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Mountaineering/alpine literature suggestions

Jim Davidson · · Fort Collins, Colorado · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 20

The Ledge by Jim Davidson & Kevin Vaughan. Full disclosure: I am one of the co-authors.

William Sonoma · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 3,550

Very cool jim davidson. Checking it out man.

andyedwards · · OR · Joined Aug 2009 · Points: 205

Just read Escape from Lucania.
Great story.

aran · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 20

Often overlooked! Smoke Blanchard's 'Walking Up and Down Hills'.
Not bloodrushing, but enjoyable and informative amd gets the psych up- especiallly if you climb the Sierra! Great chapter on Norman Clyde.

Guy Keesee · · Moorpark, CA · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 349

"The Hard Years" ..... Joe Brown

The original stonemaster... post WW2 Brit climbing scene.

Logan Schiff · · Brooklyn, NY · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 60

Thanks for starting this topic. Some of my recent favorites:

Touching the Void
Minus 148 Degrees
Annapurna
White Spider
Krakauer's books, including Eiger Dreams
Viesturs/Roberts' books

Not mountaineering but similar vein:

Adrift
Endurance: Shackelton's Incredible Voyage

Bill Duncan · · Glade Park, CO · Joined Mar 2005 · Points: 3,410

+1 for Terray's Conquistadors of the Useless, my favorite.
Rebuffat's Starlight and Storm, is worthy for tales of many N. face ascents in the Alps.
Long's Gorilla Monsoon, is great for short stories of wild and sometimes crazy days.

Arctic/Antarctic adventures:
Simon's North to the Night, is one of the better solo tales out there.
+1 for any of the Shackleton voyage epics.

mark felber · · Wheat Ridge, CO · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 41

"No Picnic on Mt. Kenya" is a great story. During WWII, a group of Italian prisoners of war break out of a British POW camp for an attempt on Mt. Kenya.

"Adrift" is not mountaineering literature, but it's a great story.

Shackleton's epic actually does involve a certain amount of mountain/glacier travel, along with lots of other adventures. "South" is Shackleton's account of the expedition. "Endurance", by Alfred Lansing, tells the story from a more detached viewpoint, and shows just how modest Shackleton was in telling his own story.

Mark Dalen · · Albuquerque, NM · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 1,002

Messner's The 7th Grade is guaranteed to get you stoked ...

Woodchuck ATC · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 3,280
James Smith wrote:The Mountain of My Fear and Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative by David Roberts are awesome Minus 148 by Art Davidson is a great one too
Yes to both, Seems that most of the greatest literature and epic climb adventures were all written in the 70's to late 80's...Such a great collection there to choose from.
Can't go wrong with any Dave Roberts books.
William Sonoma · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 3,550

For the first time in my life I am reading Muir`s writings. His writing titled `My First Summer in the Sierra` is mind blowingly phenomenal! His descriptions are so vivid. His passion, child like innocence is infectious.

When he trys to startle the Brown Bear during the first day or two of exploring Yosemite Falls but to his surprise the bear doesn't run but stands his ground is a great story. How Muir describes the different flowers brushing over the bear as he walks away or how he talks about man versus beast is great.

If you haven't read his works (as I have not read even the majority) at all. Do so, it will not be a waste of your time.

Pete Nelson · · Santa Cruz, CA · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 27
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, by Eric Newby...the author, after 10 years in the fashion industry, decides to take up mountaineering. Wisely, he takes a short course in Wales with his diplomat friend, before driving from England to Afganistan to attempt an unclimbed peak (Mir Samir, 19,058 ft). What could go wrong? I think my favorite part was when the two of them, on the way back from their climb, meet Wilfred Thesiger, the famous British explorer of the Arabian peninsula (read his Arabian Sands!). 
Pete Nelson · · Santa Cruz, CA · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 27

Everything I've read by Bill Tilman (Tilman: The Eight Sailing/Mountain Exploration Books) has been amazing. Tilman famously partnered with Eric Shipton on early expeditions to the Himalyas. When Tilman, in the 50s, decided that these mountains were getting too crowded, he bought a boat and taught himself to sail (I think he may have been in his 50s by then). He then sailed all over the world in search of remote island peaks to climb. He was eventually lost at sea.

Heinrich Harrer's contribution  is too often limited to The White Spider; Seven Years in Tibet doesn't have a lot of climbing, but is also worth reading.

Clark Gerhardt · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2015 · Points: 0

"The Calling" Barry Blanchard
"The Tower" Kelly Cordes
"Four Against Everest" WW Sayre
"Mont Analog" R Daumal

George Beilstein · · Ashland, Or · Joined Aug 2016 · Points: 0

The Breach: Or Conquest of Self by Rob Taylor

Eugene Peltola · · Talkeetna, AK · Joined Mar 2018 · Points: 0

Mountains of the Mind by Robert Macfarlane is extremely good. It's about human's fascination with mountains, and what drives us to them, even with their obvious dangers. Talks about Mallory on Everest, and a few others.
Denali's Howl by Andy Hall is absolutely fantastic, it is about the deadliest climbing disaster on Denali during the late 60's where the team experienced 300 mph winds...
Sort of in the same vein, is Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer. A story about Harrer et al, traveling the Himalaya during the '40's escaping a WWII camp, and being one of the first Europeans to enter Tibet.

Ira OMC · · Hardwick, VT · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 273

Not sure if it's already been recommended,  but The Mountains of My Life by Walter Bonatti is amazing. Especially for the florid, insipid mountaineering literature of the 60s, it is an inspiring breath of fresh air and he is a total badass.

SW Marlatt · · Arvada, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 50
mark felber wrote: "Mirrors in the Cliffs" and "The Games Climbers Play" are two excellent anthologies. If you can find a copy, "Four Against Everest" is the story of a very early attempt of the north side of Everest by four rather unlikely climbers.

Definitely read both anthologies; I thought Mirrors might be - slightly - the better of the two, but both should be considered essential reading.


In addition, in no particular order:
Savage Arena, Joe Tasker
The Shining Mountain, Peter Boardman
Annapurna South Face, Chris Bonnington
Climb!, Jeff Archey and Dudley Chelton
Conquistadors of the Useless, Lionel Terray
This Game of Ghosts, Joe Simpson
Darrell Cornick · · Salem, OR · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 5

I love audiobooks for road trips.

Beyond the Mountain by Steve House is great. But The Calling by Barry Blanchard is fucking amazing!  Exiting and hilarious. I love that the heroes of his book are his climbing partners. Both are read by the authors which really makes a huge difference. You can hear them reliving the stories in their voice. Both are 

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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