First Ascent

The Epic Yosemite Rock-Climbing Rivalry of Royal Robbins and Warren Harding

By: Kate Messner, Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)

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Hardcover | 5 August 2025

At a Glance

Hardcover
49 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
28.7 x 25.3 x 1.2

Hardcover

$41.75

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New York Times–bestselling author Kate Messner presents a daring game of one-upmanship that pushed the sport of rock climbing to new heights during the Golden Age of Yosemite climbing.

Royal Robbins and Warren Harding were two wildly different men who loved the challenge posed by big walls of granite—some that had never been climbed! They paired up to attempt an epic climb on Half Dome. When they didn’t make it to the top, they went their separate ways and soon became fierce rivals, racking up first ascents around Yosemite Valley.

This suspenseful, true story offers a fast-paced adventure with a dash of sports history and environmental awareness, told by Kate Messner—one of today’s foremost writers of nonfiction for young people—and climber-illustrator Stevie Lewis, whose love of the sport is on dazzling display. Readers will join the journey as the climbers chase their personal passion for thrilling exploits, which in turn showed the world the heights that are possible when there is someone pushing you to achieve.

Perfect for:

Fans of Kate Messner’s popular History Smashers series
Fans of adventure stories, sports biographies, and national parks tales
Teachers and librarians looking for picture books about nontraditional and action sports
Parents, grandparents, and caregivers searching for exciting nonfiction to engage young minds

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