This is the 114th volume of the world's oldest and most prestigious mountaineering publication - the "Alpine Journal". Features include expedition accounts by UK mountaineers Mick Fowler, Simon Yates, and Andy Parkin.

 

A special section is devoted to all six climbs nominated for the 2009 Piolets d'Or awards, including articles by Ueli Steck on Teng Kangpoche, Patrice Glariron-Rappaz on Nuptse and Japanese climbers, from the Giri-Giri Boys, on Kamet, Kalanka and Denali. The Journeys section includes a record-breaking run down the Everest trail and adventures in Mongolia. There's an account of climbing all the 4000m peaks of the Alps, surveys of the mountains of Sikkim and the Cordillera Huaytapallana in Peru, plus commentary on environmental and wilderness issues, ethics and a disputed first Himalayan ascent.

 

There are some 200 fabulous photographs, mostly in colour, plus evocative watercolours by Simon Pierse of the Alps, Ladakh and Kangchenjunga. As usual, this "AJ" also contains extensive reviews, obituaries, and a country-by-country record of recent significant ascents. Editor of the "AJ" since 2004, Stephen Goodwin is a journalist, climber and guidebook author.

 

He went freelance in 1999 after 13 years as a staff correspondent on "The Independent", mainly covering politics at Westminster. In 1998, he reached the south summit of Everest, filing an award-winning diary to "The Independent". His guidebook, "20 Day Walks in the Lake District", was published this year by Vertebrate Graphics.