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100 Best Mountaineering BooksChessler's 100 Best BooksWe are often asked to recommend a good mountaineering book to read, help select as a gift, or for books worth collecting. We started this as a list of the 100 'best' mountaineering books for readers and collectors, but due to input from many collectors, have added sections on the best guidebooks, picture books, prize winners, etc. We update this list occasionally to reflect excellent new books, and waning interest in some older books. The lists are based on several different factors including quality of the writing, importance of the climbs, reputation of the author, quality of the photos or printing, influence on other climbers, etc. We usually have most of these books for sale, although most are out of print. Check our website for these titles, but if you can't find a title listed, e-mail us at info@chesslerbooks.com, or phone us at 720 560-4963, and we will tell you what is in stock for any title. 100 Best Mountaineering Books Barker. The Last Blue Mountain Bass. Seven Summits Bates. Five Miles High Beckey. Challenge of the North Cascades Benuzzi. No Picnic on Mount Kenya Blum. Annapurna: A Woman's Place Boardman. Sacred Summits Boardman. The Shining Mountain Bonatti. On The Heights Bonington. Annapurna South Face Bowman. The Ascent of Rum Doodle Brown. The Hard Years Bruce. Twenty Years in the Himalaya Buhl. Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage Burdsall. Men Against The Clouds Chouinard. Climbing Ice Clinch. A Walk in the Sky [Hidden Peak, aka Gasherbrum I] Coleman. Canadian Rockies, New and Old Trails Collie. Climbing on the Himalaya Cunningham & Abney. The Pioneers of the Alps Davidson. Minus 148 Diemberger. Summits and Secrets Du Faur. The Conquest of Mount Cook Dunn. The Shameless Diary of an Explorer [Denali] Ferlet. Aconcagua South Face Filippi. The Ascent of Mount St Elias [also a picture book] Filippi. Karakoram and Western Himalaya [also a picture book] Filippi. Ruwenzori [also a picture book] Fitzgerald. The Highest Andes Forbes. Travels Through the Alps of Savoy Freshfield. The Exploration of the Caucasus Gillman. Everest 80 Years of Triumph and Tragedy Gillman. Eiger Direct or Direttissima Greig. Summit Fever Harding. Downward Bound Harper. Pioneer Work in the Alps of New Zealand Harrer. The White Spider Harrer. Seven Years in Tibet Harrer, I Come From The Stone Age [Carstenz] Hauser. White Mountain and Tawny Plain [Andes] Heim & Gansser. The Throne of the Gods Herzog. Annapurna [best selling Mountaineering book of all time] Hillary. View From The Summit Hornbein. Everest The West Ridge Houston & Bates. K2 The Savage Mountain Jones. Climbing in North America King. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada Kinzl & Schneider. Cordillera Huayhuash Kinzl & Schneider. Cordillera Blanca Krakauer. Into Thin Air [1997 Everest best seller] Kugy. Alpine Pilgrimage Languepin. To Kiss High Heaven [Nanda Devi] Lukan. The Alps and Alpinism MacInnes. Climb to the Lost World Mountaineers. Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills Maraini. Karakoram [Gasherbrum IV] Maraini. Where Four Worlds Meet [Hindu Kush] McLewin. In Monte Viso's Horizon [Alps] Messner. All Fourteen Eight-Thousanders Messner. Everest Expedition To The Ultimate Messner. Solo Nanga Parbat Miller & Manning. The North Cascades Muir. The Mountains of California Muir. My First Summer in the Sierra Mummery. My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus Murray. Mountaineering in Scotland Murray. The Scottish Himalayan Expedition Newby. A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush Norman-Neruda. The Climbs of Norman-Neruda Norton. The Fight For Everest 1924 Noyce. Climbing the Fishes Tail Noyce. South Col Patey. One Man's Mountains Pause. Extreme Alpine Rock Pilley. Climbing Days Radcliffe. Land of Mountains: New Zealand Rebuffat. Mont Blanc: The 100 Finest Routes Rebuffat. Starlight and Storm Ridgeway. The Last Step [1st American ascent of K2] Roberts. The Mountain of My Fear Roberts. Deborah Roper & Steck. Fifty Classic Climbs of North America Rowell. In The Throne Room of the Mountain Gods Rowell. The Vertical World of Yosemite Salter. Solo Faces Sayre. Four Against Everest Scott. Big Wall Climbing Shipton. Blank on the Map Shipton. Nanda Devi Simpson. Touching the Void Smythe. Camp Six Smythe. Climbs and Ski Runs Steinitzer. Der Alpinismus in Bildern Stephen. The Playground of Europe Stuck. The Ascent of Denali Tasker. Everest The Cruel Way Tasker. The Savage Arena Terray. Conquistadors of the Useless Thorington. The Glittering Mountains of Canada Tilman. The Ascent of Nanda Devi Tilman. Snow on the Equator Venables. Everest The Kangshung Face Venables. Everest Summit of Achievement Waller. The Everlasting Hills Whymper. Scrambles Amongst The Alps Whymper. Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator Wills. Wanderings Among the High Alps Yoshizawa. Mountaineering Maps of the World. 2 Vols Young. Mountaincraft BEST CLIMBING GUIDEBOOKS Criteria include 'classics', importance to an area's history, best efforts from homegrown writers, humor, early use of the Yosemite Decimal System, topo charts or other innovation, controversy, or if they made some other mark on guidebook history. Alaska Randall. Mount McKinley Climber's Handbook. 1984 Waterman. High Alaska. 1992 [Classic] Arizona Lovejoy. Granite Mountain. 1973 Toula. A Cheap Way to Fly. 1986 California Brower. Climbers Guide to the Sierra Nevada: Preliminary edition. 1949. Hammack. Climber's Guide to Pinnacles National Monument. 1955 Kroll. San Luis Obispo Happy Climbs. 1978 Leonard. Mountain Records of the Sierra Nevada. 1937 Meyers. Yosemite Climbs, Topo Drawings. 1976 Nicol. Rock Climbs in Yosemite, Topo Drawings. 1974 Roper. Climbers Guide to Yosemite Valley. 1964 Tucker. Climbing in Santa Barbara & Ventura. 1981 Voge & Smatko. Mountaineer's Guide to the Sierra Nevada. 1972. Voge. Climbers Guide to the Sierra Nevada. 1954. Vogel. Joshua Tree Rock Climbing. 1986 White, etc. Crags & Boulders of San Diego Co. 1978 Wilts. Climber's Guide to Tahquitz Rock. 1956 Wolfe. Climber's Guide to Joshua Tree. 1970 Colorado Ament & McCarty. High Over Boulder. 1967. [A Boulder classic] Bornemann & Lampert. Climbing Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners. 1978 [Started fourteener craze] Dornan. Rock Climbing Guide to Boulder CO Area. 1961 [First published Boulder Guide] Erickson. Rocky Heights, Guide to Boulder Free Climbs. 1980 Hart. Fourteen Thousand Feet, [1972, 2nd ed pub with Kingery A Climber's Guide to the High Colorado Peaks.] Lavender. San Juan Mtrs Climber's Guide to SW Colorado. 1932 Nesbit. Longs Peak, Its Story and a Guide for Climbing It. 1946-1990s Ormes. Guide to the Colorado Mountains. 1952 Rossiter. Boulder Topographics, Pictorial Guide to Boulder. 1981 (First CO topo guide) Toll. Mountaineering in the Rocky Mountain National Park. 1921 Toll. The Mountain Peaks of Colorado. 1923 Connecticut Nichols. Traprock. 1982 [largest east coast guidebook] Reppy & Streibert. Climbing Guide to Ragged Mountain. 1964 Illinois Koloctoronis. Guide to Mississippi Palisades. 1965 Massachusetts Anonymous [LaForge]. Boston Rolls. 1987 [Pornographic] Minnesota Swenson. Climber's Guide to Taylor's Falls. 1972 New Hampshire AMC. White Mountain Guide. 1907-2004 Peterson. Climber's Guide to Cannon Cliff. 1972 [First guidebook to use topo drawings]. Wilcox. An Ice Climbers Guide to Northern New England. 1982 Webster. Rock Climbs in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 1982 New York Goodwin. Climbs in the Adirondacks. 1938 Gran. Climber's Guide to the Shawangunks. 1964 Swain. The Gunks Guide. 1986 Salo. Gunks Climbing. 2021 North Carolina Price. Carolinas Climber's Guide, 2nd ed, 1977. [Most Illiterate Guide] Oregon Watts. Climber's Guide to Smith Rock. 1992 [hot sport climbing area] South Dakota Conn. Rock Climbs in the Needles, Black Hills, SD. c.1950 Washington Beckey. Climber's Guide to the Cascade & Olympic Mountains of WA. 1949 [A classic] Whitelaw. Private Dancer [Static Point]. 1985 Wisconsin Hermacinski. Extremist's Guide to Devil's Lake, New Climbs. 1985 [Controversial, vulgar] Morris. Climber's Guide to Devil's Lake. c. 1969 Wiegand. Climber's & Fisherman's Guide to Gibraltar Rock. 1971 Wyoming Bonney & Bonney. Guide to the Wyoming Mountains and Wilderness Areas. 1960 Coulter & McLane. Mountain Climbing Guide to the Grand Tetons. 1947 [Early classic] Fryxell. The Teton Peaks and Their Ascents. 1932 [First teton guide] Ortenburger. Climber's Guide to the Teton Range. 1956 [First modern Teton guide] Ortenburger. Climber's Guide to the Teton Range, 2nd ed. 1965 [Best Teton guide ever] Regional U.S.A. Harlin. Climber's Guide to North America, [3 Vols: East Coast; Rocky Mountains; West Coast.] Roper & Steck. Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. 1979 [Very influential, started the best climbs craze, climbing any set of peaks on a list] Sherman. Stone Crusade: Historical Guide to Bouldering. 1994. [First proper recognition of bouldering] Toula. Rock 'N Road: Rock Climbing Areas of North America. 1995 [Most climbing complete area list] Vogler. Les Etats Unis: Les Plus Belles Escalades. 1984 [Excellent photo guide to USA climbs] Canada Culbert. Climber's Guide to the Coastal Ranges of BC. 1965 Palmer & Thorington. Climber's Guide to the Rocky Mts of Canada. 1921 Putnam. Climber's Guide to the Interior Ranges of Canada. 1937 Wheeler. The Selkirk Mountains: A Guide for Mountain Climbers and Pilgrims. 1912 BEST MOUNTAIN PHOTO BOOKS Criteria includes artistic caliber, printing quality,comprehensive documentation and reference value. Bartlett. Desert Towers Bonatti. Magic of Mont Blanc Bonington. Chris Bonington Mountaineer Buscaini. Patagonia: Dreamland for Climbers and Tourists [Italian or German] Dumler. The High Mountains of the Alps Edlinger. Rock Games [Hard USA rock climbs] Garden. Bugaboos Garden. Selkirks Gildea. Mountaineering In Antarctica Kazami. Premier Peaks of the World Meyers. Yosemite Climber Morse. Mountains of Canada Morse. Canada The Mountains Ohmori. Over the Himalaya Perren. Matterhorn Reader. Kilimanjaro Reader. Mt Kenya Scott. Himalayan Climber Shirahata. Nepal Himalaya Shirahata. Karakoram Shirahata. The Alps Shirahata. Majestic Splendor: The Canadian Rockies Sicouri. Forbidden Mountains Washburn & Roberts. Mount McKinley: The Conquest of Denali BEST MOUNTAINEERING REFERENCE BOOKS These are the books that are most useful for the average person seeking facts on mountaineering books. Alpine Club. Catalogue of the Library [1000s of climbing books in all languages] Arctic Bibliography [3 vols] Baume. Sivalaya [8000 m peaks 1st and early ascents] Bent. A Bibliography of the White Mountains Brown. The First Ascent of Mont Blanc Coolidge. Swiss Travel and Swiss Guide-Books Kimes. John Muir: A Reading Bibliography Mathews. Annals of Mont Blanc Meckly. Mont Blanc The Early Years Neate. Mountaineering Literature [First good bibliography for mountaineering book collecting] Neate. Mountaineering and Its Literature [Much more complete 2nd edition of above] Neate. Mountaineering in the Andes [Guide to climbs and books, articles] Neate. High Asia [7000 meter peak climbs] Perret. Guide de Livres Sur La Montagne Et L'Alpinsime [Mountaineering books, mostly European languages] Salkeld & Boyle. Climbing Mount Everest [Everest books all languages] Spence. Antarctic Miscellany Unsworth. Everest A Mountaineering History [Thorough Everest History] Yakushi. Catalog of the Himalayan Literature [Himalayan Books all languages incl Japanese] MOUNTAINEERING JOURNALS Criteria for this list is writing and photo quality, plus serious coverage of mountaineering activity. Some people believe the documentation in journals and magazines can be more important than in books. Magazines and Journals are more spontaneous, can be more controversial, are read more widely and are often the first or only appearance of expeditionary accounts and guidebook information. Alpine Journal UK 1862-present Alpinst 2002 - present American Alpine Journal 1929-present Ascent: Sierra Club 1967-1999 Canadian Alpine Journal 1907-present Climbing Magazine 1970-present Himalayan Journal 1029-present Mountain World 1946-1969 (1953-69 in English) Mountain Magazine 1969-1992 Rock and Ice Magazine 1984-present Vulgarian Digest [3 issues, 1970s. Set the tone for underground books and magazines] 8000 METER PEAKS AND THEIR PRINCIPAL BOOKS These are the best books for the first ascents of the 8000 meter peaks. When we created this list over twenty years ago, the concept that many people would climb all the fourteen 8000 meter peaks had not yet taken hold. Messner and Kukuczka were enough. As of 2021 44 people have climbed all the 8000 meter peaks, with 6 more in dispute. Plus other goals have been created, like the ''Grand Slam' of Everest and the North and South Pole. As more people are climbing at such a high level, and have similar goals, collecting their books can be an area for collecting. Other areas of climbing summits on a list are the Seven Summits, which is really Eight. We have had a tab for searching thos books on this website for several years. People are also climbing all 50 US State Summits, all the counties of states, and and the highpoints of the 200+ countries of the world. I don't know the status of climbing country summits, but I know people are at work on it. Over 200 persons have climbed the state summits, although the only states that frequently get books of their own are Denali, Rainier and Mt Washington in NH. Everest (8848 m; 29028 ft) Gregory. Picture of Everest [Photos] Hunt. The Ascent of Everest [offical account] Hunt. Our Everest Adventure [Photos] Hillary. High Adventure [Hillary's 1st book] Noyce. South Col [best written 1st ascent book] Tenzing. Tiger of the Snows Also see: Band. Everest 50 Years on top of the World Gillman. Everest 80 Years of Triumph and Tragedy Unsworth. Everest Venables. Everest Summit of Achievment K2 (8611 m; 28250 ft) Bonatti. On The Heights Compagnoni. K2 CONQUISTA ITALIANA Desio. The Ascent of K2 or Victory Over K2 Bonatti. On The Heights Lacedelli. K2 The Price of Conquest Kangchenjunga (8586 m; 28169 ft) Evans. Kanchenjunga the Untrodden Peak Brown. The Hard Years Lhotse (8516 m; 27940 ft) Eggler. The Everest Lhotse Adventure [Also Everest 2nd ascent] Makalu (8463 m; 27766 ft) Franco. Makalu Dhaulagiri (8167 m; 26795 ft) Eiselin. The Ascent of Dhaulagiri Diemberger. Summits and Secrets [also Broad Peak] Manaslu (8163 m; 26781 ft) J.A.C. Mansalu 1952-53 J.A.C. Manaslu 1954-56 Yoda. Ascent of Manaslu in Photographs 1952-1956 Cho Oyu (8201 m; 26906 ft) Tichy. Cho Oyu Nanga Parbat (8125 m; 26660 ft) Herrligkoffer. Nanga Parbat Buhl. Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage or Lonely Challenge Annapurna (8091 m; 26545 ft) Herzog. Annapurna: First Conquest of an 8000 Meter Peak Herzog. Regards vers Annapurna [Color photos] Lachenal. Carrnets du Vertigo Terray. Conquistadors of the Useless Gasherbrum I (8068 m; 26470 ft) Clinch. A Walk in the Sky Broad Peak (8047 m; 26400 ft) Diemberger. Summits and Secrets [also Dhaulagiri] Schmuck. Broad Peak, 8047M Sale, Schmuck, Wintersteller. Broad Peak 2004 [the truth finally comes out] Shisha Pangma (8046 m; 26397 ft) A Photographic Record of the Mount Shisha Pangma Expedition Chinese 1964 expedition, first ascent. In English. China Sport Magazine No 4 1964. In English. Gasherbrum II (8035 m; 26360 ft) Moravec. Weisse Berge, Schwarze Menschen BOARDMAN TASKER PRIZE WINNERS The Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust trust was established to promote climbing literature by providing an annual award to authors of literary works, the central theme of which is concerned with mountains. The Boardman Tasker Prize is the highest Award a Mountaineering book can get, although there are other prizes given by Book Festivals such as the Banff Book Festival and the Kendal Book Festival. This list would not be the same if the judges were American instead of British. We usually usually have these books in stock: Boardman-Tasker Prize Winners: 2022 [tie] Brian Hall High Risk 2022 [tie] Helen Mort A Line Above the Sky 2021 David Smart Emilio Comici: Angel of the Dolomites 2020 Jessica J. Lee Two Trees Make a Forest: On Memory, Migration and Taiwan 2019 Kate Harris Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road 2018 David Roberts Limits of the Known (USA) 2017 Bernadette MacDonald The Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka 2016 Simon McCartney The Bond: Two Epic Climbs in Alaska and a Lifetime's Connection Between Climbers 2015 Barry Blanchard The Calling: A Life Rocked by Mountains 2014 Julius Lines Tears of the Dawn 2013 Harriet Tuckey Everest The First Ascent. The Untold Story of Griffith Pugh, the Man Who Made It Possible 2012 Andy Kirkpatrick Cold Wars: Climbing the Fine Line between Risk and Reality 2011 Bernadette McDonald Freedom Climbers 2010 Ron Fawcett Ron Fawcett Rock Athlete 2009 Steve House Beyond The Mountain (USA) 2008 Andy Kirkpatrick Psychovertical 2007 Robert Macfarlane The Wild Places 2006 Charles Lind An Afterclap Of Fate: Mallory on Everest 2005 Andy Cave Learning to Breathe2005 Jim Perrin The Villain: the Life of Don Whillans 2004 Trevor Braham When the Alps Cast Their Spell 2003 Simon Mawer The Fall 2002 Robert Roper Fatal Mountaineer: The High-Altitude Life and Death of Willi Unsoeld, American Himalayan Legend 2001 Roger Hubank Hazard's Way 2000 Peter and Leni Gillman The Wildest Dream: Mallory – His Life and Conflicting Passions 1999 Paul Pritchard The Totem Pole: And a Whole New Adventure 1998 Peter Steele Eric Shipton, Everest and Beyond 1997 Paul Pritchard Deep Play: A Climber's Odyssey from Llanberis to the Big Walls (1997 Should have been Into Thin Air) 1996 Audrey Salkeld A Portrait of Leni Riefenstahl 1995 Alan Hankinson Geoffrey Winthrop Young: Poet, Mountaineer, Educator 1994 Dermot Somers At the Rising of the Moon 1993 Jeff Long The Ascent (USA) 1992 Will McLewin In Monte Viso's Horizon: Climbing All the Alpine 4000m Peaks 1991 Alison Fell Mer de Glace 1991 Dave Brown & Ian Mitchell A View from the Ridge 1990 Victor Saunders Elusive Summits 1989 M John Harrison Climbers 1988 Joe Simpson Touching the Void 1987 Roger Mear, Robert Swan In the Footsteps of Scott 1986 Stephen Venables Painted Mountains: Two Expeditions to Kashmir 1985 Jim Perrin Menlove: : The Life of John Menlove Edwards 1984 Linda Gill Living High: : A Family Trek in the Himalayas 1984 Doug Scott, Alex MacIntyre The Shishapangma Expedition |