Book description
 As I sat cradling the man's head, with his blood and brains
sticking to my hands, I heard a voice Â- my own voice. It was asking
me something. Asking how I had ended up like this, desperate and lost
among people who thought nothing of caving in a man's head and then
standing back to watch him die.â Nick Bullock was a prison officer
working in a maximum-security jail with some of Britain's most
notorious criminals. Trapped in a world of aggression and fear, he
felt frustrated and alone. Then he discovered the mountains. Making up
for lost time, Bullock soon became one of Britain's best climbers,
learning his trade in the mountains of Scotland and Wales, and
travelling from Pakistan to Peru in his search for new routes and a
new way of seeing the world Â- and ultimately an escape route from his
life inside. Told that no one ever leaves the service Â- the security,
the stability, the  job for life' Â- Bullock focused his existence on
a single goal: to walk free, with no shackles, into a mountain life.
Echoes, his first book, is a powerful and compelling exploration of
freedom Â- and what it means to live life on your own terms.
"A brilliant page turner from one of our most outstanding
adventure mountaineers. Not only are the accounts of his remarkable
climbs riveting but he also allows us into his personal feeling, fears
and day job as a prison officer." Sir Chris Bonington "Wild,
exciting and inspirational. A book that grips you throughout with wild
tales from handling Britain's most notorious criminals to tackling some
of the world's most exciting unclimbed lines. I loved it." Mick
Fowler Nick Bullock was born on Christmas Day in 1965. After leaving
school aged 16 he worked variously as a gamekeeper, a self-employed
labourer and at Alton Towers (less exciting than it sounds) before
joining Her Majesty's Prison Service in 1987 where he was posted to the
high security Gartree Prison as a Wing Officer, then a Punishment Block
Officer. In 1992 he was introduced to climbing at Plas-y-Brenin while
training as a Physical Education Instructor: his life was about to
change dramatically. Devoting all of his free time to climbing, Nick
quickly established himself as one of the UK's leading climbers, making
bold repeats in fine style of many of the UK's most renowned traditional
climbs. A veteran of over 20 expeditions to the greater ranges and
approximately 50 Alpine routes, it is in the mountains where Nick has
truly demonstrated his imagination and abilities, making significant
ascents and failing on some audacious attempts around the world with
partners such as Jules Cartwright, Al Powell, Kenton Cool and, more
recently, Andy Houseman. In 2003 he quit the prison service and has
since devoted his life to climbing, writing and being frugal. An
accomplished writer, his work has been published in Alpinist, Climb
Magazine, Vertical, UKClimbing. com, The Alpine Club Journal, The
American Alpine Journal and more. When not on expedition, Nick lives in
Chamonix through the winter and in his van in North Wales through the
summer. Echoes is his first book.
