Mountaineering/alpine literature suggestions
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The Ledge by Jim Davidson & Kevin Vaughan. Full disclosure: I am one of the co-authors. |
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Very cool jim davidson. Checking it out man. |
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Just read Escape from Lucania. |
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Often overlooked! Smoke Blanchard's 'Walking Up and Down Hills'. |
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"The Hard Years" ..... Joe Brown |
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Thanks for starting this topic. Some of my recent favorites: |
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+1 for Terray's Conquistadors of the Useless, my favorite. |
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"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. |
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Messner's The 7th Grade is guaranteed to get you stoked ... |
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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 tooYes 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. |
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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. |
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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!).
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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. |
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"The Calling" Barry Blanchard |
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The Breach: Or Conquest of Self by Rob Taylor |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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I love audiobooks for road trips. |