Blue is the new Pink

What did you do last month (October)? Did you participate in a walk/run to raise funds to fight breast cancer? Buy products adorned with pink ribbons that promised donations to the cause? Perhaps (like us) you remembered a family member or friend who lost her life to breast cancer, or maybe you are battling it yourself.

What are you doing this month (November)? While we were participating in a very good cause last month, almost 2,500 men died as a result of prostate cancer, and about 19,400 were newly diagnosed. Unfortunately, many of us don't talk about prostate cancer. It reminds me of the era as I was growing up -- not only was breast cancer never mentioned, it was also mostly taboo to even use the word "breast." We're still in that sort of "unmentionable" status when it comes to prostate cancer and the all-too-frequent side-effects of some of its treatments (incontinence and E.D. - erectile dysfunction). We might joke about these matters, but for the most part we don't really talk about them.

Charlie (a 5-year survivor of prostate cancer) and Diane are proud to be participating once again in Movember, a global fundraising campaign during November of each year to "change the face of men's health." The Movember Foundation supports organizations such as LIVESTRONG Foundation and the Prostate Cancer Foundation in working toward awareness and understanding of the health risks men face, providing treatment and care needed, and accelerate discoveries that lead to interception of lethal disease.

************

Join the Wingers in battling prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health issues for men during November/Movember. Throughout the month, we will donate:

$5 per paperback sold through The Winger Bookstore

and

50¢ per e-book sold through Amazon.com

to Movember for sales of the following titles:

Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity (memoir by Charlie Winger)
Faces (novel by Diane Winger)
Duplicity (novel by Diane Winger)
Rockfall (novel by Diane Winger)

We also welcome donations directly to Movember Foundation. Here's a link to our team's fundraising page:  http://mosista.co/WingerBooks

Thanks for your support!

P.S. As a reward for reading all the way to the end, be sure to use this special link for extra low prices on these 4 books:  http://wingerbookstore.com/Movember2014
Of course, our pledge to donate to Movember still applies!

Charlie Winger wins prestigious mountaineering award

Previous award winner Jean Aschenbrenner presents the
Ellingwood award to Charlie

The Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) announced the 2013 recipient of its prestigious Ellingwood Award for mountaineering excellence, recognizing Charlie Winger for his accomplishments as a climber over the past thirty-eight years as well as his outstanding role as a volunteer instructor. The award is named for Albert R. Ellingwood, one of the pioneering mountaineers in Colorado and Wyoming of the early 20^th century. It is given to the recipient for reflecting the club’s climbing ethics, demonstrating and teaching strong climbing skills, and pushing the boundaries of climbing accomplishments in Colorado and around the world.

  

Winger has an impressive resume of climbs under his belt ­– or in his case, under his climbing boots. Here in Colorado, he not only climbed all the “Fourteeners” (peaks of 14,000 feet elevation and higher), but went on to summit the 200 highest mountains in our state. He is fond of lists of peaks, and has climbed each of the highpoints of the 50 states; the highpoints of every county in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada; over 100 peaks in Death Valley; a list of 99 desert peaks identified by the Desert Peak section of the Sierra Club; over 100 peaks in the Sierras of California; and the list goes on.

Outside of the U.S., Winger has climbed in other parts of North America (Canada and Mexico), South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Well-known peaks he has completed include the Matterhorn (Switzerland), Aconcagua (Argentina), Mt. Elbrus (Russia), and Kilimanjaro (Tanzania). In addition to mountain climbing, Winger enjoys rock climbing and ice climbing, especially at the Ouray Ice Park.

Winger is a “Lifetime” member of the Colorado Mountain Club, joining the organization in 1976. He has served in the club as a volunteer instructor for most of the courses offered by the Denver Group, including rock climbing, technical ice climbing, basic mountaineering, winter camping, high-altitude mountaineering, telemark skiing, and first aid. Hundreds of club members have been taught and inspired by Winger to go beyond their perceived limitations. A number of his former students have gone on to become notable mountaineers themselves, crediting Winger for getting them excited and prepared for their climbing goals.

At age 76, Winger keeps up a level of activity that many would envy. He ice climbs 20 to 30 days during the winter season. In 2013, he climbed fifty-two peaks, went on rock climbing trips for fourteen days, enjoyed a six-day trek along the Pacific Crest Trail in California, cross-country skied, snowshoed, and volunteered with the Ouray Trail Group doing trail work.

Charlie Winger is an author of three outdoor recreational guidebooks (co-authored with his wife, Diane). He has also written an autobiography, Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man’s triumph over adversity, which describes many of his mountaineering adventures.

No Mo' Prostate Cancer!

MOvember (the month previous known as November) begins tomorrow, and we've jumped in to offer a challenge. Once again, The Winger Bookstore is participating in fundraising to help wipe out prostate cancer and other men's diseases.

Here's the deal.

If you donate $25 or more to our Movember fundraising team during November, we'll send you a free voucher for the Kindle version of Two Shadows, Charlie's inspiring memoir. Chapter 22 is particularly relevant. It recalls the frightening days and weeks of receiving his diagnosis of prostate cancer, our search for the best steps for us to take, and how that turned out. Obviously, the wonderful news is that Charlie has been cancer-free now for 4 years. Not all men are that fortunate.

Movember is a global charity which aims to "change the face of men's health." A "mo" is slang for a mustache in Australia, where the organization began in 2003. To raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer, as well as mental health challenges, men ("Mo Bros") often grow a mustache during November while raising funds. Women ("Mo Sistas") also participate, finding creative ways to fundraise. Learn more about Movember here.

Funds raised in the U.S. are split among the Prostate Cancer Foundation, LIVESTRONG, and the Movember Foundation programs. Here's more about the programs which are funded.

Ready to help with a donation? Thank you! Please click here to go to our Movember fundraising page. Again, if you donate $25 or more to our team, you'll get a free Two Shadows e-book voucher as part of our personal thanks.

Do you love books with ALTITUDE? Great news: we're doing a Giveaway!

Summer is winding down and we're getting ready to give away some great prizes.

Enter for a chance -- or multiple chances -- to win one of the following great outdoor adventure publications:

a) A free copy of the paperback Because It's There - a photographic journey

b) A free copy of the AUDIO version of Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity

c) A free copy of the Kindle version of Faces (a novel)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An Ice Climber's Vignette

Excerpt from Chapter 21 of

Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity

Chapter 21 – Here, There & Everywhere

or, Adventures for the Criminally Insane

A collection of vignettes — some humorous, some serious, 

some simply pathetic. 

...

With the promise of warmer temperatures than we had experienced earlier in the week, Dave Cooper, Dan Stright, and I decided to go ice climbing at the Ouray Ice Park. So, there we were, mid-morning, with Dave climbing and me belaying. Dan was using a solo device on another climb. Lo and behold, a small trickle of water began flowing along between me and the climb, which is on the opposite wall of the narrow, slot canyon.

Shortly, the little trickle turned into a five-inch-wide stream with small sticks floating lazily past. I was enjoying the ambiance when I noticed that the five inches of water had turned into ten inches. Must be that new math. Suddenly I heard a noise to my left. Startled, I looked upstream to see a mini-tsunami of water, slush, and debris rushing toward my belay spot. All this while I was belaying Dave on the climb.

I quickly assessed the situation and decided that:

1) I would be unable to follow Dave on the climb due to my inability to cross the now-raging torrent, and
2) our packs were in immediate danger of being swept downstream.

How clever of me — a prime example of the climber's mind at work.

Fight or flight wasn't going to work as I was securely tied into the belay anchor. While drowning wasn't in my immediate future, having wet boots was certainly a distinct possibility. I was pulled back to reality by Dave screaming, “Am I still on belay?” Oops, can't forget about your climber! “Trust me, I've got you,” I replied as I hurriedly took up several feet of slack. (I'm about to be swept to my death and he's worried about a little slack in the rope! Did I mention that I hate water?)

After what seemed like an eternity, Dave finally reached the top of the climb. I took him off belay and had him pull up the rope. My next task was to release myself from the belay anchor and retrieve the packs where I had tossed them as the surge of water approached. Now my dilemma was: how to cross over to the other side of the stream where I would be able to hike out of the canyon. Behind me was an 80-foot-high, insurmountable rock wall which looks to be rated M16. The next question was: how fast can I run through slush, water covering hidden rocks, and deep snow?

I can now assert without hesitation that I am literally able to walk on water! But, alas, by now my proposed emergency exit route was blocked by the raging, mineral-contaminated stream on one side and an unfathomable wide pool of murky-looking water on the other. In between lay a very large, ten-foot high boulder with a foot of snow quietly resting on its crown. What to do? I did what any incompetent mountaineer would do: climbed the rock in crampons carrying the two packs.

There I sat, contemplating the lesser of two evils. Do I wait until nightfall when temperatures might drop enough to refreeze the stream? Or take "the leap of faith"? Obviously, the only logical choice was slither down the other side of the rock into the unknown and run like hell through more gunk to another, smaller rock which fortuitously is attached to a five-inch-wide log that bridges the stream. No use burning up any more brain cells on this problem, so over the edge I went. Swoosh! Thankfully, a soft landing without any hidden obstacles to trip or impale me and I was perched on the only remaining rock sticking above the snow.

Suddenly, Dave appeared out of the trees on the far bank, carefully negotiated the log, and joined me on the rock. Actually, he pushed me off into the slop, grabbed the packs, and confidently strode back across the log to the safety of the other side, leaving me slowly sinking into oblivion. Wow, he sure made that look easy! I regained my rock sanctuary and hoped that vertigo didn't strike while I attempted the log crossing.

While considering my options, it occurred to me that the water could possibly continue to rise, and I would be marooned indefinitely. Across the way, Dave sensed my indecision (cowardice), and broke off a ten-foot-long limb from a tree which he threw across to me. Using the limb for balance, it was a cake walk to the safety of the far bank. I really could have crossed the log with a blindfold, trust me. Nothing to this ice climbing stuff.

Meanwhile, Dan had finished his climb and was carefully assessing the situation to determine if they were going to have to call Search and Rescue for me.

...

A "Bimillennium" -- 2,000 Thanks

We're so pleased to reach the 2,000 mark on sales of Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity! Many thanks to all our readers -- especially those who have sent us notes and posted reviews of Charlie's remarkable story.

We're celebrating this "Bimillennium" event for a very limited time with a special 99¢ price for the Kindle version from Amazon.

For those interested in the paperback version, share a link to the book on a social network or via email to your friends, then leave us a comment below letting us know what you shared. We'll send you a Special Discount Password so that you can purchase an autographed copy for only $12.

Share one of these links & leave us a comment below:
http://wingerbookstore.com/twoshadows/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044KM0GO

Remembering our first batch of orders when Two Shadows was released...

So there I was ... Lost near the highpoint of Nevada

We'd like to share a short excerpt with you from Two Shadows:

It looked like such a straightforward hike. Who would have guessed that I'd end up lost, and spend the night curled up in the fetal position under a tree, with a garbage bag as my shelter? 

It had been 8 1/2 hours since anyone had seen Diane. The SAR folks arrived around 11 p.m. amidst an armada of rescue vehicles and clouds of dust. They quickly set up a communications network and dispatched their members out into the field to look for Diane. As quickly as they had arrived, they had all departed and a heavy silence descended upon the camp. I attempted to sleep in the front seat of my vehicle but my concern for Diane’s safety kept me awake. At approximately 3:00 a.m. I heard a strange “thunking” noise and looked out to see a military helicopter swoop past, two red lights glowing from the front of the fuselage. I later learned that they had forward-looking infrared radar equipment which can be used to detect heat sources. By the time daylight arrived, the “cavalry” had returned from the field empty handed.

~~~

Found - Charlie blows Diane's emergency whistle
as she enjoys some food after her 23 hour
"disappearance"

We'll be sharing some short vignettes, excerpts from books, and other mini-epics under the category "So there I was...". We hope you find them interesting, entertaining, amusing, or simply odd.

Battling against Prostate Cancer

November begins tomorrow, so that means it's time to support MOvember once again. For the past several years, we've donated a portion of our sales of Two Shadows (which includes Charlie's story of learning he had prostate cancer) to this organization. Here's what they're about:

The funds raised in the US support prostate cancer and testicular cancer initiatives. The funds raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and our men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG Foundation. Together, the three channels work together to ensure that Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs in line with our strategic goals in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research.

During the first 2 weeks of November 2012, we will donate
$5 per paperback sale and $1.50 per Kindle sale of Two Shadows to MOvember. Only sales made through The Winger Bookstore and Amazon will apply, since we have no way of tracking sales through other channels.

Over the years, women have overcome the taboos that once existed around breast cancer -- no longer are we too embarrassed to talk about breast cancer, or to ask questions about health care options related to breast cancer. Unfortunately, prostate cancer and the frequent side effects of treatment -- ED (erectile dysfunction) and incontinence -- are still taboo subjects. Men (and their partners) may not know anyone else to talk to about their treatment options or know where to turn for support. Some may not know what tests are available or appropriate for their situation. And, most importantly, some may die because they weren't diagnosed in time.

Help us battle against prostate cancer by supporting the Prostate Cancer Foundation, LIVESTRONG, and MOvember -- donate today!

Update: We raised $33.00 through this promotion for MOvember. Thanks for your support!

Via KindleBoards: Adventurous duo relay their experiences into guidebooks

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of being featured on KindleBoards, one of the premier blogs related to books available on -- you guessed it -- Kindle. We shared our story of working with small, traditional publishers for our first 3 guidebooks, and moving into self-publishing for our more recent publications. It has been an interesting and worthwhile transition for us.

See, you can teach old dogs new tricks!

Adventure authors to donate to benefit at-risk teens based on Paperback and Kindle book sales

(for immediate release)

Charlie & Diane Winger, authors of Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity and
Because It’s There announce that they will donate $5 per paperback and 50¢ $1 per Kindle book sale to Big City Mountaineers.
(8/2/12: We've had such a great response so far, we're sweetening the pot & raising our donation from $0.50 to $1.00 per Kindle book sold.)
(8/9/12: ...AND, if you purchase a paperback directly from
The Winger Bookstore (autographed, of course), we're raising our donation from $5 per copy to $7.50 per copy sold.)

(Final update 8/16/2012:
Thanks to everyone who responded! We sold a total of 52 books during this period, and raised $122 to donate to Big City Mountaineers.)

Mountaineers and guidebook authors Charlie and Diane Winger have announced that they will support Big City Mountaineers (BCM), a non-profit organization which delivers programs that enhance the lives of under-resourced urban teens through transformative outdoor experiences. The donation will be based on sales of Charlie Winger’s autobiography, Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity and of their photographic essay on climbing adventures, Because It’s There – a photographic journey.

In his memoir, Charlie Winger describes growing up in an atmosphere of neglect and abuse. He made numerous bad choices in life which resulted in his being sentenced to prison at age eighteen. While incarcerated, Winger turned his life around. He obtained his high school diploma, began taking college courses, and learned computer programming, which led to a successful career in information technology after his release.

When he moved to Colorado in the early 1970s, Winger began hiking and climbing in the Rocky Mountains. He discovered a passion for the mountains, and went on to climb peaks all around the world, as well as literally hundreds of summits within the United States. Winger feels inspired by the programs of BCM, a volunteer-driven nonprofit that delivers life-changing outdoor experiences to hundreds of at-risk teens every year. Their unique curriculum improves young people’s self-esteem, motivation, decision-making, and communication skills through wilderness expeditions. Winger believes that, if only a program like BCM had been around for him as a teen, perhaps many difficult and painful experiences in his early years might have been avoided.

From now through August 15, 2012, the Wingers will donate $5.00 per paperback copy sold and $0.50 per Kindle copy sold of these two titles. Both Two Shadows and Because It’s There are available in paperback from Amazon.com, WingerBookstore.com, and other online bookstores. Kindle versions of the books are available from Amazon.

Don't let your past dictate your future

Many thanks to Betty Lundgren for her thoughtful and insightful article about Charlie and his memoir, Two Shadows. She writes:

We all have shadows of past transgressions in our lives, but probably not many of us have the title of “felon” on our resume.

(Did she get your attention yet?)

Winger describes in Two Shadows his two very different lives bridged by a love of the outdoors and mountaineering. He had a choice for where he could stand, either in the shadow of what seemed to be an insurmountable mountain or casting his own shadow at the top of a peak in the glorious sunshine of a better life. It is an amazing story demonstrating where the choices we make in life can take us.

The full article from The Beacon can be read here.

Two Shadows & Because It's There - featured on Cents-ible eReads

Our thanks to the folks at Cents-ible eReads for featuring two of our books today!

, Twice!

To learn more, click here.

Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity


Because It's There - A Photographic Journey

Two Shadows - the Trailer

Feel free to share this trailer -- enjoy!

Closing in on 1000...

We're so pleased that we are rapidly approaching our 1000th sale of Two Shadows! After working with traditional publishers on our first 3 titles (guidebooks), this was our first venture into doing it all ourselves: writing, layout, copy editing (with professional help), proofreading (Diane also does this professionally), publicity -- the whole enchilada. 

We are so grateful to our readers for their support, and especially to the 25 folks who took the time to write reviews on Amazon (and we'd love to hear from more of you!). The most satisfying thing, however, has been hearing from people who work with troubled youth professionally, and learning that a few of the young people who have read Two Shadows are showing positive signs of turning their lives around.

Thank you -- and Keep Climbing!

The Same Six Questions (almost)

Recently we were interviewed by Scott Mulraney, who writes as Andy Rane, and discussed how we began writing nonfiction. His website features interviews, primarily with fiction authors, using The Same Six Questions for each author. Since some of the questions dealt with characters and -- of course -- made-up events, he modified the questions just a bit to have them fit our nonfiction genre.

Take a look:  The Same Six Questions -- Charlie & Diane Winger

Got Amazon Prime? Borrow books for FREE!

For those of you enrolled in Amazon Prime, we have some great news. You can now borrow Two Shadows and Because It's There for free on your Kindle!

We do hope you have the color Kindle Fire, however, if you plan to borrow Because It's There, since we'd hate to see you miss out on the full color of over 95 photographs in that book.

Win a free book!

Charlie has been described as "a fixture" at the Ouray Ice Park because of all the ice climbing he does there each winter. So, let's have ourselves a little contest.

See if you can guess the number of days he'll go ice climbing (at Ouray Ice Park or anywhere) this climbing season. He's climbed twice so far this season (delayed start for him because we were in Hawaii for part of December). We'll keep track of his numbers, and announce a winner on April 1, 2012 (no, this is not a joke).

If more than one person guesses the correct number, we'll choose a winner by random drawing among the correct answers.

If no one guesses the correct number, we'll choose the person whose guess is closest to the correct number.

The winner gets their choice of a free copy of
Two Shadows - the inspirational story of one man's triumph over adversity
or
Because It's There - a photographic journey.

To enter, comment below with your guess. You must also share this using one of the social networks shown (e.g. +1 for Google, share on Facebook, tweet on Twitter, etc.)

Only one guess per person, please. All entries must be received by midnight (MST) December 31, 2011.

Good luck!

P.S. To add a comment, click on the "__ comments" link just below this sentence and above the share buttons.

As read in "The Watch" newspaper...

Thanks to "The Watch" for this wonderful article and invitation to stop by to see us at this weekend's book signing event in Montrose CO.

"If you’d like to know what it’s like to be a world traveler, but you never seem to make off the couch, go get a copy of a new book, Because It’s There – A Photographic Journey, by Diane and Charlie Winger. It will not only look good on the coffee table, it portrays the wonders the two have seen over years of hiking, mountaineering, and writing guidebooks..."

Read more: Watch Newspapers - ‘Because It’s There’ Authors to Sign Books Saturday in Montrose

Addendum 12/3/11: Thanks to everyone who came by today -- it was fun visiting with everyone, and we really appreciate all the book purchases!

Book Signing in Montrose, CO

We hope you'll join us on Saturday, December 3, 2011 for a book signing at Hastings in Montrose, CO. We'll have all 5 of our titles on hand, and will be glad to talk about climbing, hiking, highpointing, mountain photography, and other favorite topics with you, as well as sign copies of our books (of course).

We'll be there from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., so stop on by and say hi!

Author Interview & book review

Our thanks go out to Katie Levy at Adventure-Inspired for a thoughtful interview and a wonderful review of Two Shadows. They're giving away a free copy, so be sure to check that out on their website.