $5.00
2-4 books .... $6.00
5 or more ... Free Shipping

Two Shadows

2010-09-13T14:36:00.059-06:00

NEW: Two Shadows -
The inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity

by Charlie Winger

"I’m going to take you on a journey that starts in the tenements and alleys of pre-World War II Chicago through jails, reformatories, and the hell that was prison. From solitary confinement to the jungles of the Amazon, the heights of the Himalayas, the isolation of the desert Southwest, and many points in between."

This captivating autobiography reveals the remarkable story behind a man known for his passion for mountain climbing, his irrepressible and often unique sense of humor, and his fascinating tales of adventure and mis-adventure.

List Price: $18.95

Our Price: ~~$18.00~~ SALE PRICE: $17.00
We have this book in stock NOW and will ship orders immediately!

Autographed copies available directly from the author

Two Shadows is also available from Amazon as a paperback and an e-book (for Kindle and other e-devices).

Press Releases:

Author to donate to Big City Mountaineers to benefit at-risk teens

Author donating to MOvember to benefit Prostate Cancer research & awareness

Psychologist recommends new autobiography for “every kid who is incarcerated”
Author to donate to Greg Mortenson ("Three Cups of Tea") to help build schools in Central Asia
Prolific Mountain Climber, age 73, Releases New Autobiography

Click to view Recent Reviews

Click to view Table of Contents

NEW: Click to view Book Preview

Back Cover (excerpts):

"Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" the Canadian Border Services Officer inquired. "No," I responded with a straight face and sweaty palms. "Are you sure you've never been convicted of a felony?" he repeated. "Not since 1955," I admitted, guiltily. So began my journey back in time to a place I thought I had forever left behind.

***

Suddenly, I slipped on the steep snow slope and immediately began to slide out of control. The weight of my pack made it difficult to self arrest. I grasped the head of my ice axe, rolled over on my stomach, and drove the pick into the snow. Finally, I slid to a stop, arms extended, literally hanging from my ice axe with a death grip.

***

Colorado-for-Free

2010-03-25T15:31:00.017-06:00

Colorado-for-Free began as a concept for a book, but ended up as a website filled with ideas for free things to see and do all over Colorado.

Best of all: all the information on the site is available for free!

Whether you are planning a vacation to Colorado, or you’re a local looking for something new to see or do, chances are you’d like to find something for free.

Some of our suggestions are “classics”: the Coors Brewery Tour and a tour of the Colorado State Capitol building, for example. Others offer a unique – and often unusual – peek into local characters: Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland and the one-man work of art called Bishop Castle near Beulah. We have free museums and food festivals, contests and races, stone carving and snow sculpting, skiing and ice climbing, classical music and a children's music park, science exhibits and story-telling. Free chocolate, free beer, free wine (or mead), free tea, free watermelon – and did we mention that all of this is Free?

So, put away your wallet, hop in the car, and let’s go explore
Colorado-for-Free!

P.S. Don't miss our article on a fun-filled Free day around Denver:

Denver-for-Free!

Highpoint Adventures

2010-03-24T15:27:00.041-06:00

Autographed copies of the 1st edition available directly from the authors

The COMPLETE Guide (2nd Edition) is now available for purchase as a Google eBook.

We have ONE known NEW copy of The COMPLETE Guide (larger 2nd Edition) available for $60.00 -- signed by the authors.

The exciting outdoor adventure of "Highpointing" can be enjoyed by everyone - from families and seniors to experienced hikers and mountaineers - with a fun guidebook. "Highpointing," that is, driving, hiking or climbing to the highest summit in a state, has taken off, with enthusiasts in all 50 states - including the nationally organized Highpointers Club with thousands of active members throughout the country.

HIGHPOINT ADVENTURES has selected the easiest route up each of the 50 state highpoints, be it a drive, hike, or climb. Whether you are a first-timer on a road trip with all the kids to your state's highest spot, or a veteran climber seeking the ultimate challenge of Alaska's Mount McKinley - it's all here and packed with the information you need.

The Essential Guide to Great Sand Dunes

2010-03-24T15:16:00.009-06:00

National Park and Preserve

List Price: $19.95
Our Price: $17.00

Autographed copies available directly from the authors

Have you ever seen a Ghost Forest? Wondered at the beauty of the Culturally Peeled Trees at Indian Grove? Played in the surge flow of a creek, just before it disappears into the sands? Come along with us to visit the remarkable Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve in southern Colorado, nestled at the base of the dramatic Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Explore the expanded Great Sand Dunes National Park, the National Preserve, and the surrounding Sangre de Cristo mountains (including several "Fourteeners" - peaks over 14,000' high). Choose among over 40 hikes and mountaineering adventures, ranging from short strolls along a nature trail, to adventures on the Sand Dunes, to visits to intriguing high-elevation caves, to a technical rock climb of The Prow on Kit Carson Peak.

Whether your interests lie in hiking, mountain biking, having a picnic, playing on the "beach", sliding down the sand slopes, horseback riding, bird watching, viewing wildlife, or just enjoying peace and quiet, we'll provide the information you need to plan a trip to this magical place.

The book will lead you to fun and sometimes surprising places just outside the boundaries of Great Sand Dunes. Enjoy exploring beautiful Zapata Falls; take your boat out on San Luis Lake; meet alligators up close and personal right here in the San Luis Valley of Colorado; relax in hot springs; play golf at the foot of the majestic Sangre de Cristo mountains.

Learn about lodging, camping, restaurants, museums, and much more. We think you'll fall in love with Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Park as we have, and will want to return again and again.

The Trad Guide to Joshua Tree

2010-03-23T21:06:00.023-06:00

60 Favorite Climbs from 5.5 to 5.9

List price: $21.95 - Our price: $18.00

Autographed copies available directly form the authors

After numerous rock climbing trips to Joshua Tree National Park over the past 20 years, we've observed:

* "Moderate" climbs are usually the most popular.
* Climbers often wander for hours searching for a formation.
* Once they find the climb, it may not be worth the effort.
* "How do we get off this route?" is a common concern.
* "What's a good 5.7 in the shade with a short approach?" is another popular question.

The Trad Guide to Joshua Tree was written especially for moderate climbers looking for fun routes. It contains detailed maps, directions, and photos for locating each of 60 favorite rock climbs, sun/shade info, descent instructions, and pro suggestions. There is a large, full-color photo of every route, plus other photos showing details of the approach for the more complex areas.