The Young Savages
By Claudia Zeigler, text by Annika Müller
Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the glamorous, triumphant façade of climbing’s youth? We’re bombarded with touched-up Instagrams and real-time news of their latest sends, but what are these prodigies like in normal life?
The Young Savages is a large-format book of photography that offers an intimate view into the lives of climbers whom you’ve likely only seen being rad on the rocks. To be sure, plenty of intense climbing photos pepper its pages, but what really sets this book apart are the tender moments Claudia Ziegler has captured. Like Mélissa Le Nevé, relaxed, glancing brightly at her brother while he strums a guitar; a contemplative, backlit Jonathan Hörst absorbed by his other passion, football; and Alexander Megos on a bicycle with a boyish smile, carrying fresh baked goods for his family.
The Young Savages showcases thirteen climbers, aged 13 to 26, from nine different countries. Ziegler captures a variety of athletes in different disciplines of our sport, some of whom you’ll recognize -- such as Adam Ondra from the Czech Republic and Ashima Shiraishi, of New York -- and others who aren’t as well known, like Mihou Nonaka, of Japan and Domen Skofic, of Slovenia. In addition to Shiraishi, other American climbers featured are Brooke and Shawn Raboutou, of Colorado and Jonathan and Cameron Hörst, of Pennsylvania.
Annika Müller’s prose, written in German and English side-by-side, provides a personal vignette of each climber’s life. The miniature biographies, interrupted with pages of glorious images, are digestible in just a few minutes. In that sense, this is the perfect coffee table book and conversation piece.
While catchy, the title word “savages” belies the tenderness you’ll discover inside every athlete. For if nothing else, this book simultaneously elevates our youthful climbing heroes while defining them as utterly and beautifully human.
To order the book visit: TheYoungSavages.com
It currently retails for $59.95, plus shipping ($6.95 to the U.S.)
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