Success in mountaineering requires that we are strong both physically and mentally. From the mental perspective we need to build both knowledge and skills that can be applied in real world environments. Knowledge is built from reading and learning and skill is developed from the application of that knowledge in the field through training and practice. Reading books on mountaineering will help us learn ways to be more effective and safe when in the mountains.
The following are some recommended books on Mountaineering.
GENERAL MOUNTAINEERGING AND ROCK CLIMBING
“Mountaineering : The Freedom of the Hills” Published by the Mountaineers – This is a must own book for anyone serious about mountaineering or interested in learning about mountaineering. It is the most comprehensive book published on mountaineering. http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/
“The Complete Guide to Rope Techniques : A Comprehensive Handbook for Climbers” by Nigel Shepherd – A Falcon Guide Series. One of the more detailed books on use and application of rope climbing techniques for all times of climbing including rock, alpine, glacier travel, belaying, rappelling, organization, and lead climbing. Includes both pictoral images and written descriptions to make learning the methods easier. http://www.falcon.com/
“The Mountaineering Handbook : Modern Tools and Techniques that will take you to the Top” by Craig Connally – This is a great book and the author does a good job focusing in on and explaining some of the main aspects of mountaineering. The author focuses on some of the newer innovations in both gear and techniques and how we can apply them to mountaineering to be safer and more efficient.
“Medicine for Mountaineering & other Wilderness Activities” The Mountaineers Books (Edited By James A. Wilerson M.D. , Ernest E. Moore M.D., and Ken Zafren M.D. – A must have for anyone that is seriously into expedition style mountaineering and plans to be away from civilization where immediate medical assistance or help is not readily available. Understanding how to recognize the signs and symptoms of various illnesses and injuries is critical to the safety of yourself and other team members on your expedition and knowing the right action to take can make the difference between life and death. Knowledge is a powerful tool to keep you safe.
“Glacier Travel & Crevasse Rescue” by Andy Selters – Reviews techniques, styles, and safety for mountaineers when travelling on glaciers.
“Alpine Climbing : Techniques to take you Higher” by Mark Houston and Kathy Cosley published by the Mountaineers. http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/
“Climbing Anchors” by John Long – A Falcon Guide http://www.falcon.com/
“Top Knots” by Colin Jarman – explanation of how to tie a wide variety of knots for not only mountaineering and climbing but a wide variety of other applications.
“The Rock Climbers Manual” by Malcom Creasey
K2 BOOKS:
“K2 : Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain” by Ed Viesturs documents the history of mountaineering successes, failures, and tragedies on K2.
“No Way Down : Life and Death on K2” by Graham Bowler documents the tragedy of 2008 when 11 climbers died as a result of a collapse of the Balcony Serac which wiped out the fixed ropes below the collapse trapping climbers high on the mountain.
“K2 : The Story of the Savage Mountain” by Jim Curran
“K2 : Triumph and Tragedy” by Jim Curran
“No Short Cuts to the Top : Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks” by Ed Viesturs documents Ed Viesturs ascent of all of the 14 x 8000 meter peaks including K2.
NEW ENGLAND BOOKS:
“White Mountain Guide” by the Appalachian Mountain Club The White Mountain Guide is the most comprehensive book on the mountains and hiking trails in the White Mountains. Available at www.outdoors.org . This book can be bought in a set with detailed maps.
“Rock Climbing New England” by Stewart M. Green This book is a comprehensive guide to Rock Climbing in New England and locations to rock climb in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
“Boston Rocks” by Richard Doucette and Susan Ruff This book is a guide to Rock Climbing in the Boston area and Eastern Massachusetts and is published by the MIT Outing Club.
“100 Classic Hikes of the Northeast” by Jared Gange – includes 100 hikes in New England and New York with simple driving directions to the hike, simple route descriptions, and ratings of the difficult level of the hikes.
EVEREST BOOKS:
“Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer
This is probably the most popular book on Mount Everest. Krakauer describes his expedition on Mount Everest and documents the tragedy of 1996 when 8 climbers died in one day when a storm rolled in and the climbers were trapped high on the mountain. Krakauer is a excellent writer and does a good job of describing the Everest South Col Route in his book. Comparing Krakauer’s book to my experience on Everest I do believe that Krakauer uses his talent as a writer and literary license to take the readers imagination to a place that is slightly different than the truth, however overall it is a excellent read and can help anyone learn a lot about Mount Everest. There are some debates over whether Krakauer documents the events of the fateful day with 100% accuracy and specifically his criticism of Anatoli Boukreev.
“The Climb : Tragic Ambitions on Everest” By Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt
This is a book that also documents the 1996 Disaster on Everest. Anatoli Boukreev is a Russian climber that was on Scott Fisher’s expedition team as a guide and at the time was one of the strongest high altitude climbers in the world. Krakauer was on another Expedition team with Rob Hall, so reading this book can give you a different perspective of what happened on the mountain during the disaster. This book is not written as well as Krakauer’s book, however I find that it is written in a way that to me seems to be more straight forward on presenting the facts on the process of climbing Everest. Krakauer’s strength in writing makes his book read like a novel where as this book reads more as a documentation of the experiences Anatoli had on the mountain. Anyone that reads “Into Thin Air” should also read this book as it will just add more insight into the 1996 disaster and provides a different reference point. Both Krakauer and Boukreev provide their perspective on what happened on that fateful day and it is only fair to give each of them to give their perspective on the events that unfolded that day.
“Left for Dead – My Journey Home from Everest” by Beck Weathers
Beck Weathers was on Mount Everest in 1996 and was left on the mountain during a storm because his team believed that he was dead and at high altitude could not carry his body back to Camp 4 during the storm that raged on the mountain. Beck Weathers miraculously found the strength to get up and walk back to Camp 4 despite a severely frostbitten face and hands. The book not only documents the disaster but Beck’s journey through life leading up to climbing Everest and his recovery from his injuries after the accident of 1996 and how that disaster changed his life.
“High Adventure – The True Story of the First Ascent of Everest” by Sir Edmund Hillary
Hillary documents the first ascent he and Tenzing Norgay made of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953.
“High Crimes” by Michael Kodas
This book is about some of the negative things that have happened on Mount Everest as a result of all the commercial expeditions that are run on Everest. In my experiences on Everest I did not run into any of the issues that Kodas wrote about in his book. I made it a point to select one of the top guide services on the mountain and a guide that I had climbed with prior to going to Everest. I would recommend a climber thinking about going to Everest read Kodas book just to understand the importance of picking a reputable guide service as Kodas points out many of the pitfalls of joining a less than reliable expedition team or company on Everest. I personally like to maintain a positive frame of mind and focus on the positive as I believe that significantly improves your chances of success whether it be in mountaineering or any other aspect of life. Kodas book is written with more of a negative view trying to find the faults, as long as you read it with a open mind this book can help a Everest climber prepare and make better decisions before going to the Mountain.
“Everest the Hard Way” by Chris Bonnington
Chris Bonnington documents the 1975 expedition lead by him that climbed Everest via the South West Face a previously unclimbed route with the steepest pitches and route to the top of the Mountain. Chris Bonnington’s expedition team used the same route as a traditional Everest South Col summit attempt up to Camp 2 at which point they ascended a more direct route up the steep/vertical pitches of South West Face up to the summit of Everest. This route is extremely challenging due to the steepness of the route and exposure to rock fall and avalanches.
7 SUMMITS BOOKS:
“Climbing the Seven Summits” by Mike Hamill
The best guide book to buy if you are interested in climbing one or all of the seven summits. I have been fortunate to have climbed 5 of the 7 summits with Mike Hamill. Not only is his book the best out there Mike is the best guide and expedition leader I have met.
“Together on Top of the World” by Phil and Sue Ershler
Phil and Sue Ershler were the first husband and wife to climb the 7 Summits together. The book tells the story of Phil and Sue’s adventurers highlighting Phil’s history and background as a professional mountaineer and Sue’s background as a sales executive in the high tech industry and how after meeting Phil she got involved in mountaineering and they pursued the goal of standing at the highest point on each of the Seven Continents together. The book provides a good overview of the challenges of mountaineering and experiences on the 7 Summits including Everest.
“Touch the Top of the World” by Erik Weihenmayer
Erik Weihenmayer is the first blind man to have reached the top of Everest and the 7 summits. This is an inspirational story about Erik’s mountaineering experiences and the challenges and adversity that he encountered in day to day life due to his disability and being blind. I was fortunate enough to have heard Erik speak at my graduation from Babson College’s MBA program and his story is truly inspirational.
“The Seven Summits” by Dick Bass – documents the climbing of the seven summits by Dick Bass the first man to summit the tallest mountain on the 7 continents.
OTHER MOUNTAINS:
“Annapurna : The first 8,000 metre peak” by Maurice Herzog – Herzog documents the first ascent of Annapurna which is the first 8,000 metre peak in the world climbed. Some of the most amazing aspects of the fact that Annapurna was the first 8,000 meter peak to be climbed include that the expedition team first had to find the mountain and had major difficulty doing so, and today Annapurna is the deadliest of the 8,000 meter peaks when the ratio of deaths to summits is used as the comparison point.
Books on Denali
Denali West Buttress By Colby Coombs
Colby is the owner of the Alaska Mountaineering School and he has been climbing in Alaska for years. This is a must have book if you plan on climbing the West Buttress route. The book uses many of the pictures Brad Washburn took along with a detailed explanation of the route making it the best guide for the West Buttress route available. Colby runs the Alaska Mountaineering School (AMS) and I have met him twice and climbed with his organization and I highly recommend him for anyone looking to climb Denali.
Forever on the Mountain by James M. Tabor
Documentary of the disaster in 1967 when seven men on one expedition team died on Denali. The author interviewed many people and collected as much facts to try and piece together the disaster and what went wrong. This book not only opens the readers eyes to how deadly and unpredictable Denali can be, but it also has many lessons that can be learned on what to avoid to have a successful and safe expedition including – Group Dynamics, Group Size, Personality conflicts, tactical and logistical errors, reliance on outside rescue, failure of authorities to act properly, sticking together/splitting up the group, climbing philosphies and styles.
The Last of his Kind by David Roberts
Bradford Washburn was a pioneer in the Alaskan range being the first to climb the West Buttress route, and having researched and climbed many other routes along with photograhing and charting out topographical maps of the Alaska range. This book recounts his life in mountaineering and as an adventurer.
Minus 148 by Art Davidson
In the winter of 1967 the first winter ascent of Denali was successfully accomplished. The men of that expedition team were trapped after summiting high on the mountain due to high winds and spent 7 days held up in a snow cave. The title of the book -148 degrees is what the tempurature with windchill got down to while they spent their time trapped in a snow cave high on the mountain. The book illustrates how dangerous Denali can be and also illustrates some of the key things that people encounter in a survival situation, the decisions that need to be made, and the right things to do to come out alive.
SURVIVAL BOOKS: “US Army Survival Manual Field Manual” published by the US Army this is an excellent guide on all aspects of survival including both physical and mental.
Mountaineering is an inherently dangerous sport with risks of injury or death. The information on this website is provided for informational purposes, in using this site you agree to assume all risks and accept full responsibility in any mountaineering endeavors you pursue. Mountaineering can not be learned just from studying a website. Know your limitations and what you are doing, and seek the guidance, expertise and training from professional mountain guide where appropriate.