Balls Pyramid : Climbing the World's Tallest Sea Stack

Balls Pyramid : Climbing the World's Tallest Sea Stack
ISBN: 9780646946030
Publication Date: 9 December 2015

Balls Pyramid is a ripping yarn of drama, danger and persistence. A tale of a playboy boat owner, an eccentric expedition doctor who kick-started Dick's first successful business, the 'extinct' stick insect and gripping accounts and photos by the world's best mountaineers. It's also a love story, inspired by the honeymooners that Dick and fellow Scouts witnessed on nearby Lord Howe Island.

Balls Pyramid details Dick's battle to keep a special dream alive as bureaucrats moved in to ban climbing the stupendous spire.

This carefully researched, entertaining story tracks the evolution of Australian climbing over half a century and an all-consuming passion for Australia's greatest rock spire. The book will be available in bookstores from mid-January onwards, and Dick will be touring Australia in February doing radio interviews in relation to the book.

About the Author

Businessman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, aviator and a passionate advocate for the environment, Dick Smith is active in many fields of public life. Throughout his successful career in retailing and publishing (Dick Smith Electronics, Australian Geographic, Dick Smith Foods), he continued to pursue adventure.

Since his first expedition to Balls Pyramid as a Rover Scout, Dick has achieved many world firsts. These include the first solo around-the-world helicopter flight, the first around-the-world fixed wing flight landing at both North and South Poles, and the first balloon crossings of the Australian continent and the Tasman Sea.

Dick served as Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, was honoured as Australian of the Year and named an Australian National Living Treasure.