Coda
Next to a list of Preuss's major ascents, the closing words of Geoffrey Winthrop Young's 1913 obituary may provide the best coda to Preuss's life:
Solitary climbing will always have its critics as well as its devotees. But with the feeling of regret for the premature death of a great climber and a fine personality comes also the feeling of pride that there are still men of the highest intellect in our generation who, with the full knowledge of all the easier and more profitable alternatives that life has to offer, continue to match their skill as it increases against increasing difficulty, and accept the issue with calm courage. —Read more about this topic: Paul Preuss (climber)