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I'm sure this has been done before, but I'm too lazy to do a simply Google search:
What are people's top climbing books? I've only read a handful thus far, and partly that's because I get overwhelmed with choice so end up reading SciFi epics to unwind instead. Nonetheless, thus far I have read:
Dave Roberts - On the Ridge Between Life and Death
Andy Kirkpatrick - Psychovertical
Joe Simpson - Touching the Void; The Beckoning Silence
Alex Honnold - Alone on the Wall
Tommy Caldwell - The Push
Simon Thompson - Unjustifiable Risk?
John Krakauer - Eiger Dreams; Into Thin Air
And undoubtedly others I'm forgetting.
Of those, I'd strongly recommend Caldwell and Thompson, strong mentions for Simpson and Krakauer, the rest are largely "meh", except for the Honnold which I found a bit of a bore.
On my list for future purchase are:
Johnny Dawes - Full of Myself
Jerry Moffat - Revelations
Heinrich Harrer - The White Spider
Walter Bonatti - Mountains of my Life
Kenton Cool - One Man's Everest
But what essentials am I missing?
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
A little Anglo-centric !
Gaston Rébuffat - Étoiles et tempêtes
Lionel Terray - Les Conquérants de l'inutile
René Desmaison - Les forces de la montagne: Mémoires &/or 342 heures dans les Grandes Jorasses
Also add at least one of Mick Fowler's books, Learning to breath by Andy Cave, One man's mountains by Tom Patey & John Porter's One Day As a Tiger (& many more)
Post edited at 14:35
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
You've got some good reading ahead. Buy The Boardman Tasker Omnibus for starters; Boardman's books are good, Tasker's account of a winter ascent of Everest isn't but his Savage Arena is a serious contender for the best climbing book ever written (in my opinion, of course; read it and see).
Try also Greg Child's Thin Air; another great set of tales culminating in an ascent of Gasherbrum IV, and anything that gives you the slightest excuse to look at pictures of that beautiful mountain is worth a read.
And just because he's of an older generation and his style of expeditions, of leadership and of writing are all now a bit old school, don't omit Chris Bonington from your reading. Try The Everest Years and see how you get on.
T.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Hi Paul,
Boardman Tasker Omnibus (especially The Shining Mountain) is great.
Some of the Bill Tillman / Eric Shipton Anthology is good, though gets a bit boys own after a while.
And Joe Brown's the hard years to remind you how wussy we all are these days.
Feeding the Rat by Al Alvarez.
I can lend you any of these.
Max
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Desmaison: Total Alpinism. It's an English translation of the two books listed by Doug. It's difficult to overstate the impression it leaves on most readers.
Native Stones by David Craig is a favourite of mine.
My Life by Anderl Heckmair.
More recent ones that stand up with the greats are:
In Some Lost Place by Sandy Allan.
Echoes by Nick Bullock
One Day as a Tiger by John Porter.
There are loads more.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Three of my favourites are,
The Black Cliff: Crew - Soper - Wilson
Annapurna: Herzog
Everest, The West Ridge: Hornbein
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
I thought the push was quite good until it got to the dawn wall saga. After that it was a bit dull.
Think I’ve read all your suggestions above. No one has suggested Tom Pateys One Man’s Mountains.
The boardman tasker books are superb, a great loss to mountaineering.
Also check your local librsry(both paper and online) you may get a lot via this route.
enjoy.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Troll Wall by Tony Howard is also a very good read.
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In reply to subtle:
> Essential reading:
> Ascent of Rum Doodle by W E Bowman
I was glad to get this out the library. I know it was sending up expedition stories but it got a bit tedious.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Try and get a copy of 'Tales From The Steep', a collection of extracts from books, magazines and some short stories, compiled by John Long. Worth it just for 'The Devil's Thumb' but I think just about every story in it is good, another standout being John Long being talked into soloing with John Bachar.
Post edited at 22:16
In reply to Paul Sagar:
Nick Bullock - Tides (Echoes I can't comment on, haven't yet read it)
Andy Kirkpatrick - Cold Wars
Andy Cave - Learning to Breathe
Simon Yates - The Wild Within
Joe Simpson - This Game of Ghosts (to give some perspective to Touching The Void)
If I were to recommend just one of the above, it'd be Tides every day of the week.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage by Herman Buhl and The Villain by Jim Perrin
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
No Picnic on Mount Kenya. It's the story of an Italian prisoner of war who broke out of a prisoner of war camp and made a credible attempt to climb Mount Kenya using equipment he'd made in the prisoner of war camp, he then returned to the POW camp, broke back in and answered roll call.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Mountain days and Bothy Nights. Not, perhaps full of near death epics but a charming read.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Fiva by Gordon Stainforth of this parish. IMHO if this had been published before Touching the Void then it would have established a marker for survival writing to which TTV was compared.
Also don't discount the short form of writing, the essays in Games Climbers Play & Mirrors in the Cliffs from Diadem (Ken Wilson) and Yes to Dance & On & Off the Rocks by Jim Perrin are superb collections.
Post edited at 21:20
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Andy Cave's books are worth a look
I love this list/thread so far. There's one or two that are typing, not writing, and therefore painful for the reader - but not many. Can't believe no-one has mentioned Robert McFarlane yet, or Stephen Pern; and if you're going to read Heinrich Harrer then Seven Years in Tibet is fabulous.
In reply to Paul Sagar:
Punk In The Gym is good.
(Plus he's just woke up crying. We don't want him going to sleep crying too).
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In reply to Baron Weasel:
+1 for No Picnic on Mount Kenya.
In reply to Mike-W-99:
> I was glad to get this out the library. I know it was sending up expedition stories but it got a bit tedious.
Yes, I agree. I thought Rum Doodle was just unfunny banality.
Post edited at 23:57
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
Eric Jones book is great, probably the best autobiography I've read so far!
Tears of a dawn , Julian lines
Hanging on, Martin boysen
Fast and free , biography of Pete livsey
In reply to Paul Sagar:
Let's go Climbing by Colin Kirkus,
The Great Climbing Adventure by John Barry. I read this about 30 years ago when I started climbing. It is laugh out loud funny and a great yarn. I was fortunate enough to have dinner with John and some mutual friends in the alps last spring and he is even funnier in the flesh.
Paintred Mountains by Peter Boardman. Makes you appreciate why many of the top European climbers did/still rate him as such a great climber and visionary.
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In reply to HammondR:
The only mountaineering book called 'Painted Mountain' that I know is by Stephen Venables, Pete Boardman's books were 'The Shining Mountain' and 'Sacred Summits'. All 3 worth reading.
In reply to Paul Sagar:
Bill Murray Mountaineering in Scotland
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
For pure fun, "The Ridiculous Mountains" and "Nothing so simple as climbing" by GJF Dutton, but for sheer mountain romanticism you'll never beat WH Murray.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
The Climb Up To Hell......Jack Olsen
In reply to Paul Sagar:
H.W.Tilman; Diadem published a compilation, cant recommend it enough.
In reply to Robert Durran:
> Yes, I agree. I thought Rum Doodle was just unfunny banality.
It's a book of it's time, and very much taking the piss out of John Hunt's account of the first ascent of Everest; if you haven't read that then I suspect it loses some impact plus, as years pass, humour changes. There was a time when grown men talking in silly voices was the cutting edge of comedy, but now no-one finds that especially unusual and we demand more; but that was one of the things that made The Goons a comedy icon for many at the time. It's much the same with Rum Doodle.
T.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
I'd also add The Bond by Simon McCartney. It's a terrific tale told very well indeed, one of the best mountaineering books I've read for a good while.
T.
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In reply to Pursued by a bear:
> It's a book of it's time, and very much taking the piss out of John Hunt's account of the first ascent of Everest; if you haven't read that then I suspect it loses some impact plus, as years pass, humour changes. There was a time when grown men talking in silly voices was the cutting edge of comedy, but now no-one finds that especially unusual and we demand more; but that was one of the things that made The Goons a comedy icon for many at the time. It's much the same with Rum Doodle.
It helps too if you've read Diary of a Nobody. It's very much in that style.
I found it very funny.
This thread tells me that I must seek out and read Boardman and Taskers' books.
20 years ago when I lived in Germany, I borrowed from the local library an account of the winter ascent of the Eiger by the German and British/American teams, the one where Harlin died. I'm pretty sure it was by Sigi Hupfauer but I can't find reference to it anywhere. It was riveting ,and full of now iconic photos of them at the top in their ripped, crappy gear.
In reply to Doug: oops, I had consumed a few ales. You are quite right. Sacred Summits was in my mind.
In reply to mbh:
> 20 years ago when I lived in Germany, I borrowed from the local library an account of the winter ascent of the Eiger by the German and British/American teams, the one where Harlin died. I'm pretty sure it was by Sigi Hupfauer but I can't find reference to it anywhere. It was riveting ,and full of now iconic photos of them at the top in their ripped, crappy gear. <
Eiger Direct by Gilman and Haston covered the same ascent.
In reply to mbh:
Any chance it was 'Eiger. Kampf um die Direttissima - 30 Tage in der Eiger-Nordwand' by Jörg Lehne & Peter Haag (who were with Sigi Hupfauer àn the Eiger direct)?
In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:
> another vote for Fiva- utterly compelling
Yep, I read it and it was excellent, up there with the best, IMHO.
As well as some of the others already mentioned, I also really liked Steve House's Beyond the Mountain.
In reply to Paul Sagar:
Plus one for Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage and WH Murray - when I first got the Bill Murray books they came as a pair of "Mountaineering In Scotland" and "Undiscovered Scotland" both are excellent.
"The Ascent of Everest" John Hunt and Bonington's books especially Annapurna South Face were very dear to me when I first encountered them.
In reply to Doug:
Yes - I think that's it. I've got the names muddled. The cover is familiar and it was from around then. A terrific book.
Thanks.
In reply to Paul Sagar:
The two Dennis Grey ones. Think they are Tight Rope and Slack.
In reply to petegunn:
> The two Dennis Grey ones. Think they are Tight Rope and Slack.
Rope Boy!
I absolutely loved Bonatti's 'Mountains of my Life' and if I had to recommend a photo book it has to be SUMMIT, a profile of Vittoria Sella and his photography. Preface by Ansel Adams. What more do you want?
Post edited at 16:34
In reply to Paul Sagar:
Annapurna by Herzog. Translation. Story of first ascent. Read it years ago and still remember harrowing details of frostbite and its damaging treatment.
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In reply to Paul Sagar:
High Peak - Eric Byne.
Wish I'd stolen the one they had in Crowden Youth Hostel in 1966
In reply to Tom Valentine:
On the heights & The great days by Walter Bonatti
More than Mountain's by John Jackson
Always a little further by Alistair Borthwick
Mick Fowlers, Andy Caves and Mr Kirkpatrick books all good
Echoes and Tides by Nick Bullock both awesome reads
Nanda Parbat Pilgrimage by Herman Buhl
Five miles high by Houston and Bates
Anything by Shipton and Tilman.......
One could go on ..........
In reply to Paul Sagar:
No one has mentioned Last Blue Mountain by Ralph Barker.
Knocks Touching the Void into a cocked hat! Tony Streather rescues almost eveyone.
In reply to Paul Sagar:
If you ever want to move out of the realm of pure climbing books and into books that deal with topics which overlap into a general empathy with our natural world and an exploration of human endeavour then I would recommend two books by a guy called Lynn Schooler.
The first is called "The Blue Bear" and is a truly heart wrenching story about a friendship which takes place on the coastal waters of the Alaskan panhandle.
The second is called "walking home" and describes a solo journey along the same panhandle.
The writing is amazing. Enough to elevate "The Blue Bear" to one of my all time favourite books.
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Thanks all! most helpful indeed...
In reply to Paul Sagar:
Hanging by a Thread Emmanuel Cauchy.
A rather sobering read. My favourites already been mentioned - Rum Doodle
In reply to Paul Sagar:
As so far no one has mentioned a single book by a woman, I'll nominate The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd, and pretty much anything by Bernadette Macdonald
Post edited at 14:05
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