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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Active outdoor pursuits > Climbing & mountaineering
Set to a backdrop of several rock climbing and mountaineering
venues, this book commences in the Todhra Gorge of Morocco, and
includes slate climbing in North Wales, winter on Ben Nevis,
climbing walls and competitions, Fontainebleau, the Alps and
Himalaya, and vignettes of the gay scene in London and Paris.
Four Years In the Rockies tells the story of Isaac P. Rose, who
went from greenhorn to legendary trapper at the height of the
fur-trade in the 1830s. His narrative features a who's who of early
American West figures like Jim Bridger, Kit Carson and Nathaniel
Wyeth, and features many memorable sequences such as the trader's
rendezvous, fights with Native Americans and countless details not
in mainstream history books - for example, how Kit Carson found his
wife.
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.
South Wales Bouldering covers over two decades of Bouldering
Development in South Wales, with over 1000 problems from areas such
as Pembrokeshire, Gower and South East Wales Coastline. It also
covers brilliant rock types from Sandstone, Limestone, Dolerite and
even a little Grit! As the area has been long frequented by both
climbers and other outdoor users, Bouldering has largely taken a
back seat. Interest has grown and grown, and with two large
Bouldering centres recently open (TCH Swansea, Roc-Bloc Cardiff)
and another one on the way (Flashpoint Swansea) now is a great time
for bouldering to come to the forefront and show its quality. This
guide lets you take it outside in the finest areas South Wales has
on offer.
This is a superb, new edition, full-colour guide to the finest
winter climbs in Scotland. The second edition of this indispensible
guidebook to winter climbing has been fully updated and expanded to
detail over 900 of the finest winter climbs in Scotland, with the
emphasis on the popular lower and mid-grade classics. Colour action
photographs, photo-diagrams and maps supplement accurate
descriptions to make this an essential item for any winter
mountaineer.This is another in a new generation of popular guides
by the definitive publisher of climbers' guidebooks to Scotland. It
is an essential winter guidebook and the only one which covers the
whole of Scotland. The book is completely revised to take account
of the change of climbing habits and weather conditions in the
Scottish mountains. It presents accurate, up to date descriptions,
supplemented by colour cliff photo-diagrams and maps. It also
covers a large number of climbs, across the grades with emphasis on
the lower and mid-grade classics. It is user friendly in a
successful and well presented format. It also features robust
construction with page marker ribbon to ease location of climbs.
WINNER OF THE GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARD Once we thought monsters
lived there. In the Enlightenment we scaled them to commune with
the sublime. Soon, we were racing to conquer their summits in the
name of national pride. In this ground-breaking, classic work,
Robert Macfarlane takes us up into the mountains: to experience
their shattering beauty, the fear and risk of adventure, and to
explore the strange impulses that have for centuries lead us to the
world's highest places.
The Dorset Rockfax is now the established source of climbing
information for this increasingly popular area. With a huge
increase in new climbers coming into the sport from the
metropolitan areas of Southern England, this book represents their
closest extensive sport climbing area. The fifth edition of the
Dorset Rockfax and the biggest Rockfax guidebook yet. It covers all
the sport climbing across Portland, Lulworth and Swanage in Dorset
and also the best of the trad climbing. The book features all the
new developments since the previous book in 2012 and a few extra
areas. Every crag has been rephotographed and presented with big
aerial overviews and detailed new maps. Crags Covered Portland -
Blacknor North, Blacknor Central, Blacknor South, Blacknor Beach,
Blacknor Far South, Battleship Edge, Battleship Back Cliff,
Wallsend North, Wallsend South, Coastguard North, Coastguard South,
White Hole, Lighthouse Area, Cave Hole, Beeston Cliff, Godnor,
Neddyfields, Cheyne Cliff, Dungecroft Quarry, Lost Valley, The
Cuttings, The Knobs Lulworth Swanage - Winspit, Hedbury, Dancing
Ledge, Guillemot Ledge, Cormorant Ledge, Blackers Hole, Fisherman's
Ledge, The Promenade, Cattle Troughs, Boulder Ruckle, Subluminal
The Needles
'When it comes to training for climbing, you are your own
experiment.' Beastmaking by Ned Feehally is a book about training
for climbing. It is designed to provide normal people - like you
and me - with the tools we need to get the most out of our
climbing. It is written by one of the world's top climbers and a
co-founder of Beastmaker. It features sections on finger strength,
fingerboarding, board training, mobility and core, and includes
suggested exercises and workouts. There are insights from some of
the world's top climbers, including Alex Honnold, Shauna Coxsey,
Adam Ondra, Alex Puccio and Tomoa Narasaki. Free from jargon, it is
intended to provide enough information for us to work out what we
need to train, and to help us to train it.
Borrowdale is probably the most beautiful valley in the Lake
District and offers the rock climber a huge variety of climbing
styles often in stunning panoramic settings. The valley is
well-known for accessible roadside climbing on crags such as
Reecastle, the ever popular Shepherd's Crag, Quayfoot Buttress and
the Bowderstone area, with most crags enjoying sun in the
afternoon. There are also a number of classic mountain venues like
Gillercomb and Raven Crag, Combe Gill where solitude and far
reaching vistas over the Lakeland fells can be savoured.This 2016
Borrowdale guide from the FRCC is fully revised. The valley is
divided into six logical areas presented with specially
commissioned showcase action images and clear OS based mapping. The
popular A5 format provides greater clarity and there is full
photodiagram coverage. The less well-trodden places such as the
Seathwaite buttresses, Combe Gill and Langstrath are given clear
photoplan coverage which clarifies these complex areas of small
immaculate outcrops. Exciting action images and the usual
supplementary essential information such as parking and camping are
included together with a comprehensive crag selector.The Fell &
Rock Climbing Club is the premier rock climbing and mountaineering
club in the English Lake District. The Club was founded in 1906-07
and has been publishing a definitive series of climbing guidebooks
to the Lakes since 1922.
In Wild Winter, John D. Burns, bestselling author of The Last
Hillwalker and Bothy Tales, sets out to rediscover Scotland's
mountains, remote places and wildlife in the darkest and stormiest
months. He traverses the country from the mouth of the River Ness
to the Isle of Mull, from remote Sutherland to the Cairngorms, in
search of rutting red deer, pupping seals, minke whales, beavers,
pine martens, mountain hares and otters. In the midst of the fierce
weather, John's travels reveal a habitat in crisis, and many of
these wild creatures prove elusive as they cling on to life in the
challenging Highland landscape. As John heads deeper into the
winter, he notices the land fighting back with signs of
regeneration. He finds lost bothies, old friendships and innovative
rewilding projects, and - as Covid locks down the nation - reflects
on what the outdoors means to hillwalkers, naturalists and the folk
who make their home in the Highlands. Wild Winter is a reminder of
the wonder of nature and the importance of caring for our
environment. In his winter journey through the mountains and
bothies of the Highlands, John finds adventure, humour and a deep
sense of connection with this wild land.
Cairngorms: A Secret History is a series of journeys exploring
barely known human and natural stories of the Cairngorm Mountains.
It looks at a unique British landscape, its last great wilderness,
with new eyes. History combines with travelogue in a vivid account
of this elemental scenery. There have been rare human incursions
into the Cairngorm plateau, and Patrick Baker tracks them down. He
traces elusive wildlife and relives ghostly sightings on the summit
of Ben Macdui. From the search for a long-forgotten climbing
shelter and the locating of ancient gem mines, to the discovery of
skeletal aircraft remains and the hunt for a mysterious
nineteenth-century aristocratic settlement, he seeks out the
unlikeliest and most interesting of features in places far off the
beaten track. The cultural and human impact of this stunning
landscape and reflections on the history of mountaineering are the
threads which bind this compelling narrative together.
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