High atop a mountain, Keith Brueckner grappled with fear at the sight of an immense wall of steep ice and snow, a looming overhang, and the descending grey of storm high on a face. Time after time as he bravely faced the unknown and elements beyond his control, Brueckner opted to bury his fears, test his abilities and inner-strength, and join his mountaineering heroes in creating unforgettable adventures.

In a narrative released posthumously, Brueckner details over fifty years of climbs in the mountains beginning in 1938 in Switzerland when he first ascended a steep dusty trail up the...