In Climbing Days, Dan Richards is on the trail of his great-great-aunt, Dorothy Pilley, a prominent and pioneering mountaineer of the early twentieth century. For years, Dorothy and her husband, I. A. Richards, remained a mystery to Dan, but the chance discovery of her 1935 memoir leads him on a journey. Perhaps, in the mountains, he can meet them halfway? Climbing Days is a beautiful portrait of a trailblazing woman, previously lost to history, but also a book about that eternal question: why do people climb mountains?

This selection of the very best writing on Everest begins with the first attempts and continues, via Mallory's failed bid and Hillary and Tenzing's triumph, to the disasters of recent years. It features 35 white-knuckle accounts of climbing on the world's highest mountain, with all the tragedy and triumph of humankind's striving for the top of the world, by those who know the 'Death Zone' best - the climbers themselves. But this is much more than just the best of exhilarating first-hand accounts of climbing on Everest. It includes the full history of the conquest of Everest, and provides an evocative portrait of the cruel, natural beauty of Chomolungma, 'The Mother Goddess of the World'.

Mountaineering in the Ecrins Massif showcases the Ecrins' most beautiful summits through a selection of the area's best lower grade snow, rock and mixed climbs. Authors Frederic Chevaillot, Paul Grobel and Jean-Rene Minelli have chosen 25 classic Ecrins routes - graded between F and AD - that have come to be regarded as classics due to their quality, their altitude or, simply, their easy access. These routes provide the essential pleasures of mountaineering: getting off the beaten track, enjoying the pure mountain air and delighting in the charms of the high mountains. Most of these routes are at the boundary between hiking and technical alpinism and should be within the capabilities of any fit hiker-mountaineer. Routes and peaks featured include: the Aiguille du Goleon; the north ridge of the Aiguille Dibona; the south ridge of Pic Coolidge; the north-east face of the Meije Orientale; and the traverse of the Barre des Ecrins ridge, plus many more. Each route features a detailed and comprehensive route description, a sketch map and a route summary detailing the start point, difficulty, timings, height gain, best time of year and the gear required. A conscious decision was made to limit the selection to relatively easy climbs, and so the routes described in this book - a mere fraction of the climbs in the magnificent Ecrins Massif - should be within the capabilities of almost all mountaineers.

A competent and up-to-date instruction book of techniques needed for climbing big aid routes.

'Jenny Tough writes with the same talent, imagination, and sheer courage that she displays in her athletic endeavours. This book will broaden the horizons of all who venture between its covers.' - Emily Chappell, author of Where There's a Will 'I love that SOLO is part-self help and part adventure story. Jenny shows us all that the journey to self-belief comes with just as many ups and downs as the mountains she traverses and that, with a little trust in ourselves (and a few good cups of coffee) the next seemingly insurmountable pass is never beyond our reach.' - Anna McNuff, author of Bedtime Adventure Stories for Grown Ups Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete who's best known for running and cycling in some of world's most challenging events - achieving accolades that are an inspiration to outdoor adventurers everywhere. But SOLO tells the story of a much more personal project: Jenny's quest to come to terms with feelings and emotions that were holding her back. Like runners at any level, she knew already that running made her feel better, and like so many of us, she knew that completing goals independently was empowering, too. So she set herself an audacious objective: to run - solo, unsupported, on her own - across mountain ranges on six continents, starting with one of the most remote locations on Earth in Kyrgystan. SOLO chronicles Jenny's journey every step of the way across the Tien Shan (Asia), the High Atlas (Africa), the Bolivian Andes (South America), the Southern Alps (Oceania), the Canadian Rockies (North America) and the Transylvanian Alps (Europe), as she learns lessons in self-esteem, resilience, bravery and so much more. What Jenny's story tells us most of all is that setting out to do things solo - whether the ambitious or the everyday - can be invigorating, encouraging and joyful. And her call to action to find strength, confidence and self-belief in everything we do will inspire and motivate.

The annual "Journal of the Scottish Mountaineering Club" has maintained a continuous record of mountain activities in Scotland since 1890 - 116 years of unbroken publication. This year's journal includes an article celebrating the centenary of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club. Guy Robertson describes climbing Centurion on Ben Nevis in extraordinary winter conditions. John Mackenzie tells of winter pioneering in Glen Strathfarrar. Gordon Smith gives an account of his 'Dangerous Obsession' with a route on the Grandes Jorasses thirty years ago. Ole Eistrup describes climbing a new route on the Monch with Dougal Haston shortly before his untimely death. There is also a first hand account of what it is like to suffer from Lyme disease. And of course there are all the details of the latest new climbs north of the border.

This is theengrossing story of the seasons the author spent climbing 4000m mountains inthe different regions of the Alps. It is also about the people with whom heclimbed who found time out of their day-to-day routine for this extraordinaryactivity. He explains the reason for this fascination which resulted in theirspending decades pursuing their climbing objectives. The words and photos both encapsulate thealpine experience in all its beauty and suffering, pain and exhilaration,danger and humour which is shared with each climbing partner and open to anyonewith the same commitment. The author believes that climbing all the 4000mmountains is a realistic and achievable objective that will take mountaineersinto much wild and beautiful terrain. These are not just snow plods: everymountain has a worthwhile route on it and even those with long glacierapproaches can become superb ascents and descents on ski in an alpine spring. The many photos taken over the years were areminder of details that had escaped notice in the journals kept at the time.These numerous stunning and inspiring photographs tell their own story andenrich the author's account. The book is dedicated to all his climbing partnerswho made the completion of the quest possible.

This is the first book to explore in depth the science of climbing and mountaineering. Written by a team of leading international sport scientists, clinicians and climbing practitioners, it covers the full span of technical disciplines, including rock climbing, ice climbing, indoor climbing and mountaineering, across all scientific fields from physiology and biomechanics to history, psychology, medicine, motor control, skill acquisition, and engineering. Striking a balance between theory and practice, this uniquely interdisciplinary study provides practical examples and illustrative data to demonstrate the strategies that can be adopted to promote safety, best practice, injury prevention, recovery and mental preparation. Divided into six parts, the book covers all essential aspects of the culture and science of climbing and mountaineering, including: physiology and medicine biomechanics motor control and learning psychology equipment and technology. Showcasing the latest cutting-edge research and demonstrating how science translates into practice, The Science of Climbing and Mountaineering is essential reading for all advanced students and researchers of sport science, biomechanics and skill acquisition, as well as all active climbers and adventure sport coaches.

I can move only with the aid of barrels of anti-inflammatory gel, sticking plasters and real ale anaesthetic. Martin and I descend from hours of walking to the small town of Middleton-in-Teesdale. I walk, stiff legged, into the campsite office and a plump, middle-aged woman looks up from her desk and can see the old timer is in trouble. "Oh, what a shame you weren't here last week," she says, pity radiating from behind her horn-rimmed specs. "You've missed him." I look at her, puzzled. "Elvis!" she explains. "You missed Elvis." Oh God, now I'm hallucinating... In Bothy Tales, the follow-up to The Last Hillwalker from bestselling mountain writer John D. Burns, travel with the author to secret places hidden amongst the British hills and share his passion for the wonderful wilderness of our uplands. From remote glens deep in the Scottish Highlands, Burns brings a new volume of tales - some dramatic, some moving, some hilarious - from the isolated mountain shelters called bothies. Meet the vivid cast of characters who play their games there, from climbers with more confidence than sense to a young man who doesn't have the slightest idea what he's letting himself in for...

'Even the most casual reader among you will by now have worked out that the whole thing is little more than a delightful ruse for having a very good time.' Experienced climber Charles Sherwood is on a quest to find the best climb on each continent. He eschews the traditional Seven Summits, where height alone is the determining factor, and instead considers mountaineering challenge, natural beauty and historical context, aiming to capture the diverse character of each continent and the sheer variety of climbing in all its forms. The author's ambitious odyssey takes him to the Alps, the Himalaya, Yosemite, the Andes, Kenya, New Zealand and South Georgia. His goal is neither to seek glory nor to complete a box-ticking exercise, but simply to enjoy himself in the company of his fellow climbers, including Mark Seaton, Andy Kirkpatrick and Stephen Venables, and to appreciate the splendour of his surroundings. On classic routes like the North Face of the Eiger and the Nose on El Capitan, it is hard not to be swept away by Sherwood's unfaltering enthusiasm. Also featuring fascinating historical detail about each route, Seven Climbs is a compelling account of Sherwood's efforts to answer a much-debated question: which are the world's greatest climbs?

'The brain is the most important muscle for climbing.' - Wolfgang Gullich Mastermind by climbing legend Jerry Moffatt is a guide to mental training for climbers. Drawing on his own personal experiences from an international climbing career spanning three decades, as well as inspiring stories from the current elite of the sport including Alex Megos, Adam Ondra, Alex Honnold and Barbara Zangerl, Jerry invites climbers and other sportspeople to explore and maximise their mental potential. This updated edition features a new foreword by American climbing legend Chris Sharma. Broken down into easy-to-read sections, including Mind Control, Self Image and Visualisation, Mastermind will help you utilise the power of your mind to make the most of your existing strength, technique and ability so that you can perform under pressure - not just in climbing, but in all sport.

Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first climb of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and his party in July1865, this large format pictorial book features over 100 pages of photographs of the world's most recognisable mountain, together with tantalising extracts from Whymper's own book The Ascent of the Matterhorn, and the details of Graeme Wallace's attempt to traverse the summit up via the Lion Ridge in Italy and down the Hornli Ridge in Switzerland, 150 years later in 2015. Back in 1865, a series of remarkable coincidences brought together several ambitious British mountaineers in a race to first ascend the 4478 metre Matterhorn. Referred to as The Devil's Mountain and believed to be the place where only spirits dwelt, the Matterhorn was considered un-scalable. While the hurriedly formed British team tackled the unknown north-east ridge, a well-funded Italian team, with a two day head start, approached up via the south-west ridge. The race to finally conquer the mighty Matterhorn was truly on.Success was followed by disaster and despite becoming the most successful mountaineer of his day, stories of triumph, transgression and tragedy would follow Whymper for the rest of his 46 years of life.

Winner of the 2010 Boardman Tasker Prize. Ron Fawcett is a natural-born climber. In 1969, while still at school in his native Yorkshire, he tied into a climbing rope for the first time and was instantly hooked. From that moment on, it seemed nothing else in his life mattered nearly as much as his next vertical fix. Ten years later, Fawcett was the most famous rock climber in Britain and among the best in the world, part of a new wave whose dedication to training transformed the sport, pushing standards further and faster than ever before - or since. His legacy of new climbs ranks him alongside the very best in the history of the sport. He was also the first to style himself a professional rock climber, starring in the landmark television documentary "Rock Athlete", and appearing on the covers of magazines around the world. But far from enjoying the fame, Fawcett found the pressures of the limelight too much to bear, and at the end of the 1980s he faded from view. Now, for the first time, he tells his extraordinary story, of how his love of nature and the outdoors developed into a passion for climbing that took him to the top - and almost consumed him. This title won the 2010 Boardman Tasker Prize and was shortlisted for the 2010 Banff Mountain Book Competition. It comes from the publisher of "Jerry Moffatt - Revelations", winner of the Grand Prize at the 2009 Banff Mountain Book Festival. It is written by the leading journalist Ed Douglas. British rock climbing's folk hero Ron Fawcett tells his story for the first time.

"Fiva: An Adventure That Went Wrong" is the epic true account from Gordon Stainforth of a near-death experience on a mountain in Norway in 1969. In the summer of 1969, as Apollo 11 was blasting off to the moon, two teenage twin brothers, with only three years' mountaineering experience, set off to climb one of the highest rock faces in Europe. With just two bars of chocolate, some sandwiches, a four-sentence route description and an old sketch map, they left their tent early one morning with the full expectation of being back in time for tea. Within a few hours things had gone badly wrong, they were looking death in the face, and the English Home Counties seemed very far away...

A resource book covering the finest walks, treks and climbs in the High Pyrenees for 400km between France and Spain, from the Cirque de Lescun, on the edge of the Basque country in the west, to the Carlit massif and the Cerdagne to the east of Andorra. The book is divided into five regional chapters: the Western Valleys; Cirques and Canyons; the Central Pyrenees; Enchanted Mountains; and Andorra and the Eastern High Pyrenees. Intended as a resource book for those planning a range of mountain activities in the Pyrenees, the guide describes each area valley by valley, and provides information on access and accommodation, as well as recommended maps and guidebooks. Unlike a conventional walking book, detailed route descriptions are not included; the guide does, however, direct the reader to the finest walks, treks and climbs in the area and provide an outline of specially selected routes. An extensive introduction gives all the practical advice and information needed for planning a trip. It offers a background to the mountains and their exploration, and provides a snapshot of the range with sections that help the reader focus on specific areas of activity, and suggests where best to exercise that activity.

Throughout 1949 and 1950 H.W. 'Bill' Tilman mounted pioneering expeditions to Nepal and its Himalayan mountains, taking advantage of some of the first access to the country for Western travellers in the 20th century. Tilman and his party-including a certain Sherpa Tenzing Norgay-trekked into the Kathmandu Valley and on to the Langtang region, where the highs and lows began. They first explored the Ganesh Himal, before moving on to the Jugal Himal and the following season embarking on an ambitious trip to Annapurna and Everest. Manaslu was their first objective, but left to 'better men', and Annapurna IV very nearly climbed instead but for bad weather which dogged the whole expedition. Needless to say, Tilman was leading some very lightweight expeditions into some seriously heavyweight mountains. After the Annapurna adventure Tilman headed to Everest with-among others-Dr Charles Houston. Approaching from the delights of Namche Bazaar, the party made progress up the flanks of Pumori to gaze as best they could into the Western Cwm, and at the South Col and South-East Ridge approach to the summit of Everest. His observations were both optimistic and pessimistic: 'One cannot write off the south side as impossible until the approach from the head of the West Cwm to this remarkably airy col has been seen.' But then of the West Cwm: 'A trench overhung by these two tremendous walls might easily become a grave for any party which pitched its camp there.' Nepal Himalaya presents Tilman's favourite sketches, encounters with endless yetis, trouble with the porters, his obsessive relationship with alcohol and issues with the food. And so Tilman departs Nepal for the last time proper with these retiring words: 'If a man feels he is failing to achieve this stern standard he should perhaps withdraw from a field of such high endeavour as the Himalaya.'

Before us in the bright spring sunshine lay the entire Clyde valley, dominated by the vast sprawling mass of Glasgow, the dear green place. There was a time no too long ago when the old heavy industries would have made this view much less clear. But today we could see the Cowal Hills and Greenock in the west to the Pentlands in the East. From the time he bagged his first Munro, Peter Kemp has remained an enthusiastic hillawalker and this book is a testament to his passion for Scotland's outdoors and hillwalking culture.

No goggles or glacier glasses, no hi-tech axes or day-glo Gore-Tex adorned Alpinists of the mid-nineteenth century. From the 1850s to the early twentieth century, the achievements of Irish mountaineers are largely obscured in British historical accounts. This sets the record straight. Frank Nugent, mountaineer-explorer, reveals a significant Irish contribution beginning with the Golden Age of Alpine Mountaineering when the first ascents of mountains like the Eiger and Weisshorn and the first traverse of the Matterhorn from Italy were by Irish climbers. Significant climbers of the time were: John Tyndall, a scientist from Carlow; John Ball MP from Dublin was the first president of the Alpine Club and led the popularisation of the sport with a series of guidebooks; Anthony Adams-Reilly from Westmeath produced the first reliable map of the Mont Blanc massif; Elizabeth Whitshed from Greystones, a pioneering woman mountaineer, was one of the first to engage in winter Alpine climbing; Valentine Ryan from Offaly is often considered the finest Alpine climber of the early twentieth century.The Alpine's Club's first publication in 1859 was Peaks, Passes and Glaciers, edited by John Ball. A climbing record of the Alpine Club, it was the blueprint for the Alpine Journal published annually ever since. The varied social, political and scientific backgrounds of Irish Alpine pioneers provide absorbing insights into nineteenth-century Irish society.

A true story of modern day exploration and the discovery of cannibal tribes in the 21st century.

A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.

By writing Into Thin Air, Krakauer may have hoped to exorcise some of his own demons and lay to rest some of the painful questions that still surround the event. He takes great pains to provide a balanced picture of the people and events he witnessed and gives due credit to the tireless and dedicated Sherpas. He also avoids blasting easy targets such as Sandy Pittman, the wealthy socialite who brought an espresso maker along on the expedition. Krakauer's highly personal inquiry into the catastrophe provides a great deal of insight into what went wrong. But for Krakauer himself, further interviews and investigations only lead him to the conclusion that his perceived failures were directly responsible for a fellow climber's death. Clearly, Krakauer remains haunted by the disaster, and although he relates a number of incidents in which he acted selflessly and even heroically, he seems unable to view those instances objectively. In the end, despite his evenhanded and even generous assessment of others' actions, he reserves a full measure of vitriol for himself.

This updated trade paperback edition of Into Thin Air includes an extensive new postscript that sheds fascinating light on the acrimonious debate that flared between Krakauer and Everest guide Anatoli Boukreev in the wake of the tragedy.  "I have no doubt that Boukreev's intentions were good on summit day," writes Krakauer in the postscript, dated August 1999. "What disturbs me, though, was Boukreev's refusal to acknowledge the possibility that he made even a single poor decision. Never did he indicate that perhaps it wasn't the best choice to climb without gas or go down ahead of his clients." As usual, Krakauer supports his points with dogged research and a good dose of humility. But rather than continue the heated discourse that has raged since Into Thin Air's denouncement of guide Boukreev, Krakauer's tone is conciliatory; he points most of his criticism at G. Weston De Walt, who coauthored The Climb, Boukreev's version of events. And in a touching conclusion, Krakauer recounts his last conversation with the late Boukreev, in which the two weathered climbers agreed to disagree about certain points. Krakauer had great hopes to patch things up with Boukreev, but the Russian later died in an avalanche on another Himalayan peak, Annapurna I.

In 1999, Krakauer received an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters--a prestigious prize intended "to honor writers of exceptional accomplishment."  According to the Academy's citation, "Krakauer combines the tenacity and courage of the finest tradition of investigative journalism with the stylish subtlety and profound insight of the born writer.  His account of an ascent of Mount Everest has led to a general reevaluation of climbing and of the commercialization of what was once a romantic, solitary sport; while his account of the life and death of Christopher McCandless, who died of starvation after challenging the Alaskan wilderness, delves even more deeply and disturbingly into the fascination of nature and the devastating effects of its lure on a young and curious mind."

Wired Guides Scottish Rock Climbs showcases the very best trad and sport routes across Scotland, covering a wealth of climbing never before presented in a single volume. Its breadth and scope takes in the Galloway hills,m the outcrops of the Central and North-West Highlands, the mountain ranges of Arran the Cairngorms, Glen Coe, Lochaber, Torridon, Assynt and Sutherland, as well as the sea-cliffs of the north0east and north-west coasts, the Hebrides and the Northern Isles, and historical urban test-pieces at Dumbarton. Each of the 1,700 routes is shown on a diagram and supported by detailed information gathered and compiled by local activists. Its the book you need to inspire a lifetime's worth of rock climbing adventure in Scotland. Key features: - The book covers Scotland in it's entirety, with all levels of difficulty covered and inspirational photography throughout from some of the UK's premier photographers. - It presents the very best climbing that Scotland has to offer, both classic and lesser trodden - but equally impressive - venues. - There are venues and diagrams included that have not yet appeared in a guidebook, included recent world-class developments, - You'll find everything from relaxed climbing at sport outcrops through to full-scale sea-cliff adventures. - every single route is on a diagram, with detail never before presented in a Scottish guidebook. - Every venue has an accompanying map and detailed access information to get you to the crag. - Each section is based upon input from local activists , so the information is accurate and up-to-date and with the best routes selected. - Details of where to find further information in our comprehensive guidebooks is included. - We've included top tips to get you away from the honeypots for some top-class Scottish climbing adventures. - The book sits neatly alongside the Wired Guidebooks to 'Pembroke Rock,' 'Lake District Rock,' 'Northern Rock,' 'Peak District Rock,' and 'Lakes Sport and Slate'

While few of us can aspire to climb the hardest routes, we all may open the SMC Journal and experience the excitement of exploratory climbing or the tense uncertainty of a first ascent. In this issue Helen Rennard recounts her ground-breaking winter climbs with Dave McLeod, Iain Small and Dave Almond, while Almond himself leads us up the fearsome Mistral route on Beinn Eighe. No point of the compass is neglected. In 'Winter Out West' Neil Adams describes pioneering routes in Ardgour. Iain Young goes 'Mountaineering in Hyperborea' on winter visits to the far north, while Bob Duncan soloes the Old Man of Hoy. Finlay Wild finds 'Eastern Promise' in his gruelling Cairngorm ski-tours. And further south, Mike Jacob recalls the rock-climbing exploits of 'Harold Raeburn in Lakeland'. We can recover our breath with some gentler pieces. In 'Night' Ian Crofton reflects on nocturnal phenomena in the mountains, while Donald Orr appraises D.Y.Cameron's mountain drawings. Gavin Anderson asks which heroes deserve 'A Stance on Parnassus', Dave Broadhead gets on his bike, Iain Cameron visits long-lying snowfields, and Robin Campbell guides us round the Scottish mountaineering archives. Humour can be found in the writings of Tim Pettifer and Phil Gribbon, dark fiction in a short story by Mike Dixon, and bone-shattering reality in Brian Shackleton's account of his serious accident. Ever-popular features include New Routes (some 660 of them), Munro Matters, and 21 expert reviews of recent books.