Climbing and mountaineering Books

Book SynopsisFrom Ayrshire, into the Central Belt and up to the Stirlingshire hills, the Lowland regions of Scotland are within easy travel distance of its two main cities and the majority of its climbing population. Though perhaps lacking the grandeur of the Highlands, the Lowlands make up for this in variety and accessibility with dolerite quarries, adventurous greywacke sea-cliffs and basalt test-pieces. With over 1,900 trad, sport and bouldering routes, from esoteric gems to world-classics, the area holds something for everyone. Compiled and updated by local activists, this new guide presents the best that the Lowlands have to offer. With colour photographic topos throughout, inspiring action shots, detailed maps, public transport and accessibility details, it's designed for both seasoned climbers and those taking their first steps onto outdoor crags. Coverage of the book includes Stirlingshire, Glasgow, Ayrshire, the Forth Valley, Berwickshire Coast and the Borders Hills. Key features - * Over 1,900 routes, with almost every route on a diagram * 224 high resolution crag diagrams * Inspiring action photos * Detailed access maps designed with accessibilty in mind * Essential crag information to aid planning * Details of accesible climbing venues

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Book SynopsisThirteen full moons, thirteen special nights on Scotland's highest mountains, the Munros, in the course of one exceptional year of full moons. Add a soundtrack for each walk and a surprising range of celebratory drinks and you have a fitting finale to the Moonwalker book series

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Book SynopsisLake District Climbs and Scrambles combines the best scrambles and easy climbs in the Lake District with great walking loops to give twenty superb 'mountaineering' days out on the Cumbrian fells.Each route runs from valley floor to mountain top, with the ascent - and often descent - made via a classic scramble or climb. Scrambles at grades 1 to 3+ tackle ghylls, ridges and crags, with Lake District classics such as Jack's Rake and Sharp Edge sitting alongside lesser-known gems like Sourmilk Gill and Crenation Ridge. Climbs up to Severe include some of the best loved easy routes in the Lake District, like C Ordinary and Corvus. And while walking to and from the climbs and scrambles you'll explore valleys like Wasdale and Deepdale, and reach the high tops of Scafell and Blencathra.Researched and written by local author and mountaineer Stephen Goodwin, the routes feature Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps, photo topos and easy-to-follow directions, along with route profiles and local information. Also included is a detailed appendix, to ensure that you have a fun and successful day out.Table of ContentsIntroductionAbout the routesCraft and safetyKitMobile phonesMountain RescueMountain Rescue by SMS textAccess and conservationThe Countryside CodeMaps, descriptions, distancesAcknowledgementsArea map & route finderSection 1 Borrowdale & the North-West Lakes1 Corvus & Cam Crag Ridge2 Intake Ridge & Doves' Nest Circuit3 Ruddy Gill & Great End Circuit4 Sourmilk Gill & Grey Knotts Face5 Needle Ridge Circuit6 Grey Crag Circuit7 Lorton Gully Circuit8 Bannerdale Crags & Sharp Edge CircuitSection 2 Langdale & Ullswater9 Pinnacle Ridge & Striding Edge10 Greenhow End & Hutaple Crag11 Belles Knott & Jack's Rake12 Pavey Ark Circuit13 Bowfell Buttress & Crinkle Crags14 Greenburn CircuitSection 3 Dow, Wasdale and & the South-West Lakes15 Dow Crag Circuit16 Upper Eskdale & Ill Crag17 Broad Stand & Scafell18 Grooved Arete & Scafell Pike Circuit19 Pillar Rock20 Steeple Buttress & Yewbarrow CircuitAppendixFurther Reading

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Book SynopsisThe Scratch Off Peak District Rock Climbs print is a perfect gift for rock climbers to discover their next big challenge or to experience a different part of the Peak District. You may be scaling your first crag or your 50th, or you know someone who does so on a regular basis. This map would make a great rock climbing gift and is a great way to display achievements. This vibrant scratch off rock climbing poster details 239 exciting and challenging crags all across the UK's Peak District. Use the handy information displayed on it to plan it all out, each crag shows the approximate number of routes, face direction, the type of rock, whether there are any bolted routes and whether there may be any restrictions to be aware of. Each crag even has a little diagram to give you an idea of the spread of the routes according to difficulty. You can look across the map to plan your next trip, looking for a crag that has routes to match your abilities, orientated to suit the weather and on a specific rock type. As you visit and experience each crag, scratch them off the map, and move on to the next one. Our Scratch off Peak District Rock Climbs will quite literally help you scale new heights and last you for many years of climbing to come.

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Book SynopsisMartin Moran was a man of the mountains, inspiring both as pioneer and leader. His is a story of life-changing adventures and dramatic, often near-death experiences, told with humour and verve.

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Book SynopsisSet your sights on a new climbing challenge, with the Scratch Off Snowdonian Climbs Print! 190 climbs in and near Snowdonia, including traditional, bouldering and ice climbs, featuring info of their grade difficulty, number of climbs, bolted face direction and restrictions. You can document your climbs by scratching off the foil for every peak, to reveal a colour. The Scratch Off Snowdonian Climbs Print is an inspired gift for avid climbers and will guarantee to take their breath way, much like their views from the top of every peak they climb. Simply pick a peak and get scratching!

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Book SynopsisIn 2015, climber and documentary maker Joe French was about to fulfil a dream of a lifetime – to climb Everest and film it. Then tragedy struck and Joe found himself at the epicentre of an earthquake which killed nearly 9,000 people. Only a few years previously, his team of Sherpa had been killed in another avalanche, and soon after that, Julie, his wife, was diagnosed with cancer. The accumulation of trauma took its toll: suffering from post-traumatic stress, Joe was haunted by the horrors he’d witnessed. In an attempt to find a resolution, he turned to his love of the outdoors. Running barefoot through the forests and glens around his house in Scotland, Joe discovered the means to find a return to health and peace of mind.Trade Review‘Thrilling and utterly honest. This book transports its reader to the audacity, bravery and tragedy of climbing in the theatre of Everest.’Disastrously, unputdownably readable. This isn’t just derring-do, but a deeply intelligent and moving reflection on the sort of creatures we are, and how we should live.‘This book took me to dark edge of fear... An utterly compelling read.’

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Book SynopsisThis is the ultimate guide to Skye's mountains, offering comprehensive coverage of all the island's peaks. Skye is a paradise for mountain climbers and hillwalkers. This guidebook selects more than 100 varied mountain routes from all over the island, ranging from some of the most challenging in Britain, to pleasant ascents of grassy summits. The jewel in the island's crown is The Cuillin and a summer traverse of the Cuillin Ridge, the 30 or so peaks and tops that form the Cuillin crest, is a major challenge to any mountain climber. This guidebook utilises 50 annotated topo-diagrams to describe the Cuillin Ridge in greater detail than ever before, with sections on Planning, Tactics and Equipment. However, the Cuillin Ridge is just one of more than 100 routes described in this guide. Most mountain climbers and hillwalkers visiting Skye are climbing one of the 12 Munros, 9 Munro Tops, 2 Corbetts, 9 Grahams and 35 sub-2000ft Marilyns on the island. This guidebook describes routes on all of these peaks and many other classics such as the Clach Glas Traverse, Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean, the Dubhs Ridge on Sgurr Dubh Beag and Dun Cana on the Isle of Raasay.

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Book SynopsisA concise, lightweight and pocket-sized, topo-guide to Skye's Cuillin Ridge. Forty-five annotated photo topo-diagrams show the Cuillin Ridge in more detail than ever before, highlighting the best route for tackling the UK's premier mountain challenge. The topos also offer many alternative options and bypasses on tricky sections. A short introduction offers advice on planning, tactics and equipment.

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Book SynopsisThis illustrated book is the first to introduce the reader - climbers and non-climbers alike - to the numerous mountain ranges, summits and remote inland regions of the Antarctic. This is a book intended for mountain and travel lovers interested in discovering what is probably the largest unexplored stretch of land on the planet. For the first time, readers will be able to contemplate the hidden treasures of the great South and discover its most remote mountain regions. The publication focuses on the mountains of Antarctica and will appeal to a wider public than strictly climbers by including numerous descriptions of the mountain ranges' geography and glaciology; exploration and travel history; profiles of adventures; climbers and sailors; many anecdotes; practical information, etc. Being a mountaineering book, it also contains unique practical information intended for all who plan an expedition in these regions (technical data; routes; approaches; equipment; transport, etc.). A large number of original high quality photos and specially drawn maps illustrate the book.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; ELLSWORTH MOUNTAINS; Sentinel Range; Heritage Range; ANTARCTIC PENINSULA; South Orkney Islands; South Shetland Islands; Graham Land; Alexander Island; Palmer Land; QUEEN MAUD LAND; TRANSANTARCTIC MOUNTAINS; SOUTH GEORGIA; OTHER AREAS; Kerguelen Islands; Heard Island; Framnes Mountains; Marie Byrd Land; Remote Antarctic Islands; ANTARCTIC 4000m PEAK LIST; ANTARCTIC FEATURE NAMES; INDEX; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

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Book SynopsisThe history of the Swiss Alpine Club and the alpinists' first mountain huts go hand in hand - both first appearing in 1863. In 2013, 150 years later 'The Huts of the Swiss Alpine Club' has been published as a celebration of these icons of the Swiss mountain landscape. The huts now belong to the cultural heritage of the Swiss Alps and the mountains would seem incomplete without them. Today there are 152 SAC huts and they can be found high up on the Matterhorn or above the Glacier d'Otemma while others are lower down the mountains in green, grassy areas - each one has its own history. Nowadays they are used by alpinists, mountaineers, skiers and families. 'The Huts of the Swiss Alpine Club' celebrates the huts' diverse architecture and jaw dropping locations. This lavish book is a glossy, photographic record of these buildings. Background information is given for each and is accompanied by inspiring mountain photography. In addition the authors have provided an overview map, a short history, and appendices giving operational details of each hut and statistics and graphs.

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Book SynopsisKalymnos must be one of the world's best known sport climbing destinations and with good reason - friendly locals, glorious weather, a picturesque Aegean island setting and, of course, the truly fantastic climbing. There is approaching 3000 climbs at the last count and many of them are of impeccable quality. Climbers from all over the world now visit the place and its reputation has grown into a 'must visit' venue. There are many fantastic harder climbs but there is also a remarkable assemblage of high quality climbs in the ever-popular 4a to 6b range. This new Rockfax guidebook will cover all the climbing in the usual Rockfax style - huge phototopos, big maps, inspiring action photos and bang up-to-date as well. It is an update of the Kalymnos app version which has been available for a year and will be available in print and app format.

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Book SynopsisLong regarded as the exclusive playground of the climbing elite, Pat Littlejohn and Mick Lovatt reveal the Llyn Peninsula as a destination for any adventurous climber eager to discover a largely unknown part of North Wales.

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Book SynopsisRobert Mads Anderson is an elite mountaineer with a solitary goal: to conquer Everest. After nearly getting killed on his first expedition, he led a team up a new route on the Kangshung Face without oxygen or Sherpa support, climbed solo on the remote North Face, and finally guided a team to the top of the world.Incorporating a who’s who of internationally recognised climbers, including Stephen Venables, Reinhold Messner and Chris Bonington, Nine Lives traces the story of Everest, from the big, nationally supported expeditions of the 1980s; through the small teams forging new routes and climbing solo; to the commercially guided expeditions of today.Set against the majestic backdrop of the world’s tallest peak, Anderson’s nine Everest expeditions over eighteen years define what truly drives a human being to the greatest of heights. With a foreword by Peter Hillary and 32 pages of colour photography, in Nine Lives Robert Mads Anderson offers his personal account of the world’s highest mountain.Trade Review‘An amazing story capturing the essence of life’s moments climbing on Everest.’ (Chris Bonington)‘Robert’s story of climbing on all three sides of Everest is full of narrow escapes. But what really shines out is the canny wisdom, courage, determination and sheer fun-loving chutzpah of a defiant optimist.’ (Stephen Venables)‘I must say this was some of the best writing I have enjoyed – ever! And not just mountaineering literature. Bravo!’ (Dr Peter Hackett, world-renowned high-altitude expert)‘I could not have climbed with any better team while being led by the best. Thank you for sharing your ninth life with me on the slopes and the summit of Mount Everest.’ (Sibusiso Vilane, first black African to summit Everest)‘Robert loves the environment of mountains, the challenge of mountains, the camaraderie built upon their flanks and the uncertainty that mountains toss into our lives.’ (Peter Hillary)

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Book SynopsisGrit Blocs by Dave Parry showcases 100 of the finest must-do boulder problems on the gritstone outcrops, edges and quarries of the Pennines.The gritstone crags of Northern England are internationally renowned and are home to some of the best bouldering in the world. With an emphasis on high-quality photography, Grit Blocs presents a selection of the very best boulder problems in these areas – covering the Peak District, Yorkshire, Lancashire and North East England.The classic problems are there – Careless Torque on Stanage and Flying Arete at Almscliff – but, as the sport of bouldering continues to evolve, there are also lesser-known and newer gems to discover: Archery at West Nab, The Lash at Birk Gill and Ouzel Thorn at Thorn Crag, amongst others.The stunning photography is accompanied by texts that expand on the context and characteristics of the boulder problem and give you a flavour of what each problem is like, with a bit of bouldering history thrown in too.Let Grit Blocs inspire your next climbing adventure – whether you’re a seasoned grit aficionado or new to the sport, you’ll find something to engage and animate you.Table of ContentsFOREWORDINTRODUCTIONGRITSTONE – BEHIND THE SCENES100 OF THE FINEST BOULDER PROBLEMSNorth PenninesYorkshireLancashirePeak DistrictMAPEPILOGUEGRADESACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Book SynopsisThe golden age of Himalayan mountaineering, from the mid-1970s to the 1980s, brought forth a generation of radical young climbers. With tiny budgets and high ambitions they pioneered fast and light, alpine-style expeditions on mountains such as Jannu, Nuptse, Everest and K2. In High Risk, Brian Hall recalls the outrageous adventures of eleven of his climbing friends who risked – and often lost – their lives to stand on some of the world’s highest peaks during a legendary period in mountaineering history.Trade Review‘An absolutely spellbinding read.’ -- Adele Pennington‘Big characters who loved life close to the edge.’ -- Ed Douglas‘A riveting insight into the legendary characters of a remarkable climbing era.’ -- Mick Fowler‘Dazzling adventures recalled with wisdom and affection.’ -- Stephen Venables'High Risk captures the spirit of an era ... Ascents not bettered and hardly equalled since.' -- Leo Houlding‘Full of humour, affection and respect, High Risk takes the reader to the heart and soul of the golden age of UK climbing.’ * Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature *'A major milestone in alpine literature.' John Porter – mountaineer, author and former Alpine Club President'Entertaining, revealing, breathtaking, heartbreaking and confessional.' Stephen Goodwin – Kekoo Naoroji Book Award for Mountain Literature'A poignant tale of friendships, lofty climbing goals, and, ultimately, tremendous loss.' Cameron M. Burns – American Alpine Journal * American Alpine Journal *

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Book SynopsisIn 1959, sixteen-year-old Ian ‘Spike’ Sykes left school and, after a short period of work at Leeds University, joined the RAF. Already a keen climber, he signed up on the promise of excitement and adventure and was posted to the remote RAF Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team in the north of Scotland. It was the beginning of a journey which would see him involved in some of the most legendary call-outs in Scottish mountain rescue history, including the 1963 New Year tragedy on the Isle of Skye.In the Shadow of Ben Nevis tells Spike’s story from growing up in Leeds in the aftermath of the Second World War, to his time with the RAF during the cold war. After leaving the RAF, he remained an active member of the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team and was involved in the first lower down the north face of Ben Nevis – an epic 1,500-foot descent to rescue stricken climbers in the middle of winter.Following a two-and-a-half-year stint on Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey, he returned to the Highlands and opened the first Nevisport shop with his close friend Ian ‘Suds’ Sutherland. Together, they brought Sunday trading to Fort William and were one of a small number of shops to revolutionise outdoor retail in the UK. Later, he was a key player in the development of the Nevis Range ski area. Over many years, and against all odds, the project became a reality and a great success.Recounted within these pages are a great many lively tales of adventures and mishaps, told with immediacy and charm. With a foreword by legendary Scottish mountaineer Hamish MacInnes, a close friend of Spike’s, In the Shadow of Ben Nevis is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Scottish mountaineering and mountain rescue.Trade ReviewThis book tells of the life and experiences of a unique character and should appeal to anyone with a spirit of adventure. – Stu Gallagher, Alpine Club One man in his time plays many parts.’ This is certainly true of Spike, and this autobiography takes us through them ‒ RAF MRT member in the primitive pre-helicopter days, outdoor instructor, FIDS ‘gash man’, entrepreneur, Lochaber MRT member, and throughout it all a climber whose experience ranges from hitch-hiking and barn-dossing as an impoverished teenager to helicopter drops into exotic locations. Not a typical climbing autobiography ‒ and all the better for it. – R T Richardson, former president of the Scottish Mountaineering Club Suffice to say, In The Shadow... is a rattling good yarn, and that’s before you even get on to Sykes’s life-saving work with the Kinloss Mountain Rescue Team and his climbing adventures in the Alps, the Yukon and elsewhere. – Roger Cox, The Scotsman This book is a good read about a man and his life of adventure in the mountains and out of them. – Nick Carter, Alpha Mountaineering It recounts many lively tales of adventure and mishap. – Eilidh Davies, Highland News His stories of epic mountain rescues before the age of helicopter assistance, good communications, organised rescue teams and enforced drink driving laws are riveting. – Dave McLeod, Blogspot Hats off to Ian Sykes for a terrific read. Very highly recommended. – Ullapool NewsTable of ContentsForeword by Hamish MacInnes; 1 Fort William Station; 2 Garforth; 3 Fulneck; 4 Kinloss Mountain Rescue; 5 The Alps; 6 A New Year on Skye, 1963; 7 Locheil; 8 Falkland Islands; 9 Deception Island; 10 Stonington; 11 That's One Small Step for Man; 12 Nevisport; 13 Callop; 14 A Mandarin Murder; 15 The Snow Goose; 16 Nevis Range; 17 Lotus Flower Tower; 18 An Autumn in Siberia; 19 Cochamo; 20 Wadi Rum; 21 The End of the Century; 22 Discovering America.

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Book SynopsisNorway, 1965. A team of young climbers from the north of England camp at the bottom of the tallest vertical rock face in Europe - the Troll Wall. No one has dared attempt this gigantic challenge before. Some say it will never be climbed. This will be the adventure of a lifetime. Rain and snow soak them as they climb. Avalanches and loose rock threaten their lives. A Norwegian team arrives to compete for the glory as the world's media look on. Pushed to the limits of exhaustion, the team spends days on the wall, refusing to given in, even when failure seems certain. "Troll Wall" tells the gripping story of one of the most dramatic first ascents in British climbing history. Written days after their success, almost half a century ago, and newly rediscovered, Tony Howard's account is a fascinating insight into the challenges of climbing a big mountain wall.Trade ReviewThe book is a real page-turner as bit by bit Howard, John Amatt and Bill Tweedale push and push and push for the top, forever driven, forever barred by some new obstacle, the story always moving, devoid of any ego or bullshit. – Andy Kirkpatrick, The Alpine JournalIf you’ve not already done so, get hold and read – you’ll not find a more plainly exciting narrative in its genre. The midnight push for the top up the summit gully had me open-mouthed and breathless. Nothing written by Andy Cave, Andy Kirkpatrick, Mick Fowler or any other recent exponents of mountain writing – excellent though many of them are – comes close to the sheer edgy thrill of it. – Jim Perrin, Climber MagazineTroll Wall is a treasure for its close descriptions. Every uptake of slack and every piton pounded receive equal attention. Howard’s depictions of the strenuous toils of big-wall climbing are straightforward and honest, and more decorative for the times when the sun is shining and spirits are high. This finally released alpine epic is a chance to take in a tale from long ago and appreciate a true pioneer. – Nick Chambers, Rock & Ice MagazineWe can also recommend Troll Wall, Tony Howard’s gripping and previously untold story of the Rimmon Mountaineering Club’s 1965 ascent of Europe’s tallest vertical rock face. For Tony Howard the Troll Wall was to be the beginning of a life of adventure that, though touched upon in the last chapter, would merit a book of its own. – Barry Imeson, Boardman-Tasker Prize 2011A simple story well told, and a classic boys own adventure. A real page turner. – Andy Kirkpatrick, Climb MagazineRichly entertaining and well written ... a raw page-turning tale that brilliantly captures the now historic realities of big-wall climbing of the mid-1960s. – Lynn Martel, Rocky Mountain Outlook (Canada)A truly inspiring tale of one of the greatest achievements in British rock climbing history. – Andy McCue, Climber MagazineA great book, destined for classic status. – Matt Heason, Heason.netA fine fine work by a quite unique individual who has packed more into his lifespan than most of us could manage in ten. Inspirational stuff indeed! – John Appleby, To Hatch a CrowOne of the greatest ever achievements by British rock climbers. – Joe Brown CBE

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Book Synopsis'Ever since I first set foot on rock at the tender age of seven years, climbing has been the most important thing in my life. In fact I would go so far as to say it is my reason for living and as long as I am able to climb I hope I will. It is from climbing I draw my inspiration for life.' On 14 June 1990, at Raven Tor in the Derbyshire Peak District, twenty-four-year-old Ben Moon squeezed his feet into a pair of rock shoes, tied in to his rope, chalked his fingers and pulled on to the wickedly overhanging, zebra-striped wall of limestone. Two minutes later he had made rock-climbing history with the first ascent of Hubble, now widely recognised as the world's first F9a. Born in the suburbs of London in 1966, Moon started rock climbing on the sandstone outcrops of Kent and Sussex. A pioneer in the sport-climbing revolution of the 1980s and a bouldering legend in the 1990s, he is one of the most iconic rock climbers in the sport's history, In Statement, Moon's official biography, award-winning writer Ed Douglas paints a portrait of a climbing visionary and dispels the myth of Moon as an anti-traditional climbing renegade. Interviews with Moon are complemented with insights from family and friends and extracts from magazines and personal diaries and letters.

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Book SynopsisMountaineering in the Pyrenees features twenty-five classic mountain routes and link-ups that will delight any mountaineer who enjoys getting off the beaten track. Author and mountain guide François Laurens has drawn upon his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Pyrenees, and recommendations from other mountaineers, to put together a diverse selection of climbs – many of them accessible from spring to autumn – along the entire Pyrenean chain, from the Mediterranean to the Basque country.The most characteristic feature of the Pyrenees is its hodgepodge of topographies, climates and lives, all jumbled together. Sometimes, moving just a short way across this patchwork landscape, perhaps from one side of a cliff to another, is enough to take you into a completely different environment. This diversity is reflected in the routes featured in this book.Ridge traverses and rock climbs dominate the selection, which includes only a few ephemeral snow climbs, but every route has its own unique character and provides a wonderful day out in the mountains. Featured routes include the Salenques-Tempestades Ridge on Pico de Aneto, the Espadas Ridge on Pic des Posets, and a selection of climbs on the renowned peaks of Monte Perdido, the Maladeta, the Balaitous, the Vignemale, and the Grand Astazous and Petit Astazous. Each route features technical notes, a topo and route description, and photos illustrating the character of the climbing.Table of ContentsIntroduction & practical information1 Pic du Canigou: Quazemi Ridge2 Pedraforca: Traverse of the Three Peaks3 Mont Valier: Faustin Couloir4 Pico de Aneto: Salenques-Tempestades Ridge5 Pico de la Maladeta: North–South Traverse6 Pic de Maupas: West Ridge CIRQUE DU PORTILLION7 Pic des Crabioules & Pic Lézat: Crabioules-Lézat Ridge8 Pic des Spijeoles: South-East Ridge9 Pic des Spijeoles: Grand Dièdre10 Pic des Gourgs Blancs: via Pic Jean Arlaud11 Pico de Posets: Espadas Ridge12 Pic de Néouvielle: Trois Conseillers Ridge13 Pic de la Munia: Troumouse Ridge14 Grand Astazou: Oublié Couloir15 Petit Astazou: North-West Ridge16 Pic du Marboré: Passet Ridge17 Monte Perdido and Ordesa Valley: Normal Route and Tour of the Valley18 Monte Perdido: Esparrets Spur and East RidgeTHE VIGNEMALE19 Vignemale: Petit Vignemale-Pique Longue Ridge20 Petit Vignemale: North Spur21 Vignemale: Classic North Face RouteTHE BALAÏTOUS22 Balaïtous: North-West Ridge23 Pène Sarrière: South Ridge24 Pic d’Amoulat: West Ridge25 Pic du Midi d’Ossau: Traverse of the Four PeaksHuts and information

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Book SynopsisMajor Norton gave the order to fire two or three times … Their advanced machine gunners could be seen rushing forward and establishing themselves in commanding posts … Almost at once the ridge we were occupying was swept by machine gun fire … E.F. Norton lived a life of distinction in the declining years of the British Empire. Born into an accomplished, well-travelled family, he followed his heart and enlisted for a professional career as a soldier. A distinguished military career followed, punctuated with indulgences in his passion for exploration and mountaineering. The British Empire was starting to crumble, and Norton would be called upon more than once to rise to a variety of challenges. Norton’s gift for leadership was first demonstrated via his rapid progression through the ranks in the First World War, which paved the way for future leadership appointments, having earned the confidence and respect of those under his command. Events in the Second World War followed suit, when Norton was abruptly assigned the post of acting governor of Hong Kong, entrusted to save the civilian population from imminent Japanese invasion. The 1924 Everest expedition also exemplifies the pattern of having had leadership thrust upon him – in this case when General Charles Bruce was struck down by malaria on the approach march. Leading from the front, Norton set an altitude record for climbing on Everest without supplementary oxygen – a record only bettered in 1978 when Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler made the first ascent of Everest without oxygen. Yet tragedy would follow Norton’s achievement, when George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared high on the mountain. In Norton of Everest, Hugh Norton has written sensitively and knowledgably about his father’s remarkable life as mountaineer, soldier, naturalist, artist and family man. As on Everest, the real story is not only the death of the gallant, but also the heroics of the quiet survivors like E.F. Norton. Table of ContentsForeword by Wade Davis; Preface; 1. The Early Years; 2. Soldiering; 3. A Pen Portrait; 4. Mountaineering; 5. The Middle Years; 6. Acting Governor of Hong Kong; 7. Retirement; Index.

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Book SynopsisWinter Walks in the Lake District is a collection of enjoyable walks and easy winter climbs designed to make the most of the winter conditions that regularly descend on the Lake District.Local author Stephen Goodwin has selected his favourite cold-weather outings, which all share the magic and exhilaration that snow or even a hoar frost brings to the Lakeland fells.The routes include accessible jaunts up Gowbarrow, High Rigg and Latrigg, Keswick’s ‘house mountain’ – an ideal spot to survey the snow cover on the bigger tops to the south; ascents of Helvellyn from the east and west, via classic and lesser-known ridgelines, or graded climbs on Browncove Crags and Nethermost Pike; high-level horseshoes above Haweswater and Langdale; and, of course, ascents of the classics – Scafell Pike, Blencathra, Great End – although not necessarily by the most travelled routes.Alongside advice on winter conditions and kit, each of the routes in this book features detailed introductions and directions, Ordnance Survey 1:25,000-scale maps, photo topos for the graded winter climbs where appropriate, and local information such as the best pubs and cafes.Table of ContentsIntroduction AcknowledgementsAbout the routesCraft & safetyKitFootwear & cramponsMobile phonesMountain rescueMountain rescue by SMS textAccess & conservationThe Countryside CodeMaps, descriptions, distancesArea map & route finder1 Grisedale Pike & Coledale1a Grisedale Pike1b Coledale Horseshoe1c A Coledale Shortie2 Latrigg3 Blencathra3a Hall’s Fell Ridge (grade I)3b Sharp Edge (grade II)4 High Rigg & St John’s in the Vale4a East Route4b West Route5 Browncove Crags & Helvellyn (grades I–II)6 Gowbarrow7 Catstye Cam, Helvellyn & Striding Edge8 Grisedale Trilogy (Patterdale)8a Nethermost Gully (grade II)8b Nethermost Pike via East Ridge8c Dollywaggon Pike via The Tongue9 Dove Crag & Little Hart Crag10 Riggindale & High Street11 Bow Fell & Crinkle Crags (grade I/II option)12 Scafell Pike via Piers Gill Path13 Great End (grade I/II option)Appendix

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Book SynopsisThe start of a love affair: 'I kicked off my shoes and prepared to climb in stocking feet, aware of an enormous sense of occasion as I laid hands on the rock and stepped up on the first rounded hold. It was not a hard climb but that was unimportant. I felt instinctively at home and at the finish experienced such a surge of happy elation that I knew then I was committed to climbing.' Martin Boysen's passion for crags and mountains springs from his deep love of nature and a strong sense of adventure. From his early days on rock as a Kent schoolboy after the war, he was soon among the most gifted climbers of his or any generation, famed for his silky technique.Boysen made a huge contribution to British rock climbing, especially in North Wales; he discovered Gogarth in the 1960s and climbed some of the best new routes of his era: Nexus on Dinas Mot, The Skull on Cyrn Las and the magisterial Capital Punishment on Ogwen's Suicide Wall. For more than two decades, Boysen was also one of Britain's leading mountaineers. A crucial member of Sir Chris Bonington's team that climbed the South Face of Annapurna in 1970, Boysen was also part of Bonington's second summit team on the South West face of Everest. In 1976 he made the first ascent of Trango Tower with Joe Brown.Along the way, Boysen climbed with some of the most important figures in the history of the sport, not just stars like Bonington and Brown, but those who make climbing so rich and intriguing, like Nea Morin and the brilliant but doomed Gary Hemming. He joined Hamish MacInnes hunting gold in Ecuador, doubled for Clint Eastwood on the North Face of the Eiger and worked on director Fred Zinnemann's last movie.Wry, laconic and self-deprecating, Martin Boysen's Hanging On is an insider's account of British climbing's golden age.Table of Contents1 Beginnings; 2 To Learn to Climb; 3 1959; 4 First Ventures in the Alps; 5 The Dolomites; 6 Manchester; 7 The Alpha Club; 8 Hard Climbs, Modern Times; 9 The Walker; 10 Mixed Fortunes; 11 Cerro Torre; 12 Crash; 13 Annapurna; 14 The Eiger Sanction; 15 Changabang; 16 Lost on Everest, Found on Trango; 17 Gold Rush; 18 Endgame; Epilogue - The Rock Climbing Years.

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Book SynopsisWinner, Mountain Literature (Non-Fiction) Award, Banff Mountain Book Festival 2018Nick Bullock is a climber who lives in a small green van, flitting between Llanberis, Wales, and Chamonix in the French Alps. Tides, Nick's second book, is the much-anticipated follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut Echoes. Now retired from the strain of work as a prison officer, Nick is free to climb. A lot. Tides is a treasury of his antics and adventures with some of the world's leading climbers, including Steve House, Kenton Cool, Nico Favresse, Andy Houseman and James McHaffie. Follow Nick and his partners as they push the limits on some of the world's most serious routes: The Bells! The Bells! and The Hollow Man on Gogarth's North Stack Wall; the Slovak Direct on Denali; Guerdon Grooves on Buachaille Etive Mor; and the north faces of Chang Himal and Mount Alberta, among countless others. Nick's life can be equated to the rhythm of the sea. At high tide, he climbs, he loves it, he is good at it; he laughs and jokes, scares himself, falls, gets back up and climbs some more. Then the tide goes out and he finds himself alone, exposed, all questions and no answers. Self-doubt, grieving for friends or family, fearful, sometimes opinionated, occasionally angry - his writing more honest and exposed than in any account of a climb. Only when the tide turns is he able to forget once more.Tides is a gripping memoir that captures the very essence of what it means to dedicate one's life to climbing.Table of ContentsPrologue: Living Scared; 1 Love and Hate; 2 Immortal?; 3 Nothing More; 4 The Cutting Lap; 5 The Rain; 6 The Emotional Tightrope; 7 Bad Shit; 8 Deception; 9 The Web; 10 Cravings; 11 Death or Glory; 12 Slave to the Rhythm?; 13 Bittersweet Desire; 14 Strange Eden; 15 How Soon is Now?; 16 You Only Live Twice; 17 The Cathedral; 18 Trapped; 19 Evening Redness in the West; 20 Into the Shadow; 21 Similar to a Scottish Quarry; 22 Best Before; 23 Death of Paradise; 24 The Pitfalls of a Peroni Supermodel; 25 What Were His Dreams?; 26 Balloons; 27 That's Rowdy Dude; 28 Over the Top; 29 Flames; 30 Dreams and Screams; 31 Just Beneath the Surface; 32 The Light of the Moon; 33 The Mountain Soundtrack; 34 Please Queue Here; 35 Dawn to Dusk to Dawn; 36 Threshold Shift; Postscript.

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Book SynopsisHighly Commended, Outdoor Book category, Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild Awards for Excellence 2019We are all climbing where we are and with the gear we use in no small part due to Tony Howard’s quest for adventure.Tony Howard rose to fame in 1965 as a member of a group of young climbers from northern England who made the first British ascent of Norway’s Troll Wall; a climb described by Joe Brown as, ‘One of the greatest ever achievements by British rock climbers’. Tony went on to design the modern sit harness, now used worldwide by most climbers. He founded the company Troll Climbing Equipment but never stopped exploring. Quest into the Unknown is his story.Tony has dedicated his life to travelling the world in search of unclimbed rock faces and remote trekking adventures. The scale of his travels is vast: he has visited all of the North African countries, much of the Arab land of the Middle East, the mountainous regions of Scandinavia, Canada and the rocky spine of the Americas, the Himalaya, remote Indian provinces, South East Asia, Madagascar, South Georgia and Antarctica. This book, the last word in adventure travel, takes the reader from Tony’s youth spent developing the crags of the English Peak District, via whaling ships in the Southern Ocean, thousand-mile canoe trips in the Canadian Arctic, living amongst the Bedouin in the rocky mountains of Jordan, to the isolated opium tribes of Thailand.Tony Howard’s Quest into the Unknown is the jaw-dropping account of a life of adventure that is the very definition of true exploration.Table of ContentsPrecis; PART ONE; Chapter 1. Early Days -Part One; Chapter 2. Early Days -Part Two; Chapter 3. Early Days -Part Three; Chapter 4. Teenage Kicks -Part One; Chapter 5. Teenage Kicks -Part Two; Chapter 6. The Rimmon; Chapter 7. Whaling Days -South Georgia Bound; Chapter 8. Whaling Days -Antarctic Adventures; Chapter 9. Keep on Rockin’; Chapter 10. Winter Wanderings; Chapter 11. Norway -Arctic Adventures; Chapter 12. Jobs on the Rocks; Chapter 13. Dolomite Days; Chapter 14. Moroccan Mountains; Chapter 15. Norway -The Troll Wall and other escapades; Chapter 16. Life on the Ocean Wave; Chapter 17. Norway -The Romsdal Years; Chapter 18. The Times they are a-Changing; Chapter 19. On the Road Again; Chapter 20. Canada -Yukon Yarns; Chapter 21. Canada -‘The Trail of ’98’; Chapter 22. Homeward Bound; Chapter 23. Back Home; Chapter 24. Greenland; Chapter 25. Life at Troll; Chapter 26. Persian Perambulations; Chapter 27. And Then There Were Two; Chapter 28. Atakor Adventures; Chapter 29. Meanwhile, Back at Work …; Chapter 30. Spanish Rock; Chapter 31. Morocco -Here Comes the Sun; Chapter 32. Alpine Adventures; Chapter 33. All Change …; Chapter 34. Hard Rock Days; Chapter 35. Sudan Saga -Kassala Mountains; Chapter 36. Sudan Saga -Ticket to Ride ; PART TWO; Chapter 37. Exploring Jordan -Wadi Rum Discovery; Chapter 38. Exploring Jordan -Rum Rock ; Chapter 39. Exploring Jordan -Petra’s Secret Canyon; Chapter 40. Exploring Jordan -Beyond Petra ; Chapter 41. Exploring Jordan -More Rum Goings On; Chapter 42. Exploring Jordan -Bedouin Rock; Chapter 43. Travels in Thailand; Chapter 44. Oman Odyssey -A Surprise Christmas; Chapter 45. Oman Odyssey -Musandam to Dhofar; Chapter 46. Exploring Egypt -Sinai and the Red Sea Mountains; Chapter 47. Exploring Egypt -Some You Win, and Some You Lose; Chapter 48. Incredible India -The Western Ghats and Beyond; Chapter 49. Incredible India -Ladakh and Beyond; Chapter 50. Exploring Ethiopia -The Roof of Africa; Chapter 51. A Libyan Invitation; Chapter 52. Middle Eastern Meanderings; Chapter 53. Exploring Jordan -The Lowest Adventures on Earth; Chapter 54. Madagascar -Mystical Mountains; Chapter 55. Welcome to Palestine; Chapter 56. Exploring Egypt -If at First You Don’t Succeed …; Chapter 57. Exploring Egypt -Nubian Nemesis; Chapter 58. Incredible India -The North East Frontier; Chapter 59. Incredible India -Saramati Surprise; Chapter 60. Palestine -Is there anybody out there?; Chapter 61. Exploring Jordan -The Knife Canyon; Chapter 62. Mali -Mountains, Magic and Music; Chapter 63. Exploring Jordan -New Discoveries; Chapter 64. Exploring Jordan -The Jordan Trail; Chapter 65. Incredible India -A Walk on the Wild Side; Chapter 66. Exploring Jordan -Back on the Trail; Chapter 67. Memory Lane; Chapter 68. The End of The Trail; Postscript.

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Book Synopsis'All mountaineers develop differently. Some go higher, some try ever-steeper faces and others specialise in a particular range or region. I am increasingly drawn to remoteness – to places where few others have trod.'The Wild Within is the third book from Simon Yates, one of Britain's most accomplished and daring mountaineers. With his insatiable appetite for adventure and exploratory mountaineering, Yates leads unique expeditions to unclimbed peaks in the Cordillera Darwin in Tierra del Fuego, the Wrangell St-Elias ranges on the Alaska-Yukon border, and Eastern Greenland. Laced with dry humour, he relates his own experience of the rapid commercialisation of mountain wilderness, while grappling with his new-found commitments as a family man. At the same time he must endure his role in the film adaptation of Joe Simpson's Touching The Void, having to relive the events of that trip to Peru for a Hollywood director.Yates' subsequent escape to the some of the world's most remote mountains isn't quite the experience it once was, as he witnesses first hand the advance of modern communications into the wilderness, signalled by the ubiquitous mobile phone masts appearing in once-deserted mountain valleys. He is left to dwell on the remaining significance of mountain wilderness and must rediscover what the notion of 'wild' means for him now.Trade Review"This book makes essential reading." (Simon Richardson, Climber magazine). "...a very good read, full of great stories and inspiration. It should be on the reading list of any budding expeditioneer." (Kenton Cool, Climb Magazine). "The Wild Within by Simon Yates is more than a standard mountaineering memoir. Yates is an insightful writer." (Lindsay Griffin, Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature). "In some ways The Wild Within is a lament for a lost world of wilderness and the reader leaves with a tinge of sadness that the world is so linked up, but it's also a celebration that the spirit of wilderness John Muir so eloquently described as being essential to the human soul. It's a big departure from previous books Against the Wall and The Flame of Adventure, but a departure that's more than succeeded." (Dave Mycroft, MyOutdoors.co.uk). "The Wild Within takes the reader to the outer limits of mountaineering experience and frames the journey in all its elemental power and mystery. The author's first book for Vertebrate can be considered a success. It can only further cement his reputation as a romantic wanderer and wilderness narrator." (John Appleby, Footless Crow). "Simon Yates has the rare ability to capture the reader's attention in the first few sentences and then to maintain interest until the very last sentence in the book. This personal tale of adventure and remarkable mountaineering skill is one that I couldn't put down until I had finished it!" (Joyce Wilson, Keswick Reminder).Table of ContentsIntroductionCordillera Darwin – Tierra Del Fuego MapOne That’s Very AmbitiousTwo Not Very ProfessionalThree The Way of the GauchoFour All Your Front TeethFive Life is GoodSix More Like Being AbroadSeven It Might not be the HardestMilne Land – Eastern Greenland MapEight A Plane CrasherNine It’s Like PantomimeTen I’ll Never Do Anything BetterWrangell-St Elias Ranges – Alaska/Yukon MapEleven Not for the Faint-HeartedEpilogueAcknowledgements

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Book Synopsis‘He appeared, without a word, in the tent’s entrance, covered in ice. He looked like anyone would after spending over twenty-four hours in a hurricane at over 8,000 metres. In winter. In the Karakoram. He was so exhausted he couldn’t speak.’Of all the games mountaineers play on the world’s high mountains, the hardest – and cruellest – is climbing the fourteen peaks over 8,000 metres in the bitter cold of winter. Ferocious winds that can pick you up and throw you down, freezing temperatures that burn your lungs and numb your bones, weeks of psychological torment in dark isolation: these are adventures for those with an iron will and a ruthless determination.For the first time, award-winning author Bernadette McDonald tells the story of how Poland’s ice warriors made winter their own, perfecting what they dubbed ‘the art of suffering’ as they fought their way to the summit of Everest in the winter of 1980 – the first 8,000-metre peak they climbed this way but by no means their last. She reveals what it was that inspired the Poles to take up this brutal game, how increasing numbers of climbers from other nations were inspired to enter the arena, and how competition intensified as each remaining peak finally submitted to leave just one awaiting a winter ascent, the meanest of them all: K2.Winter 8000 is the story of true adventure at its most demanding.Trade ReviewMcDonald shines a burning and intimate light into the souls of those who push themselves to the very edge of what is humanly possible. An instant mountaineering classic.JIMMY CHIN, CO-DIRECTOR OF FREE SOLO -- Jimmy ChinBernadette McDonald has the skill and experience to work on the largest Himalayan tapestry, the epic history, as well as pick at its individual human threads.ANDY KIRKPATRICK, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF PSYCHOVERTICAL AND COLD WARS -- Andy KirkpatrickIn Winter 8000, Bernadette McDonald demonstrates once more her essential contribution to mountaineering history. With vividness and keen insight, she evokes a world that few experience first-hand: the landscapes of black ice, thin air and searing cold – as well as the haunting inner realms of people drawn to the isolation of the highest peaks and the darkest months.KATIE IVES, ALPINIST EDITOR-IN-CHIEF -- Katie IvesReading Bernadette’s superb book brought back memories of our attempt on the South-West Face of Everest in autumn 1972 when the wind and bitter cold overtook us. K2 is the only 8,000-metre peak still unclimbed in winter. Already the most difficult and dangerous mountain in the world, its first winter ascent remains a huge challenge for climbers of this generation and the future.SIR CHRIS BONINGTON -- Sir Chris BoningtonThere are no stories more terrifying, dramatic, and tearful than the abundant struggles, frequent tragedies, and rare successes in winter Himalayan climbing.STEVE HOUSE, ALPINIST, AUTHOR OF BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN -- Steve HouseBernadette McDonald has done it again. She has chronicled the first winter ascents of the fourteen highest peaks on Earth by men and women who pushed the limits of mountaineering to glorious new extremes at a terrible cost. Rich in character and conflict, Winter 8000 never turns its back on the central question: Is it worth the risk?DAVID ROBERTS, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF MOUNTAIN OF MY FEAR -- David RobertsBernadette McDonald’s clear-eyed portrayal of the men and women who embark on these ferocious adventures reveals their addiction to the cruel, rarefied beauty of the high Himalaya, and how intense ambition pushes them to risk destroying their lives and shattering the hearts of those who love them.MARIA COFFEY, AUTHOR OF WHERE THE MOUNTAIN CASTS ITS SHADOW -- Maria CoffeyWith this book, Bernadette McDonald burnishes her already shining reputation as one of our great climbing historians. These accounts give us a fascinating portrayal of the few alpinists who are willing to endure winter ascents of the world’s highest mountains.STEVE SWENSON, AUTHOR OF KARAKORAM: CLIMBING THROUGH THE KASHMIR CONFLICT -- Steve SwensonTable of ContentsIntroduction A Solitary VisionChapter One Everest – First Time LuckyChapter Two Manaslu – Zakopane BoysChapter Three Dhaulagiri – The Looking GlassChapter Four Cho Oyu – Two for TwoChapter Five Kangchenjunga – How Much Is Too Much?Chapter Six Annapurna – Carpe DiemChapter Seven Lhotse – Climbing in a CorsetChapter Eight Shishapangma – The ItalianChapter Nine Makalu – Two Against the WindChapter Ten Gasherbrum II – AvalancheChapter Eleven Gasherbrum I – Lost FathersChapter Twelve Broad Peak – Unfinished BusinessChapter Thirteen Nanga Parbat – Magnificent ObsessionChapter Fourteen K2 – A Mountain for ThoroughbredsConclusion Ice WarriorsAppendix A Selected List of ClimbersAppendix B Summary of First Winter Ascents of 8000ers

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.In the summer of 2012, a team of six climbers set out to attempt the first ascent of one of the great unclimbed lines of the Himalaya - the giant Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth highest mountain. At ten kilometres in length, the Mazeno is the longest route to the summit of an 8,000-metre peak. Ten expeditions had tried and failed to climb this enormous ridge. Eleven days later two of the team, Sandy Allan and Rick Allen, both in their late fifties, reached the summit. They had run out of food and water and began hallucinating wildly from the effects of altitude and exhaustion. Heavy snow conditions meant they would need another three days to descend the far side of the 'killer mountain'. 'I began to wonder whether what we were doing was humanly possible. We had climbed the Mazeno and reached the summit, but we both knew we had wasted too much energy. In among the conflicting emotions, the exhaustion and the elation, we knew our bodies could not sustain this amount of time at altitude indefinitely, especially now we had no water. The slow trickle of attrition had turned into a flood; it was simply a matter of time before our bodies stopped functioning. Which one of us would succumb first?' In Some Lost Place is Sandy Allan's epic account of an incredible feat of endurance and commitment at the very limits of survival – and the first ascent of one of the last challenges in the Himalaya.Trade Review'This is a worthy addition to the canon of great British mountaineering literature, and also boasts beautiful colour photos and diagrams that dovetail perfectly with the narrative.' – Press and JournalTable of ContentsPrologue PART 1 – THE MAGIC BUS 01 Team Spirit 02 Mentors 03 The Road to Nanga Parbat PART 2 – MAZENO 04 The Dividing Line 05 Mind the Gap 06 Splitting Up 07 Pushing On PART 3 – THE SUMMIT 08 In Some Lost Place 09 The Edge of Extinction 10 Descent 11 Return Acknowledgements Index

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Book Synopsis'Even the most casual reader among you will by now have worked out that the whole thing is little more than a delightful ruse for having a very good time.'Experienced climber Charles Sherwood is on a quest to find the best climb on each continent. He eschews the traditional Seven Summits, where height alone is the determining factor, and instead considers mountaineering challenge, natural beauty and historical context, aiming to capture the diverse character of each continent and the sheer variety of climbing in all its forms.The author's ambitious odyssey takes him to the Alps, the Himalaya, Yosemite, the Andes, Kenya, New Zealand and South Georgia. His goal is neither to seek glory nor to complete a box-ticking exercise, but simply to enjoy himself in the company of his fellow climbers, including Mark Seaton, Andy Kirkpatrick and Stephen Venables, and to appreciate the splendour of his surroundings. On classic routes like the North Face of the Eiger and the Nose on El Capitan, it is hard not to be swept away by Sherwood's unfaltering enthusiasm.Also featuring fascinating historical detail about each route, Seven Climbs is a compelling account of Sherwood's efforts to answer a much-debated question: which are the world’s greatest climbs?Table of ContentsThe Challenge1. Europe: 1938 Route, North Face of the Eiger (Switzerland)2. Asia: South-West Ridge of Ama Dablam (Nepal)3. North America: The Nose, El Capitan, Yosemite (USA)4. South America: South-West Face of Alpamayo, Cordillera Blanca (Peru)5. Africa: Traverse of Nelion and Batian, Mount Kenya (Kenya)6. Australasia/Oceania: Linda Glacier Route, Aoraki/Mount Cook (New Zealand)7. Antarctica: Coast-to-Coast Traverse of the Salvesen Range, South Georgia (UK Overseas Territory)Not-So-Final Thoughts

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.'As I sat cradling the man's head, with his blood and brains sticking to my hands, I heard a voice – my own voice. It was asking me something. Asking how I had ended up like this, desperate and lost among people who thought nothing of caving in a man's head and then standing back to watch him die.'Nick Bullock was a prison officer working in a maximum-security jail with some of Britain's most notorious criminals. Trapped in a world of aggression and fear, he felt frustrated and alone. Then he discovered the mountains. Making up for lost time, Bullock soon became one of Britain's best climbers, learning his trade in the mountains of Scotland and Wales, and travelling from Pakistan to Peru in his search for new routes and a new way of seeing the world – and ultimately an escape route from his life inside. Told that no one ever leaves the service – the security, the stability, the 'job for life' – Bullock focused his existence on a single goal: to walk free, with no shackles, into a mountain life.Echoes is a powerful and compelling exploration of freedom, and what it means to live life on your own terms.Trade Review'A brilliant page-turner from one of our most outstanding adventure mountaineers.' – Chris Bonington'Wild, exciting and inspirational. A book that grips you throughout with wild tales from handling Britain's most notorious criminals to tackling some of the world's most exciting unclimbed lines. I loved it.' – Mick Fowler'Utterly gripping. From his first clumsy steps to the all-in commitment of his greatest ascents Nick Bullock's early climbing career was inextricably linked to his work as a prison officer. Prison was both the force he climbed to escape and the hell that compelled him to push himself further in the mountains than others might have gone.' – Mark Twight'An unusual and powerful story that is as remarkable for its depiction of the author's life as a prison officer in one of the country's toughest jails, Gartree, as for his prodigious achievements on the mountains.' – Peter Beaumont, The Observer'When some aspects of climbing are turning into another off-the-shelf consumer lifestyle as predictable as the Gap catalogue, Echoes offers a compelling picture of what the real thing is all about.' – Stephen Venables, Climb Magazine'This book, an important book, a real book, captures a period in modern British climbing history ... the writing is captivating, intelligent, gentle, inquisitive.' – Jack Geldard, UKclimbing.com'A thought-provoking, entertaining and at times frightening book. Essential reading for anyone into having adventures.' – Dave MacLeod'Echoes is very entertaining and credit should be given for the author's vivid portrayal of prison life. The writing in the main is spare and matter of fact. A style which suits the rather dark subject matter. Prison life does not really lend itself to romantic prose!' – John Appleby, Footless CrowTable of ContentsForeword by Paul PritchardPrologue – TrustBrickWoodlands ChainsSoul MiningEchoesBellsFermentationFoundationsThe BlockGuiltFlowRoadsDreamsInnocenceGerminationLoyaltyTunnelsHonestyTracksThe WormTogetherFaithFearParoleLossFlightNorthDevotionWireWordsConfrontationCrashTimeDetritusThe SeaDetoxStarsTruthTurn Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisThis guidebook presents 60 routes covering some of the best day walks, scrambles, hut-to-hut walks, alpine mountaineering, sport climbing, via ferratas, mountain-biking routes, road rides, city and trail runs and family activities the Innsbruck area has to offer. Ideal for a multi-activity holiday or for the keen amateur seeking a summary of the local highlights, it includes suggestions to suit most abilities and ambitions, from gentle strolls to adrenalin-filled mountain adventures, suitable only for those with the appropriate equipment and experience. Nearly all the activities are accessible by public transport from Innsbruck and many take advantage of the region's fantastic network of alpine huts. Route descriptions are illustrated with maps, profiles and photo topos, and you'll also find practical advice on transport, accommodation and equipment. Long popular as a winter sports destination, Innsbruck also has much to offer the summer visitor, with many kilometres of paths and trails, sport climbing crags, via ferrata routes and engaging activity trails for children.Table of ContentsMap key Regional overview map Innsbruck city map Overview map: walks and family activities Overview map: adventure walks and scrambles, alpine mountaineering, sport climbing and via ferratas Overview map: cycling and running routes Introduction History of the region Geography and geology Plants and wildlife Art and culture Other activities Getting there and getting around When to go Accommodation Tourist information Language Health and safety Mountain guides Using this guide Walking Day walks Route 1 Innsbrucker Almenweg Route 2 Zirbenweg Route 3 Grawa waterfall Route 4 Dreiseen hiking trail Route 5 Elferhütte Route 6 Three lakes, Seefeld Plateau Route 7 Arzler Alm Route 8 Aldranser Alm Route 9 Bodenstein Alm Route 10 Kreither Alm Adventure walks and scrambles Route 11 Wildewasserweg Route 12 Südlicher and Nordlicher Polleskogel Route 13 Glungezer klettersteig Route 14 Brandjochspitze Route 15 Nordgrat-Vordere Sommerwand Route 16 Nordgrat Zwölferkogel Overnight hut walks Route 17 Halltal hike Route 18 Nordkette traverse Route 19 Karwendel traverse Route 20 Rofan Range hike Alpine mountaineering Route 21 Habicht Route 22 Wilder Freiger Route 23 Zuckerhütl Route 24 Wildspitze Sport climbing Route 25 Arzbergklamm Route 26 OeAV klettergarten Route 27 Engelswand Route 28 Rofan cragging, Achensee Route 29 Klettergarten Oetz Route 30 Emmentaler multi-pitch Via ferratas Route 31 Innsbrucker klettersteig Route 32 Achensee 5 Gipfel Route 33 Crazy Eddy klettersteig Route 34 Peter Kofler klettersteig Route 35 Ochsenwand/Schlicker klettersteig Route 36 Geierwand klettersteig Route 37 Kühtai Panorama klettersteig Route 38 Absamer klettersteig (plus Westgrat and Eisengattergrat klettersteig) Mountain biking Route 39 Nordkette singletrail Route 40 Karwendel loop Route 41 Rinn to the Rinner Alm Route 42 Aldrans to Aldranser Alm Route 43 Maria Waldrast tour Route 44 Mutters loop Road cycling Route 45 Gnadenwald Plateau Route 46 Innsbruck loop Route 47 Igls loop Route 48 Innsbruck to the Mieminger Plateau Route 49 Innsbruck - Telfs - Innsbruck City and trail running Route 50 Brücken Runde Route 51 Bergisel-Lauf city run Route 52 Sill-Inn-Schleife Route 53 Wolfele-Wilde-weg Route 54 Mühlau Runde Family activities Route 55 Wusel lake trail, Achensee Route 56 Ghost trail, Oberperfuss Route 57 Scheibenweg trail Route 58 Kugelwald Adventure World, Glungezer Route 59 Patscherkofel summit path Route 60 Piburgersee Appendix A Route summary tables Appendix B Useful contacts Appendix C Glossary Appendix D Index of routes by location

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Book Synopsis'One of the greatest mountaineering survival stories never told.' – The Sunday Times Some mountains are high; some mountains are hard. Few are both. On the afternoon of 13 July 1977, having become the first climbers to reach the summit of the Ogre, Doug Scott and Chris Bonington began their long descent. In the minutes that followed, any feeling of success from their achievement would be overwhelmed by the start of a desperate fight for survival. And things would only get worse. Rising to over 7,000 metres in the centre of the Karakoram, the Ogre – Baintha Brakk – is notorious in mountaineering circles as one of the most difficult mountains to climb. First summited by Scott and Bonington in 1977 – on expedition with Paul ‘Tut’ Braithwaite, Nick Estcourt, Clive Rowland and Mo Anthoine – it waited almost twenty-four years for a second ascent, and a further eleven years for a third. The Ogre, by legendary mountaineer Doug Scott, is a two-part biography of this enigmatic peak: in the first part, Scott has painstakingly researched the geography and history of the mountain; part two is the long overdue and very personal account of his and Bonington’s first ascent and their dramatic week-long descent on which Scott suffered two broken legs and Bonington smashed ribs. Using newly discovered diaries, letters and audio tapes, it tells of the heroic and selfless roles played by Clive Rowland and Mo Anthoine. When the desperate climbers finally made it back to base camp, they were to find it abandoned – and themselves still a long way from safety. The Ogre is undoubtedly one of the greatest adventure stories of all time.Trade Review'One of the greatest mountaineering survival stories never told.' – The Sunday Times. Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionPART I1. The Mountain2. Ancient History of Exploration3. European Interest in the Region4. The East India Company5. Scottish Contribution to Empire6. The Blanks on the Map7. Early MountaineeringPART II8. The Climbers9. March to Base Camp10. Climbing the Ogre11. The Epic Descent12. The Final StretchAfterwordAcknowledgementsFurther ReadingThe Author

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Book SynopsisNo one writes about mountaineering and its attendant hardships and victories more brilliantly than critically acclaimed author Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest work from such magazines as Outside and Smithsonian, he explores the subject from the unique and memorable perspective of one who has battled peaks like K2, Denali, Everest, and, of course, the Eiger. Always with a keen eye, an open heart, and a hunger for the ultimate experience, he gives us unerring portraits of the mountaineering experience. Yet Eiger Dreams is more about people than about rock and icepeople with that odd, sometimes maniacal obsession with mountain summits that sets them apart from other men and women. Here we meet Adrian the Romanian, determined to be the first of his countrymen to solo Denali; John Gill, climber not of great mountains but of house-sized boulders so difficult to surmount that even demanding alpine climbs seem easy; and many more compelling and colorful characters. In the most Trade ReviewThe author of Into Thin Air "has taken the literature of mountains onto a higher ledge." --New York Times Book Review "Armchair adventurers can't ask for better entertainment than this tour of the legendary locations of mountaineering and the eccentric climbers who gather there." --Publisher's Weekly

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Book SynopsisWINNER: Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature 1997Paul Pritchard's Deep Play is a unique, stylish and timeless commentary reflecting the pressures and rewards of climbing some of the world's hardest and most challenging rock climbs.Pritchard started climbing in Lancashire before moving to join the vibrant Llanberis scene of the mid-1980s, at a time when the adventurous development of the Dinorwig slate quarries was in full swing. Many of the new slate routes were notable for their fierce technical difficulty and sparse protection, and Pritchard took a full part in this arcane sub-culture of climbing and at the same time deployed his skills on the Anglesey sea cliffs to produce a clutch of equally demanding wall climbs.Born with an adventurous soul, it was not long before Pritchard and his friends were planning exotic trips. In 1987, paired with Johnny Dawes, Pritchard made an epoch-making visit to Scotland's Sron Ulladale to free its famous aid route, The Scoop. Pritchard and Dawes, with no previous high altitude experience, then attempted the Catalan Pillar of Bhagirathi III in the Garhwal Himalaya in India, a precocious first expedition prematurely curtailed when Pritchard was hit by stonefall at the foot of the face. In 1992, Pritchard and Noel Craine teamed up with the alpinists Sean Smith and Simon Yates to climb a big wall route on the East Face of the Central Tower of Paine, Patagonia. Pritchard followed this with an equally fine first ascent of the West Face of Mount Asgard on Baffin Island.Other trips – to Yosemite, Pakistan and Nepal as well as returns to Patagonia – resulted in a clutch of notable repeats, first ascents and some failures. The failure list also included two life-threatening falls (one on Gogarth, the other on Creag Meaghaidh), which prompted the author into thought-provoking personal re-assessments, in advance of his later near-terminal accident on The Totem Pole in Tasmania.A penetrating view of the adventures and preoccupations of a contemporary player, Deep Play stands alone as a unique first-hand account of what many consider to be the last great era in British climbing.Trade Review"It is a remarkable book. It is a love letter to the mountain, an obituary for lost friends, a Joycean study of a community. Most of all, in its roughshod description of thrills and achievement, adventure and comradeship ... it's an explanation of a way of life." (Sabine Durrant, The Guardian.) "Not since The Hard Years has the social background of a leading protagonist been so effectively drawn. Touching on themes of economic deprivation, failing education standards and the brutish myopia that affected Britain, but especially England, in the 1980s, Pritchard illustrates how climbing was, at least then, a rare way to escape from monochrome to glorious Technicolor." (Ed Douglas, Climber Magazine.) "It is bold, experimental, innovative in its narrative and descriptive material in a way which is entirely in keeping with the spirit of the prize." (Peter Gillman, Boardman Tasker Prize Chair of Judges.)Table of ContentsContents AcknowledgementsForeword by John Middendorf Preface to the 2012 Edition Introduction – Playing the System CrackFire-Starter Rubble Merchants, Slateheads and Others Lost in the Broccoli Garden A Piece of Driftwood On the Big Stone Bhagirathi Diary Outside the AsylumCentral Tower of Paine: El Regalo de Mwono Paine North Tower: El Caballo de Diablo Just Passing Through The Doctor and the Witch A Game One Climber Played AdriftHyperborea A Survivor’s Affair Making Castles in the Sand Deep PlayersOn the Shark’s Fin with Philip Lloyd Accidental Hero – Silvo Karo A Lesson in Healing from Andy Parkin Author’s Glossary Notes about the Essays

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Book SynopsisJoe Simpson is the author of several bestselling books, of which the first,Touching the Void, won both the NCR award and the Boardman Tasker Award. His later books are This Game of Ghosts - the sequel to Touching the Void - Storms of Silence, Dark Shadows Falling, The Beckoning Silence and one previous novel, The Water People.Trade ReviewGrippingly told...there is no question Simpson is a brilliant adventure writer. There are passages that had my heart racing * Observer *Eloquent, spine-chilling stuff * SUNDAY TIMES *No one conjures the thrill of altitude better than Simpson...A hugely enjoyable book...As far as mountaineering literature goes this is about as good as it gets * Sara Wheeler, Spectator *An engrossing read. Nobody evokes the physical and psychological realities of climbing better...a powerfully written book...as vivid as anything Simpson has yet produced * Sunday Telegraph *Heart-stopping stuff...This is not a book for the fainthearted and perhaps should come with a government health warning...a book that will have your fingers clutching imaginary rocks and palms sweating over every page * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisClimbers who court danger in the world''s highest places risk far more than just their own skins. When tragedy strikes, what happens to the people who love them? Why would anyone choose to invest in a future with a high-altitude climber? What is life like in the shadow of the mountain? Such questions have long been taboo within the international world of mountaineering. Now Maria Coffey breaks this silence. She recounts climbers'' stories of near-death experiences, and gives a voice to the families and loved ones of Chris Bonington, Ed Viesturs, Anatoli Boukreev and Alex Lowe, amongst many other famous names. Her riveting narrative weaves tales of adventure with first-person accounts of the people left behind, highlighting the conflicting beauty, passion and devastation of this alluring obsession.

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Book SynopsisIn 1992, an Indian climber was left to die on the South Col of Mount Everest by other climbers who watched his feebly waving hand from their tent. He was filmed in his last hours for a television feature. Why did onlookers not hold the dying man''s hand and comfort him? The answer appals Joe Simpson, who was himself left for dead in a cervasse in Peru in 1985 - ''because it might compromise their summit bid''. It is an ethical question that Joe is forced to confront as he climbs a hazardous route on Pumori. Now that Everest has become the playground of the rich, where commercial operators offer guided tours to the top, camping admist the detritus and unburied corpses of previous less fortunate climbers, Joe wonders if the noble instincts that once characterised mountaineering have been irrevocably displaced - as in politics, in business, in the media and in other facets of society.Trade ReviewSimpson writes better on the darker side of mountaineering than any man alive -- Paul Johnson * The Times *His concern is that the strong ethics and selfless instincts that have characterised mountaineering in the past are being eroded by modern-day ambition, selfishness and greed -- Audrey Salkeld * Sunday Times *Simpson is an elegant stylist and as usual his prose is laced with humour * Daily Telegraph *An astonishing first chapter describes thoughts and feeling of a mountaineer slowly dying on Everest, while other climbers relax in a tent a few feet away. They know he is dying but ignore his feeble wave. Simpson is horrified that such selfishness should gradually invade the mountaineering fantasy -- Brian Masters * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisExplore and experience nature with your kids with these 30 fun and educational family activities dedicated to spending more time outside. Less screen, more green! In the world of smartphones, tablets, and online learning, the need for children to engage with nature has never been more evident. Outdoor activities and projects inspire exploration, creativity, curiosity, learning, and a sense of wonder. Interacting with nature also fosters a healthy love and respect for the outdoors.The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures features fun and engaging hands-on nature, camping, and bushcraft projects that get you and your children outside having more fun, strengthening your bond, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Written by expert survival instructor Creek Stewart, each project is designed to get parents and their kids outside and teach them about nature and the great outdoors. From casting animal tracks and dyeing t-shirts with walnuts to building a debris hut and catching minnows with a spider web your family with get your hands dirty, learn some cool nature facts, and complete some awesome projects with your family. Explore, create, laugh, love, and experience the great outdoors together with The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures.Trade Review“Perfect for parents and caregivers.” —Library Journal

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Book SynopsisThe captivating and heroic story of Hudson Stuck—an Episcopal priest—and his team's history-making summit of Denali.In 1913, four men made a months-long journey by dog sled to the base of the tallest mountain in North America. Several groups had already tried but failed to reach the top of a mountain whose size—occupying 120 square miles of the earth’s surface —and position as the Earth’s northernmost peak of more than 6,000 meters elevation make it one of the world’s deadliest mountains. Although its height from base to top is actually greater than Everest’s, it is Denali's weather, not altitude, that have caused the great majority of fatalities—over a hundred since 1903. Denali experiences weather more severe than the North Pole, with temperatures of forty below zero and winds that howl at 80 to 100 miles per hour for days at a stretch. But in 1913 none of this mattered to Hudson Stuck, a fifty-year old Episcopal priest, Harry Karstens, the hardened Alaskan wilderness guide, Walter Harper, part of the Koyukon people, and Robert Tatum, a divinity student, both just in their twenties. They were all determined to be the first to set foot on top of Denali. In A Window to Heaven, Patrick Dean brings to life this heart-pounding and spellbinding feat of this first ascent and paints a rich portrait of the frontier at the turn of the twentieth century. The story of Stuck and his team will lead us through the Texas frontier and Tennessee mountains to an encounter with Jack London at the peak of the Yukon Goldrush. We experience Stuck's awe at the rich Inuit and Athabascan indigenous traditions—and his efforts to help preserve these ways of life. Filled with daring exploration and rich history, A Window to Heaven is a brilliant and spellbinding narrative of success against the odds. Trade Review"In A Window to Heaven, Patrick Dean brings together the story of a humble Episcopal priest with the stupendous chronicle of the improbable first ascent of North America's tallest and most magnificent mountain. A book whose scope, themes, and drama are worthy of Denali itself." -- Kevin Fedarko, author of THE EMERALD MILE"No matter how many times the Denali story gets told, it never gets old. The trick, if one is to write about it, is to make it new. Outdoors writer Patrick Dean has done just that in A Window to Heaven, casting the climb in new light. The story reverberates today. And while Stuck is controversial among climbers and others, in Native communities throughout the state, he remains widely revered. Stuck provides a roadmap for religious leaders grappling with these questions.He presents Stuck as an imperfect but still commendable model for our own times. We should pay attention." -- David A. James * The Anchorage Daily News *"From the Texas frontier to North America’s tallest peak, this balanced biography of Hudson Stuck offers plenty of adventure, setbacks, and turmoil. It seeks a way to impact the world and will engage." * Library Journal *"A Window to Heaven is much more than a climbing epic—it’s equal parts Wild West gold rush extravaganza, sub-arctic exploration saga, and social justice crusade. Dean takes us along with the prickly muscular Christian missionary Hudson Stuck as he dogsleds thousands of miles through Alaska’s frozen wilderness, fighting to shield its native cultures from the greed, whisky, physical and sexual abuse, cultural imperialism, and environmental devastation riding in the vanguard of white 'civilization,' all while telling the astonishing account of Stuck’s triumphant first ascent of Denali." -- Gregory Crouch, author of The Bonanza King and Enduring Patagonia"Everyone should know about Hudson Stuck. This Englishman left for the Texas frontier in the 1880s, became a missionary in Alaska, traveled thousands of miles by dogsled, and made the first summit of Denali in 1913. He's a spectacular character who deserves to be better known today." -- Alastair Humphreys, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, author of My Midsummer Morning“A ‘missionary first and a mountain climber afterwards,’ Hudson Stuck, at age fifty, became the first to climb to the top of Mount McKinley (Denali) and glimpse ‘a window into heaven.’ His is a remarkable story – of faith and vision and determination – extraordinarily well told by Patrick Dean.” -- John McCardell, Vice-Chancellor and President Emeritus, Professor of History at The University of the South"A rich and sensitive portrait of a man, a mountain, and an era in Alaska’s history that we should know better. With grace and clarity Dean reveals Hudson Stuck as a missionary-explorer who was both fully of his time and able to recognize some of its deepest prejudices. Surrounded by the miners, gamblers, and Sourdoughs of the Last Frontier, Stuck rejected dominant cultures of consumption and extraction to become a rare advocate for Indigenous culture. In his careful exploration of Stuck’s life and his race to be the first to summit Denali, Dean offers a wonderful view onto the North at a time when its people, and its landscapes, should be more on our minds than ever." -- Neil Shea * National Geographic *

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Book SynopsisDoug Scott was a legend among mountaineers. His expeditions, undertaken over a period of five decades, are unparalleled achievements. This book describes the extraordinary drama of them all, from the Himalaya to New Zealand, Patagonia, Yosemite and Alaska. It includes his famous ‘epic’ on The Ogre, one of the hardest peaks in the world to climb, his ascent of Kangchenjunga without supplementary oxygen and his ascent, with Dougal Haston, of Everest in 1975. Catherine Moorehead also uncovers the elusive man behind the obsessive mountaineer. From his rumbustious youth in Nottingham through two tempestuous marriages to a secure third marriage, she shows how Scott matured in thought and action as his formidable global reputation increased. In doing so she reveals him to be a clash of opposites, an infuriating monomaniac who took extraordinary risks yet who developed a deep interest in Buddhism and inspired widespread affection. Scott spent almost as long as his climbing career in founding and developing Community Action Nepal, providing schools and health posts in remote parts of Nepal, where he is still much revered. Doug Scott died in 2020.Trade Review'Doug Scott was one of my closest friends. He had so many facets to his character – integrity, courage, great intelligence, and a strong sense of social responsibility, particularly in the way he devoted his later life to support the people of up-country Nepal. This book is a remarkable tribute to an extraordinary climber and a great humanitarian' -- Sir Chris Bonington'Doug Scott was one of the earliest and most successful proponents of Alpine-style ascents in the highest mountains on every continent. His ethical regard for the mountain environment was also well ahead of its time. This biography commemorates and explores the life of a visionary climber and a man of great humanity' -- Reinhold Messner'Reveals the extraordinary drama of [Scott's] life, both on and off the mountains' * Sunday Post *'reveals a multi-faceted man in a biography that will be of as much interest to those who love the mountains as those who prefer to study the human condition' * Scottish Field *

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