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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Active outdoor pursuits > Climbing & mountaineering
The most accomplished mountain runner of all time contemplates his record-breaking climb of Mount Everest in this profound and free-flowing memoir-an intellectual and spiritual journey that moves from the earth's highest peak to the soul's deepest reaches. The world's fastest mountain climber, ultra-runner, and mountaineer, Kilian Jornet has broken nearly every mountaineering record in the world and twice been named National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. In 2018 he burnished that legend, setting the FKT (fastest known time) ascending and descending Mount Everest-in twenty-six hours from base camp-without bottled oxygen or ropes. What drives a person to the edge of one of the most difficult and revered mountains in the world? How much is one willing to sacrifice and suffer to pursue an authentic and bold life? Jornet ponders these questions as he recounts one remarkable year in the life of the mountain, exploring Everest's changing nature over four seasons and his own existence. Above the Clouds silhouettes a complex and dedicated runner at the peak of his physical prowess who must choose between the safe and certain or the adventurous and perilous. As he recounts a life spent studying, tending, and ascending the greatest peaks on earth, Jornet ruminates on what he has found in nature-simplicity, freedom, and spiritual joy-and offers a poetic yet clearheaded assessment of his relationship to the mountain . . . at times his opponent, at others, his greatest muse. In this sweeping, soulful journey-the flip side of stories like Into Thin Air-Jornet illuminates with beauty and brilliance what it means to be an athlete, a competitor, and a human facing the greatest life challenges-for him, the mountain he yearns to climb and honor.
""This then is a book of mountaineering, not presenting the Canadian Rockies in their entirety -- no single volume will ever do that -- but including many of the finest things. It is also a book of mountain travel, under conditions such as perhaps the European traveller experienced in the Alps during the Eighteenth Century. Finally, it is a book of mountain history; for here is Geography in the making, and with a tradition behind it -- a story that has never been properly gathered together, and whose details, in part at least, are gone forever."" -- from the Preface by J. Monroe Thorington Completely re-edited, re-designed and containing with an impressive collection of archival photos and maps, "The Glittering Mountains of Canada" is a must-read for anyone interested in mountain literature. The book's position in the pantheon of outdoor writing as a "classic" is only further enhanced and supported by the passionate Foreword by well-known mountain historian and environmental writer Robert William Sandford, who urges the contemporary reader to embrace Thorington's belief in the importance of landscape and the poetry of place. This is a book that deserves to be read and appreciated alongside the work of Wallace Stegner, Henry David Thoreau and Sid Marty.
The Netflix Documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, explores Nepal's deep connection to high-altitude mountaineering through the eyes of Nirmal "Nimsdai" Purja, a fearless, fun-loving Nepali climber on a quest he dubs "Project Possible"-to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter mountains in just seven months. Nimsdai's book BEYOND POSSIBLE has received great acclaim: 'An inspirational study in leadership and a powerful testament to the human spirit at its very best.' - Mail on Sunday 'If you're going to get one book this year get Beyond Possible.' - Ant Middleton 'The energy of the book gives it pace and you whip through, rather as Purja nips up verticals... Whether or not you are a lover of the mountains, you will marvel at his tenacity, his fearlessness. No one can fail to be inspired by what he achieved.' - The Times 'Not only does Nims have exceptional physical stamina, he's also a leader with great skills in financial management and logistics.' - Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb all fourteen highest mountains in the world 'The magnitude of his achievement is astonishing.' Soldier Magazine 'A Living Legend.' Trail Magazine *** In Beyond Possible Nimdai Purja tells the story of his life before his recent epic achievement of leading the team that scaled K2 in winter. He reveals how leadership, a willingness to learn, integrity and collaboration are essential qualities behind the world's greatest mountaineering feats. Nimsdai is the first man ever to summit all 8000m 'Death Zone' peaks in less than 7 months, and this book reveals the man behind the climbs - how his early life in Nepal and Special Forces training made him the person to go beyond possible...
Tom Richardson is a mountaineer, long established member of the Alpine Club, Leader for KE Adventure and the Gear Editor for "Climb" magazine. This book, "Judgement Days" is his story of climbing in the Himalaya and Karakoram over more than thirty years. His aim in writing it is to reflect on decisions and judgements he has made in the mountains and to try to draw some conclusions about them and their sometimes life and death outcomes. Good outcomes can be achieved despite bad decisions and sometimes vice versa. He attempts to explore where the narrow line between adventure and misadventure lies and what place luck has in events. Clearly the ability to make correct judgements is not simply the result of cumulative experience; otherwise it might follow that the most experienced mountaineers would not die in the mountains. In reality judgement is impacted by many things including personality, other people, perceived expectations and the value put on the hoped-for outcomes. Outdoor Photographer Don Gladstone described it as being "As much about the decisions and choices we make in life's journey as the wonder and majesty of the Greater Ranges. A thoroughly brilliant read". In the foreword written by mountaineer and award winning writer Andy Cave he says of "Judgement Days" that "This wonderful memoir, packed with wry observation, sharp wit and in a self-deprecating manner leaves the reader feeling how did one man do so much in just one lifetime?".
The third book in the "Rockfax France" series covers the extensive and fertile climbing area west of the author's previous guide to Haute Provence. The areas covered largely surround the beautiful Parc National des Cevennes, but also includes crags that are close to the cities of Nimes and Avignon. Some areas have been climbed on for generations; others are still very much in development, all will leave you hungry for more. Starting in the family-friendly summer holiday destination of the Ardeche, the guide promises a tour of the very best crags in the region. The next stop is in the Gorge du Tarn, a highly acclaimed recent addition to France's portfolio of perfect crags, here you can choose from the never-ending stamina tests in the Tarn, the occasionally traditionally protected multi-pitch adventures of the Jonte, and the various high-quality offerings of Le Boffi. Moving south, we cover Thaurac, for its collection of fine lower grade single and multi-pitch climbs, then pause for some fine 'old school' adventure at Hortus. Moving back east, it's not far before we can pay our respects to Claret, Russan, and Seynes, each with its individual style, breath-taking quality, and lifetime supply of routes. Finally we end our tour at the well-developed crags surrounding Avignon, including the legendary Orgon which covers the range of difficulty from grade 4 to 9. Presented in the universally-praised Rockfax style, the book gives the reader with clear landscape photos of each crag, never-before-seen close-up photo-topos, and a wealth of action photos taken specifically for the book. Whether you're planning your trip from home, or choosing your next route at the crag, this guide has everything you're looking for.
H.W. Tilman's Two Mountains and a River picks up where Mount Everest 1938 left off. In this instalment of adventures, Tilman and two Swiss mountaineers set off for the Gilgit region of the Himalaya with the formidable objective of an attempt on the giant Rakaposhi (25,550 feet). However, this project was not to be fulfilled. Not one to be dispirited, Tilman and his various accomplices - including pioneering mountaineer and regular partner Eric Shipton - continue to trek and climb in locations across China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other areas of Asia, including the Kukuay Glacier, Muztagh Ata, the source of the Oxus river, and Ishkashim, where the author was arrested on suspicion of being a spy ... Two Mountains and a River brims with the definitive Tilman qualities - detailed observations and ever-present humour - that convey a strong appreciation of the adventures and mishaps he experiences along the way. With a new foreword from prominent trekker, climber and lecturer, Gerda Pauler, this classic mountaineering text maintains Tilman's name as a unique and inquisitive explorer and raconteur.
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is the text beloved by generations of new climbers the standard for climbing education around the world where it has been translated into 12 languages. For the all-new 9th Edition, committees comprised of active climbers and climbing educators reviewed every chapter of instruction, and discussed updates with staff from the American Alpine Club (AAC), the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), and the Access Fund. They also worked with professional members of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA), to review their work and ensure that the updated textbook includes the most current best practices for both alpine and rock climbing instruction. From gear selection to belay and repel techniques, from glacier travel to rope work, to safety, safety, and more safety there is no more comprehensive and thoroughly vetted training manual for climbing than the standard set by Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 9th Edition. Significant updates to this edition include: * New alignment with AAC's nationwide universal belay standard * Expanded and more detailed avalanche safety info, including how to better understand avalanches, evaluate hazards, travel safely in avy terrain, and locate and rescue a fellow climber in an avalanche * Newly revamped chapters on clothing and camping * All-new illustrations reflecting the latest gear and techniques created by artist John McMullen, former art director of Climbing magazine * Review of and contributions to multiple sections by AMGA-certified guides * Fresh approach to the Ten Essential now making the iconic list easier to recall
Recording 'mountain adventure' is the primary raison d'etre of the "Alpine Journal" and this 113th volume has it in abundance. A bolt of lightening stuns climbers on a new route in the Cordillera Huayhuash; Kenton Kool and Nick Bullock struggle on the icy north face of Kalanka; Mike Cocker and friends end a spot of exploration in the Cordillera Carabaya besieged in their hotel as troops put down a riot; and in Kygyzstan, Dave Pickford dices with Aku Su granite and aggressive officialdom.Mick Fowler opens a special section on 'Pure Alpinism' with an account of his and Paul Ramsden's first ascent of Manamcho, Tibet, and Russian Valery Babanov contributes a vivid essay describing the stand-out climb of 2007 - his six-day, alpine-style ascent of the west pillar of Jannu.Artist/alpinist Andy Parkin takes pastels and piolet in search of challenges in Nepal. Rowan Huntley's fine work appears throughout this AJ and Julian Cooper tells of the 'painter's khora' that resulted in his acclaimed series of canvases on Mount Kailas.With more illustrations than ever before, this journal also recalls the gatherings and expeditions that marked the AC's 150th anniversary, recalls the extraordinary life of Sir Edmund Hillary, and takes a careful look at the effects on the mountain environment of retreating glaciers and visitor pressures.
Written by world renowned rock climbers and veteran Falcon authors John Long and Bob Gaines, this slim volume will be the go-to resource for the necessities of rock climbing safety. By getting back to basics, it will be a great resource for both beginners and experienced climbers looking to brush up on their skills.
Chris Bonington Mountaineer is a photographic autobiography, documenting over sixty years of climbing the world's most beautiful and challenging mountains. Few climbers can match Bonington's climbing achievements. He is one of the most accomplished and respected climbers in the world. In this 2016 revised edition, which features over 500 photographs, we are given a frank perspective into the surreal, majestic and occasionally tragic corners of his incredible mountaineering career. Whether in the Arctic, the jungle or on an 8,000-metre peak, Bonington's stunning photography and engaging conversational prose take us through the detail of daily life on expedition, the action of the climbing and the grandeur of the mountains. From his foundations - climbing in Snowdonia, the English Lake District, and the Highlands of Scotland - Bonington takes us to the Alps and on his expedition apprenticeship in 1960s Nepal. This quickly leads to trips to Patagonia, the Karakoram, the Amazon, Baffin Island and the River Nile, before the meat of his career on the big walls and 8,000-metre peaks of the Himalaya - with his leadership of the expeditions that made the first ascents of the south face of Annapurna in 1970 and the south-west face of Everest in 1975, and culminating in his own ascent of Everest in 1985. The greatest challenge and survival story of all is his first ascent and epic descent of The Ogre in Pakistan with Doug Scott. Bonington's undying hunger for adventure leads to later exploratory trips to Greenland, India and Morocco, and a return to the scene of one of his defining first ascents, the Old Man of Hoy, with world-class adventure climber Leo Houlding. The result is a penetrating insight into the motivations and fears of a driven climber who set out year after year from a life of comfort and success to test himself amongst the world's most savage mountains. Chris Bonington Mountaineer is a must for anyone with a passion for exploration, mountains or climbing.
This is the mountaineering yearbook, including feature articles, expedition reports, book reviews, obituaries, arts, history and science.Richly illustrated, the "Alpine Journal" is the world's principal mountaineering yearbook and essential reading for all who love the mountains, particularly those who climb and explore in the Greater Ranges and the Alps. This 2007 edition marks the 150th anniversary of the world famous club.One hundred and fifty years ago, the Alpine Club was born. It was the first mountaineering club in the world and as this 112th volume of the "Alpine Journal" amply demonstrates, it is still going strong.AC members have been climbing across the globe - Simon Yates and Andy Parkin in Tierra del Fuego, Phil Wickens leading an AC expedition in the Pamirs, Malcolm Bass rounding off the club's extended courtship of Haizi Shan in Sichuan, Paul Knott, making the first ascent of South Walsh, highest unclimbed peak in North America. All these stories are told, plus among others, Ian Parnell's eight-day ascent of Kedar Dome's east face, and a year in the life of vagabond climber Nick Bullock.The AC's 150th anniversary is also an occasion for some critical reflection. Doug Scott and Ed Douglas weigh in on ethics and money, Peter Gillman looks at scandals that have soured climbing, and award-winning author Robert Macfarlane considers our ambivalent response to 'the wild'.Ken Wilson, controversialist sans pareil, provides a talking point with a table of the stand-out climbs on the highest peaks and as a glorious reminder of 150 years of British mountaineering's finest moments, we feature the words and images of Gordon Stainforth's acclaimed 'The Crux' exhibition.This is a record of notable climbs, region-by-region, over the past year, reviews, paintings and cartoons by Andy Parkin, 150 photographs, nearly all in colour, and maps.
A New York Times and Wall Street Journal Nonfiction Bestseller! - What happened that night on Dead Mountain?The mystery of Dead Mountain: In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in the Russian Ural Mountains died mysteriously on an elevation known as Dead Mountain. Eerie aspects of the mountain climbing incident-unexplained violent injuries, signs that they cut open and fled the tent without proper clothing or shoes, a strange final photograph taken by one of the hikers, and elevated levels of radiation found on some of their clothes-have led to decades of speculation over the true stories and what really happened. As gripping and bizarre as Hunt for the Skin Walker: This New York Times bestseller, Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, is a gripping work of literary nonfiction that delves into the untold story of Dead Mountain through unprecedented access to the hikers' own journals and photographs, rarely seen government records, dozens of interviews, and the author's retracing of the hikers' fateful journey in the Russian winter. You'll love this real-life tale: Dead Mountain is a fascinating portrait of young adventurers in the Soviet era, and a skillful interweaving of the hikers' narrative, the investigators' efforts, and the author's investigations. Here for the first time is a historical nonfiction bestseller with the real story of what happened that night on Dead Mountain.
The captivating and heroic story of Hudson Stuck-an Episcopal priest-and his team's history-making summit of Denali. In 1913, four men made a months-long journey by dog sled to the base of the tallest mountain in North America. Several groups had already tried but failed to reach the top of a mountain whose size-occupying 120 square miles of the earth's surface -and position as the Earth's northernmost peak of more than 6,000 meters elevation make it one of the world's deadliest mountains. Although its height from base to top is actually greater than Everest's, it is Denali's weather, not altitude, that have caused the great majority of fatalities-over a hundred since 1903. Denali experiences weather more severe than the North Pole, with temperatures of forty below zero and winds that howl at 80 to 100 miles per hour for days at a stretch. But in 1913 none of this mattered to Hudson Stuck, a fifty-year old Episcopal priest, Harry Karstens, the hardened Alaskan wilderness guide, Walter Harper, part of the Koyukon people, and Robert Tatum, a divinity student, both just in their twenties. They were all determined to be the first to set foot on top of Denali. In A Window to Heaven, Patrick Dean brings to life this heart-pounding and spellbinding feat of this first ascent and paints a rich portrait of the frontier at the turn of the twentieth century. The story of Stuck and his team will lead us through the Texas frontier and Tennessee mountains to an encounter with Jack London at the peak of the Yukon Goldrush. We experience Stuck's awe at the rich Inuit and Athabascan indigenous traditions-and his efforts to help preserve these ways of life. Filled with daring exploration and rich history, A Window to Heaven is a brilliant and spellbinding narrative of success against the odds.
Having faced death head on, we wanted no regrets. It was time to go'. In 2005 Rob and Jo Gambi became the first married couple to achieve the ultimate adventurer's ambition when they climbed the 'Seven Summits' (the highest mountains on all seven continents) and skied to both the North and South Poles together in record time. Rob is also the first Australian and Jo the first female to achieve this feat. What makes their story even more remarkable is that they achieved all this while Rob was in remission from his second bout of cancer. In spite of setbacks and facing death high in the Himalayas, they persevered and fulfilled their dreams (while unwittingly setting a string of records). Jo's inspiring book is not just an enthralling account of mountaineering and polar achievements; it is a powerful and emotional story of love and survival against the odds.
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.
From the Wetterhorn in 1854 to the Matterhorn in 1865 - from triumph to tragedy - the Alps were conquered in a decade. It was what Reverend W.A.B. Coolidge called the 'golden age of alpinism,' the era of the first great guides (Christian Almer, Melchoir Anderegg, Michel Croz) and gentlemen climbers (Leslie Stephen, John Tyndall, Edward Whymper). Almost all European Alpine clubs were founded during this period, crowned by the successful ascents of the Aiguille Verte, the Matterhorn, and the Brenva face of Mont Blanc. Summits were no longer scaled in the name of science, but for the beauty and difficulty of ascents that embodied the pleasure of the 'noble sport' of mountaineering, as invented during this golden decade. 1865: the Golden Age of Mountaineering, by Gilles Modica, documents this great time in the history of alpinism. Illustrated with 350 photographs and illustrations and lavishly produced, it is co-published in English and French by Vertebrate Publishing and Editions Paulsen.
Bob Shepton is an ordained minister in the Church of England in his late 70s, but spends most of his time sailing into the Arctic and making first ascents of inaccessible mountains. No tea parties for this vicar. Opening with the disastrous fire that destroyed his yacht whilst he was ice-bound in Greenland, the book travels back to his childhood growing up on the rubber plantation his father managed in Malaysia, moving back to England after his father was shot by the Japanese during the war, boarding school, the Royal Marines, and the church. We then follow Bob as he sails around the world with a group of schoolboys, is dismasted off the Falklands, trapped in ice, and climbs mountains accessible only from iceberg-strewn water and with only sketchy maps available. Bob Shepton, winner of the 2013 Yachtsman of the Year Award, is an old-school adventurer, and this compelling book is in the spirit of sailing mountaineer HW Tilman, explorer Ranulph Fiennes, climber Chris Bonington and yachtsman Robin Knox-Johnston, all of whom have been either friends of Bob's or an inspiration for his own exploits. Derring do in a dog collar! Ranulph Fiennes: 'A wonderful true tale of adventure.' Bear Grylls: 'You are going to enjoy this...as a Commando, Bob is clearly made of the right stuff!'
In 1985 mountain guide Martin Moran achieved the first completion of all 277 Munros* in a single winter with the support and companionship of his wife Joy. Their success was a feat of dedicated mountaineering and effective teamwork through the storms, snows and avalanches of an epic winter season in the Scottish Highlands. Martin's account of the winter journey became a classic mountain narrative, combining his passionate enthusiasm for the mountains with humorous insights into a marriage put to the test through three months of living in a camper van. It was described as 'the best guidebook to the Munros' by mountain writer Jim Perrin. The book inspired many other climbers and runners to pick up the gauntlet in pursuit of new feats of endurance on Scotland's hills, and is now reissued with full colour photographs plus an introductory update by the author on how the 'Munros in Winter' changed his life. |
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