World Mountaineering (The World's Great Mountains By The World's Great Mountaineers) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845331427 ISBN 13: 9781845331429

Publisher: Mitchell Beazley, 2004

Synopsis

Go higher and higher with the world’s leading mountaineers as they describe 50 of the most spectacular peaks from around the globe: their routes, their challenges, and their climbing history, plus compelling climbing experiences that are sure to inspire. Contributions come from Iain Allan on Mount Kenya; George Band on Kengchenjunga; Al Read on Grand Teton; Steve Roper on El Capitan; Anderl Heckmair on the first ascent of the north wall of the Eiger; and George Mallory II, who retraces his grandfather’s history-making journey on Everest. Breathtaking photographs, maps, and charts fill the volume, and there’s practical information how to get to each fabled mountain, on what gear to take and when to climb, what facilities are available, and what safety provisions must be taken.

About this title

Review:

World Mountaineering reaches a new summit. Organized by continent, this splendid, large-format climbing guide features 52 of the world's most spectacular mountains and their climbs, stepping far beyond the mere map-and-route delineations that define many climbing guidebooks. Even if the topographical descriptions and various routes snaking across the stunningly clear photographs were all that were here, that might seem enough. But each mountain's entry also includes an aerial map, a timeline of climbing history, and practicalities such as access, red tape, the best times to climb, and suggested maps and guidebooks to bring along. Essays--written by top mountaineers, such as Ed Webster on Mount Robson, or Hilary Boardman on the Carstensz Pyramid--recount personal experiences with each mountain. Suddenly the alpine world is above, shimmering and stirring, crisp and clear. The only stumble is that only five of these mountaineer essayists are women.

Route descriptions concentrate less on the step-by-step details and more on the legacy of those who have gone before, their equipment, their route's most difficult and salient features, and the official climb grading. Ideas for future climbs on each mountain suggest new routes on which to test and hone skills.

Sure, there are mountains here that one would expect--Everest, McKinley, K2, Kilimanjaro--but, as Chris Bonington writes in the foreword, "We must remember that there are alternatives to Everest.... There is a wealth of superb climbing to be had around the world ... in places where there are few, if any, other people and still no tell-tale signs of man." Bonington gives cautions about the crowding and development of popular mountains; editor Audrey Salkeld introduces the book with a history of climbing and thoughts on the future of mountaineering. In all, World Mountaineering reveals the dazzling array of climbing possibilities and acts as much as an inspiration as a dependable guide to the top. --Byron Ricks

About the Author:

Audrey Salkeld A highly respected and experienced mountaineering writer and historian, Audrey Salkeld is the author of The Mystery of Mallory aand Irvine and People in High Places, and translator of books by Reinhold Messner and Kurt Diemberger. In 1996, her accounts of the tragic events on Everest that spring, written while she was working as a reporter with the IMAX Everest Expedition, were broadcast by Nova Online. Also in 1996, her book A Portroit of Leni Riefenstahl won the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature. She has written a number of scripts for television documentaries, including Great Climbs with Chris Bonington.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1845331427
• ISBN 13: 9781845331429
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Audrey Salkeld
• Illustrator: Raymond Turvey