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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 303 670-0093, 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 [also a technique book] Clinch. A Walk in the Sky [Gasherbrum I] Coleman. Canadian Rockies, New and Old Trails Collie. Climbing on the Himalaya Cunningham & Abney. The Pioneers of the Alps [also a picture book] Davidson. Minus 148 Diemberger. Summits and Secrets Du Faur. The Conquest of Mount Cook Dunn. The Shameless Diary of an Explorer [Denali] Eckenstein. Karakoram and Kashmir 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 [also a photo book] 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 [best selling book in 1950s] 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 [also a photo book] Houston & Bates. K2 The Savage Mountain Jones. Climbing in North America King. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada Kinzl & Schneider. Cordillera Huayhuash [also a photo book] Kinzl & Schneider. Cordillera Blanca [also a photo book] Krakauer. Into Thin Air [1997 Everest best seller] Kugy. Alpine Pilgrimage Languepin. To Kiss High Heaven [Nanda Devi] Lukan. The Alps and Alpinism [also a photo book] MacInnes. Climb to the Lost World Manning. Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills [best selling technique book] Maraini. Karakoram Maraini. Where Four Worlds Meet [Hindu Kush] McLewin. In Monte Viso's Horizon [Alps] Messner. All Fourteen Eight-Thousanders [also photo book] Messner. Everest Expedition To The Ultimate Messner. Solo Nanga Parbat Miller & Manning. The North Cascades [mostly a photo book] 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 [Mallory story] Noyce. Climbing the Fishes Tail Noyce. South Col [Everest] Patey. One Man's Mountains Pause. Extreme Alpine Rock [best Alpine climbs, also a guidebook] Pilley. Climbing Days [Early Women's Climbing] Radcliffe. Land of Mountains: New Zealand [also a photo book] Rebuffat. Mont Blanc: The 100 Finest Routes [also a guidebook] Rebuffat. Starlight and Storm Ridgeway. The Last Step [1st American ascent of K2] Roberts. The Mountain of My Fear [Alaska climb] Roberts. Deborah [Alaska climb] Roper & Steck. Fifty Classic Climbs of North America [also a guidebook] Rowell. In The Throne Room of the Mountain Gods [K2 climb] Rowell. The Vertical World of Yosemite [also a photo book] Salter. Solo Faces [fiction] Sayre. Four Against Everest Scott. Big Wall Climbing [also a technique book] Shipton. Blank on the Map [Karakoram exploration classic] Shipton. Nanda Devi [1930 Himalayan climbing classic] Simpson. Touching the Void [Gripping 1980s best seller] Smythe. Camp Six [Everest classic] Smythe. Climbs and Ski Runs Steinitzer. Der Alpinismus in Bildern [also a picture book] Stephen. The Playground of Europe [19th century best seller] Stuck. The Ascent of Denali [Denali 1st ascent] Tasker. Everest The Cruel Way [Everest in Winter] Tasker. The Savage Arena Terray. Conquistadors of the Useless Thorington. The Glittering Mountains of Canada Tilman. The Ascent of Nanda Devi [First Ascent] Tilman. Snow on the Equator [Kili, Kenya} Venables. Everest The Kangshung Face [Extreme new route] Venables. Everest Summit of Achievement [also a photo and Everest book] Waller. The Everlasting Hills Whymper. Scrambles Amongst The Alps [Matterhorn 1st ascent. 19th century bestseller] Whymper. Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator {Chimborazo & Cotopaxy first ascents] Wills. Wanderings Among the High Alps Yoshizawa. Mountaineering Maps of the World. 2 Vols [excellent maps] Young. Mountaincraft [1st bestselling technique book, every edition different] 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. [First Sierra Nevada guidebook attempt]. Hammack. Climber's Guide to Pinnacles National Monument. 1955 Kroll. San Luis Obispo Happy Climbs. 1978 [Best Title] Leonard. Mountain Records of the Sierra Nevada. 1937 Meyers. Yosemite Climbs, Topo Drawings. 1976 [1st popular Yosemite topo guide] Nicol. Rock Climbs in Yosemite, Topo Drawings. 1974 [First Topos of Yosemite] Roper. Climbers Guide to Yosemite Valley. 1964 [First stand alone Yosemite Guide] Tucker. Climbing in Santa Barbara & Ventura. 1981 Voge & Smatko. Mountaineer's Guide to the Sierra Nevada. 1972. [Controversial Smatko first ascents] Voge. Climbers Guide to the Sierra Nevada. 1954. [First true Sierra Nevada guide] Vogel. Joshua Tree Rock Climbing. 1986 [Most routes of any guidebook, 4000+] White, etc. Crags & Boulders of San Diego Co. 1978 Wilts. Climber's Guide to Tahquitz Rock. 1956 [First use of the Yosemite Decimal System YDS ] Wolfe. Climber's Guide to Joshua Tree. 1970 [First JT guide] 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 [Classic] Swain. The Gunks Guide. 1986 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 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 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 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. 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 Shishapangma Expedition 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 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. This list would not be the same of the judges were American instead of British. We usually have most of these books in stock. We often have SIGNED copies of those marked *. Winners: 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 2015 Barry Blanchard The Calling 2014 Julius Lines Tears of the Dawn 2013 Harriet Tuckey Everest The First Ascent. Griffith Pugh 2012 Andy Kirkpatrick Cold Wars 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 (USA)2001 Roger Hubank *Hazard's Way 2000 Peter and Leni Gillman *The Wildest Dream 1999 Paul Pritchard *The Totem Pole 1998 Peter Steele Eric Shipton, Everest and Beyond 1997 Paul Pritchard *Deep Play (Should have been Into Thin Air!) 1996 Audrey Salkeld *A Portrait of Leni Riefenstahl 1995 Alan Hankinson Geoffrey Winthrop Young 1994 Dermot Somers At the Rising of the Moon 1993 Jeff Long *The Ascent (USA) 1992 Will McLewin In Monte Viso's Horizon 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 1985 Jim Perrin Menlove 1984 Linda Gill Living High 1984 Doug Scott, Alex MacIntyre *The Shishapangma Expedition |