The Cold Inside

A Story About Mountains, Friendship, and Doubt

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.

“Part mountaineering adventure, part meditation on the meaning of mountain climbing, Paul Hersey explores ways in which being among mountains can guide us towards a better understanding of ourselves. Drawing on decades of experience, Paul goes beyond simply asking ‘Why do I climb?’ to address issues of self-belief and doubt, teamwork and individualism, emotional wellbeing and pressure to succeed.” Laurence Fearnley, author.

“For me, The Cold Inside is Hersey’s best book. Well-crafted, tightly-written chapters tease out the delicate balance of risk and reward we all grapple with when climbing with mates – in Paul’s case, in the Southern Alps and on expeditions in Pakistan and Nepal. Overcoming self-doubt and dealing with the vagaries of climbing at altitude are recurring themes.

The Cold Inside takes you to the heart of the joy found in climbing partnerships, notably for Paul with Graham Zimmerman, Jamie Vinton-Boot and Marty Schmidt. While Paul and his wife Shelley come to terms with the destruction of their home in the Christchurch earthquake (perhaps the best chapter), the kinship with Vinton-Boot and Schmidt is suddenly shattered when both die in avalanches near Queenstown and on K2. Hersey is driven to despair, to the extent that his motivation to climb evaporates completely as he searches for answers to such cruel blows. The love for Shelley (herself a strong climber) shines through The Cold Inside as they begin the healing process, rebuilding a life close to an Otago surfing beach (Searching for Groundswell is Hersey’s recent book on his passion for surfing). The return to climbing is not a given by any means…The Cold Inside has a beautiful, poignant ending, offering a path forward.” Colin Monteath, author and publisher

Book Orders

For international orders go to Di Angelo Publications.

For New Zealand readers either order from your local bookstore or purchase a signed copy direct from the author. These cost NZD $30.00 including postage & packaging. Use the fields below to order: