Pete(r M.) Takeda (1964-)

Pete Takeda told SATA: "I started writing as an outlet rather than a vocation. Though I had an early affinity to writing, I never made it a formal course of study. I wrote my first published piece for a magazine based on some intense personal experiences. Those experiences rose out of my passion for the sport of climbing.

"I essentially left school (after three years of undergraduate study) to live and climb in the world-famous Yosemite Valley. My first writing efforts were first-person narratives of harrowing ascents on the great granite monolith El Capitan. Though climbing is a niche activity, often mistakenly labeled 'extreme,' I feel that the activity presents the opportunity to explore universal themes and narratives.

"These days, I climb all over the world, and I see the same theme unfold. Experience is the framework bordering the picture. Like the worm on the hook, the external trappings lure the viewer into a world in which the universal and resonant themes are revealed—sometimes with a unique twist."