On May 6, 2014 Ryan Waters accomplished something that has not been replicated since. He and fellow explorer Eric Larsen stood atop the geographic North Pole, after 53 grueling days battling their way over an ever-melting sheet of ice that fought against them the entire way. By reaching the pole the two adventurers became the last persons to date to complete an unsupported trip to the North Pole from land. The ice sheet that used to link the Pole to land in Canada, once so thick and sturdy, has so degraded over the last few decades that explorers have had to abandon any attempts to cross it. While reaching the North Pole was monumental for Waters it also was the final piece needed to complete a project that he had been persistently working on for over a decade, the True Adventurers Grand Slam-standing atop the Seven Summits and skiing full length, unsupported and unassisted, expeditions to both the North and South Poles. His accomplishment that day made him just the 9th person and first American to gain entry into this exclusive club. Never one to embrace the easy path, Waters seemed to thrive in battling through whatever the fates threw at him, sometimes even deliberately seeking out struggles. Despite having little experience cross-country skiing, he decided to go to the South Pole. Eschewing the more typical route, he and partner Cecilie Skog completed the first traverse of Antarctica without the use of resupplies or kites. Skiing from Berkner Island in the Weddell Sea, via the South Pole, to the Ross Ice Shelf, the pair skied for 70 days and covered 1200 miles, 9 years prior to the much publicized 2019 "race" across Antarctica. To this day the two hold the record for the longest unsupported crossing of the continent without the use of kites. How Waters ended up standing atop the North Pole on that fateful day is a story of hope, perseverance, faith, and a fair share of dumb luck. From his youth traipsing around the Georgia hills to his time leading expeditions around the Himalayas, including five summits of Everest, Waters has always seemed to stumble into the next fortuitous step of his journey, often ending up in the most unlikely places. This is tempered by the fact that early in Waters' outdoor career, he learned to live by a simple credo: "you have to make things happen for yourself." At the beginning of his climbing career, he was consumed by passion for the mountains, every decision was leading to the next mountaineering challenge. Eventually giving up a stable career as a geologist, he had a self-described "mid 20's crisis," left his 401K and comfortable salary for living out of his truck and 40 dollars a day as a part-time climbing instructor. Following his dream of a life of adventure in exchange for a life of obeying societal norms, he set out to build a mountain resume that would enable him to circle the Earth and work as a mountain guide in the Himalayas and beyond. After almost two decades of hard expeditions around the planet, his experiences include being on a hijacked airplane in Russia, rescue of injured climbers in the Karakoram Himalaya of Pakistan, the Everest Base Camp earthquake disaster, narrowly missing out on the K2 2008 tragedy, near misses with avalanches, the deaths of close climbing partners, close encounters with Polar Bears on the Arctic Ocean, relationships with fellow adventurers, and much more.

The cliffs along the sunny Cote d'Azur and the area just inland offer some of the best sport climbing found anywhere. The most famous venue is the magnificent Verdon Gorge with it walls of perfect limestone but this is only one of many great crags in the area. To the west is the beautiful Calanques with its amazing landscape, plus the spectacular Sainte Victoire. There are some great venues around Toulon, the sunniest city in France, plus there is the popular winter venue of Chateauvert and the less well known Esterel and Chateaudouble areas. Add in Saint Jeannet, Gorges du Loup and a selection of cliffs in the Nice area and you begin to see what an amazing amount of climbing the area has to offer.

'Will undoubtedly become a classic narrative of this scenically magnificent, legend-rich and geologically unique part of Scotland' Cameron McNeish, The Herald Rising a kilometre out of the storm-scoured waters around Scotland's Isle of Skye is a dark battlement of pinnacles and ridgelines: the Cuillin. Plagued by ferocious weather and built from rock that tears skin and confounds compasses, a crossing of the Cuillin is the toughest mountaineering expedition in the British Isles. But the traverse is only part of its lure. Hewn from the innards of an ancient volcano, this mountain range stands like a crown on an island drenched in intrigue. While nineteenth-century climbers flocked to the Alps, the ridge lay untrodden and unyielding. When a generation of mountaineers did come, they found a remarkable prize: the last peaks of Britain to be climbed - peaks that would be named after those who climbed them. Along the way, many others, from artists and poets to mystics and wanderers, have been lured by the Cuillin's haunting beauty and magic. Those who have been seduced by the deadly magic of these mountains attest to the complexity of humans' relationship with the intrigue of our wildest, most dangerous places. The Black Ridge is a journey through the history and into the heights of the Cuillin of Skye - from the ridge's violent birth to the tales of its pioneers, its thrills, its myths and its monsters. From a night spent in a cave beneath its highest peak to the ascent of its most infamous pinnacle, this is an adventure on foot through all seasons across the most mesmerising mountain range in Britain.

One of the most extraordinary survival stories ever told -- Aron Ralston's searing account of his six days trapped in one of the most remote spots in America, and how one inspired act of bravery brought him home.

It started out as a simple hike in the Utah canyonlands on a warm Saturday afternoon. For Aron Ralston, a twenty-seven-year-old mountaineer and outdoorsman, a walk into the remote Blue John Canyon was a chance to get a break from a winter of solo climbing Colorado's highest and toughest peaks. He'd earned this weekend vacation, and though he met two charming women along the way, by early afternoon he finally found himself in his element: alone, with just the beauty of the natural world all around him.

It was 2:41 P.M. Eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, Aron was climbing down off a wedged boulder when the rock suddenly, and terrifyingly, came loose. Before he could get out of the way, the falling stone pinned his right hand and wrist against the canyon wall.

And so began six days of hell for Aron Ralston. With scant water and little food, no jacket for the painfully cold nights, and the terrible knowledge that he'd told no one where he was headed, he found himself facing a lingering death -- trapped by an 800-pound boulder 100 feet down in the bottom of a canyon. As he eliminated his escape options one by one through the days, Aron faced the full horror of his predicament: By the time any possible search and rescue effort would begin, he'd most probably have died of dehydration, if a flash flood didn't drown him before that.

What does one do in the face of almost certain death? Using the video camera from his pack, Aron began recording his grateful good-byes to his family and friends all over the country, thinking back over a life filled with adventure, and documenting a last will and testament with the hope that someone would find it. (For their part, his family and friends had instigated a major search for Aron, the amazing details of which are also documented here for the first time.) The knowledge of their love kept Aron Ralston alive, until a divine inspiration on Thursday morning solved the riddle of the boulder. Aron then committed the most extreme act imaginable to save himself.

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place" -- a brilliantly written, funny, honest, inspiring, and downright astonishing report from the line where death meets life -- will surely take its place in the annals of classic adventure stories.

Lord Purdey was shaking with anger. 'Bring back the lynx? Over my dead body!' The environmental protestors murmured, and Rory stepped forward. 'Your hunting has destroyed our hills and left them treeless wastes, devoid of wildlife. It's time that changed.' 'Listen, you lentil-eating cat lover,' Purdey barked through the megaphone, 'men like me own Scotland. If we want to kill anything that moves and turn the whole damn place into a theme park, we'll do it.' Someone from the group of protestors hurled a turnip. It struck Purdey and he crumpled to the ground. Just as the archaic class system he represents must eventually fall, Angus thought with a grin. In his first two bestselling books, The Last Hillwalker and Bothy Tales, John D. Burns invited readers to join him in the hills and wild places of Scotland. In Sky Dance, he returns to that world to ask fundamental questions about how we relate to this northern landscape - while raising a laugh or two along the way. Anyone who has gazed at the majesty of the Scottish mountains will know this place and want to return to it. Now, as wild land is threatened like never before, it's time we asked ourselves what kind of future we want for the Highlands.

THE TIMES AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR 'The finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain' Guardian In this masterpiece of nature writing, beautifully narrated by Oscar-winning actor Tilda Swinton, Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world that can be breathtakingly beautiful at times and shockingly harsh at others. Her intense, poetic prose explores and records the rocks, rivers, creatures and hidden aspects of this remarkable landscape. Shepherd spent a lifetime in search of the 'essential nature' of the Cairngorms; her quest led her to write this classic meditation on the magnificence of mountains, and on our imaginative relationship with the wild world around us. Composed during the Second World War, the manuscript of The Living Mountain lay untouched for more than thirty years before it was finally published.

Written by one of the best known navigation instructors in the UK this is the definitive and comprehensive 'how to navigate' textbook. It covers every aspect of mountain navigation; summer, winter and overseas, using traditional map and compass as well as devices such as GPS and digital software applications. This book is a reference tool for every walker and mountaineer, from novice to expert, as well as containing specific ideas for anyone wanting to help teach and instruct others. It is the official navigation handbook for the UK qualification system that includes the Mountain Leader, Winter Mountain Leader, International Mountain Leader, Mountaineering Instructor and Walking Group Leader and is endorsed by the BMC, MCofS and MI. There are chapters on the Fundamentals, Navigation Techniques, Winter Navigation, Overseas Navigation, Global Positioning system, Digital Mapping Software and Teaching Navigation. It has a functional design with easy-reference colour-coded pages, striking illustrations that complement the text and inspiring photos that give a genuine flavour of what you are up against in the mountains. It is the fourth in a series of manuals from Mountain Leader Training UK which includes the highly successful "Hill Walking", "Rock Climbing" and "Winter Skills". Carlo Forte is a well known expert on mountain navigation and is an International Mountain Leader and Mountaineering Instructor. He is currently the Chief Instructor at the national mountain centre, Plas y Brenin.

This is the first fully dedicated bouldering guide to the whole of the North York Moors and its east coast. 384 pages covering 41 venues with over 2000 problems, from font 1 to 8b+, there are problems to suit all abilities. The guide is packed full of colour photos and topos to showcase this secret and stunning landscape. The guide contains established popular venues in the west, with the inclusion of more remote secluded hidden valleys. There are venues deep in the heart of the Moors, where sheep roam free on the purple blanket of heather that leads to an abundance of blocks and crags looking out on the green valleys below. The eastern areas reveal a journey back in time to a world of steam trains and ancient wooded boulders. Coastal bouldering beside clear blue seas is found along the stunning Jurassic landscape.The North York Moors has a many tales to tell of dreamers, explorers and smugglers. This guide hopes to capture the spirit of this beautiful historic area.

'The idea of owning anything except the experience is hubris.' Unknown Pleasures is a collection of works by the climber and award-winning author Andy Kirkpatrick. Obsessed with climbing and addicted to writing, Kirkpatrick is a master storyteller. Covering subjects as diverse as climbing, relationships, fatherhood, mental health and the media, it is easy to read, sometimes difficult to digest, and impossible to forget. One moment he is attempting a rare solo ascent of Norway's Troll Wall, the next he is surrounded by the TV circus while climbing Moonlight Buttress with the BBC's The One Show presenter Alex Jones. Yosemite's El Capitan is ever-present; he climbs it alone - strung out for weeks, and he climbs it with his thirteen-year-old daughter Ella - her first big wall. His eye for observation and skilled wordcraft make for laugh-out-loud funny moments, while in more hard-hitting pieces he is unflinchingly honest about past and present love and relationships, and pulls no punches with an alternative perspective of our place in the world. Unknown Pleasures is Andy Kirkpatrick at his brilliant best.

A book that will take you through the best Scottish winter journeys from the comfort of your favourite chair. There'll be detailed descriptions, accompanied by some fine photographs, of all the well-known winter classics such as the traverse of An Teallach, Ledge Route on the Ben Nevis, the Aonach Eagach Ridge and the Black Spout on Lochnagar. Some of the not so well-known schizzles included are Morrisons Gully on Beinn Eighe, Academy Ridge on Sgorr Ruadh, Summit Gully on Stob Coire nam Beith and the magnificent Deep South Gully on Beinn Alligin.

This year's "Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal" has the usual great mix of articles - several involving adventures abroad. Martin Moran describes some mega routes in the fjords of Norway, Mark Litterick describes winter climbing in Austria, Graham Little describes rock climbing in Albania and Steve Chadwick gives an account of ascending Mount Cameroon in Africa. A scholarly piece looks again at the climbs of WH Murray. Other articles describe a rescue on Ben Nevis, the use of modern technology in the hills, how to have an epic, a monster run in the Alps, and a discussion of the disease of Munro bagging...and as usual details are included of all the new routes pioneered in Scotland over the last year.

This title is the second in the series of 4 books for general sport climbing in France, and is designed for all levels of climber. The title says it all, collecting together all of the great places to go climbing for the weekend in one book. - The perfect weekend book for climbers. - 3a to 8c all levels, ideal for indoor climbers going outside - 10 000 sport climbing routes in East France (250 cliffs) - Great access maps, GPS info, campistes and picnics - Family friendly, bi-lingual guidebook

"Winter Climbing+" is the third in the critically acclaimed series of instructional books from Rockfax. Written by two of the UK's most respected winter climbers, "Winter Climbing+" takes a positive approach to the climbing discipline that has traditionally had its delights obscured by its dangers.Filled with inspirational full colour photographs throughout, and a clear, concise text that quickly unravels the mysteries of winter climbing, "Winter Climbing+" wastes no time in revealing shortcuts to the skills that make a sound winter climber. The book assumes the reader has no prior-knowledge of winter climbing and starts with the basic skills and equipment that are needed to safely head into the hills. The book progresses gradually to the more subtle movement skills and tactical elements that allow for rapid progress into higher levels of difficulty.Describing the full range of activities covered by the title, "Winter Climbing+" takes a detailed look at both ice and mixed climbing, examining both the traditional mixed climbing skills as well as those needed for modern sport mixed now widely practised. The book follows the style set in previous titles by including an in-depth look at the all-important psychological aspects of the sport, and finishes with a guide to major winter climbing destinations.

This is the ultimate guide to Skye's mountains, offering comprehensive coverage of all the island's peaks. Skye is a paradise for mountain climbers and hillwalkers. This guidebook selects more than 100 varied mountain routes from all over the island, ranging from some of the most challenging in Britain, to pleasant ascents of grassy summits. The jewel in the island's crown is The Cuillin and a summer traverse of the Cuillin Ridge, the 30 or so peaks and tops that form the Cuillin crest, is a major challenge to any mountain climber. This guidebook utilises 50 annotated topo-diagrams to describe the Cuillin Ridge in greater detail than ever before, with sections on Planning, Tactics and Equipment. However, the Cuillin Ridge is just one of more than 100 routes described in this guide. Most mountain climbers and hillwalkers visiting Skye are climbing one of the 12 Munros, 9 Munro Tops, 2 Corbetts, 9 Grahams and 35 sub-2000ft Marilyns on the island. This guidebook describes routes on all of these peaks and many other classics such as the Clach Glas Traverse, Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean, the Dubhs Ridge on Sgurr Dubh Beag and Dun Cana on the Isle of Raasay.

This guidebook, Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites Volume 2, is the second in a series of two published by Cicerone Press, which now fully replaces the previous Cicerone guidebook, Scrambles in the Dolomites, adding many new routes through the southern, Brenta and Lake Garda areas.Volume two documents southern Dolomites Via Ferrata routes in the major mountain ranges of Civetta, Schiara and Pala as well as those to the west in the Brenta. A significant addition (and, as far as we are aware, not previously published in any English-language guidebook) is the inclusion of routes around the northern end of Lake Garda and the Piccole Dolomites north of Vicenza. Here the mountains are generally lower and you can enjoy ferrata climbing over a much extended season, with some routes accessible for most of the year. While volume one covered the eastern, northern and central areas of the Dolomites, book two completes the picture, focusing on the southern, Brenta and Lake Garda areas.

Surrounded by low hills with volcanic and sandstone outcrops, Glasgow gives the boulderer an excellent choice of blocs, perfect for a summer's evening session or escape to solitude on a day off. Including the classic collection of problems at Dumbarton Rock, this guide also features sandstone venues such as Craigmaddie, the popular outdoor boulder park at Cuningar, and new venues such as Cochno, Croy, and Craigton. The guide features a historical introduction to the bouldering heritage of a major city and how it has made the most out of its collection of urban walls, quarries, crags, boulder fields and more esoteric stones

The cold conditions last winter were exceptional and a bumper crop of new routes were put up across Scotland. These are fully described in the New Climbs section. There is also an account of a repeat of the Scottish Haute Route on skis from west to east over seven days in March. Other articles include an account of an ascent of Nanga Parbat as well as past adventures on Vulcan Wall and Route 2 Direct on Ben Nevis. There is also another look at the most appropriate criteria for identifying separate mountains - particularly Munros. The 'bagging game' still fascinates...This year also sees the return, for the first time for many years, of the detailed accident reports from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

Geographically comprehensive, it surveys over 130 classic and new bouldering venues and features the top problems across the grades in each area. Loaded with essential 'bloc notes', approach maps, detailed topos, and feature photography, it provides the travelling boulderer with the keys to help unlock the finest bouldering amongst Scotland's geologically stunning landscapes. Edited by John Watson who has been bouldering and exploring Scottish stones for over 20 years.

This is the updated 2nd edition, now in full colour. "Scrambles & Easy Climbs in the Lake District" is about the appreciation of rock, the exhilaration of climbing, and the sheer pleasure of doing it in some of the most beautiful places on earth. By discarding the arbitrary division between scrambles and rock-climbs, the books makes its readers free to explore all the Lake District's rocky places. This book, by two experienced rock-climbers, Jon Sparks and Judith Brown, also offers sound advice on how to get started and how to progress; routes that are safe in the wet, and those that should be saved for perfect conditions; and, where to eat, drink and sleep between the ascents. But above all you'll find 69 routes, from scrambling Grade 1 to rock-climbing V.Diff, which explore the many faces of Lakeland rock. There is no better way to spend a Lakeland day than climbing Scafell Pike via the Esk Gorge, Thor's Buttress and Ill Crags. "Scrambles & Easy Climbs" offers a score of such expeditions, from valley floor to airy summit, with hands on rock almost all the way. Less arduous, but equally enjoyable, are days on valley crags like Shepherd's or stand-alone scrambles like Cam Crag Ridge. You can clamber on sunny Pikes Crag high above Wasdale Head; potter about above the oak woods of the Duddon valley; or climb Kirk Fell the wet way, through the waterfalls of Ill Gill.

'Riveting . . . Honnold is neither crazy nor reckless. Alone on the Wall reveals him to be an utterly unique and extremely appealing young man' - Jon Krakauer, bestselling author of Into the Wild. This updated edition contains the account of Alex's El Capitan climb, which is the subject of the Oscar and BAFTA winning documentary, Free Solo. Alex Honnold is one of the world's best 'free solo' climbers, he scales impossible rock faces without ropes, pitons or any support of any kind. Exhilarating, brilliant and dangerous, there is a purity to Alex's climbs that is easy to comprehend, but also impossible to fathom; in the last forty years, only a handful of climbers have pushed themselves as far, 'free soloing' to the absolute limit of human capabilities. Half of them are dead. From Yosemite's famous Half Dome to the frighteningly difficult El Sendero Luminoso in Mexico, Alone on the Wall explores Alex's seven most extraordinary climbing achievements so far. These are tales to make your palms sweat and your feet curl with vertigo. Together, they get to the heart of how - and why - Alex does what he does. Exciting, uplifting and truly awe-inspiring, Alone on the Wall is a book about the essential truth of being free to pursue your passions and the ability to maintain a singular focus, even in the face of mortal danger.