2007 Grand Canyon History Symposium Mathieu Brown Brown is currently the Recreation and Wilderness Technician at Grand Canyon National Park, a position that occasionally allows him to covertly fill-in some blank spots in his Grand Canyon geography. He has worked the past seven years for Grand Canyon Semester; an interdisciplinary experiential education program based on the Grand Canyon, and is a licensed Colorado River guide. He believes there are few better ways to spend a day than struggling up some isolated Grand Canyon butte, except of course for telling and listening to stories about it instead. Presentation Abstract... The Summits Within: Stories of Grand Canyon Climbing:   Nearly fifty years ago, Dave Ganci and Rick Tidrick pioneered the first ascent of a remote and technical Grand Canyon Summit, Zoroaster Temple. Their accomplishment evolved into what is now considered the classic climb of Grand Canyon and also marked the beginning of an era in which individuals would come to interact with and interpret the Grand Canyon in new ways. While Grand Canyon lacked the obviously inviting stone of, Yosemite or Grand Teton, its subtly unique challenges of arduous complex approaches, loose and instable rock, intriguing route finding, and desert scenery were unmatched. These qualities drew the interest of a small group of climbers that pushed climbing in Grand Canyon to new cultural and physical boundaries. Those seeking summits in Grand Canyon experienced the landscape on new terms, seeing the Canyon as a series of towers amongst the abyss. Their pursuits led to the discovery of new access points, challenging routes in the Canyon's tributaries and, of course, countless stories and tales.