In reply to Andy Hardy:
> "You know, Alf, going to the right place, at the right time, with the right people is all that really matters. What one does is purely incidental.”
Eternally wise words. Yet would he have written them (or even thought them) before 'the fall'? I very much doubt it.
[To the OP] It's an interesting question. And perhaps one must distinguish between books about climbing and books about climbers.
For instance, I'd argue that 'The White Cliff' is the best book about British climbing and 'Electric Brae' is the best book about climbers, from a British author.
Years ago I had an article on here, 'The Golden Age of British Climbing'. The first half wasn't about climbing, but the social context of the Golden Age.
At the time, this seemed a pretty dangerous thing to do! Half-way through and climbing hasn't been mentioned. But young climbers wrote to me, saying that, for the first time, they'd begun to understand their parents and grandparents. It seemed to matter more to them than lists of routes.
I'm horribly aware than none of this answers your question. But I don't think it's 'actual climbing' vis a vis other activities. I think it's about viewing the human condition through the lens of climbing. This is what gives climbing writing such a distinctive allure.
Mick