Below I’ll give you my selections for the best Mountaineering books by a few categories. I will cover these and other great books more in depth later.
- Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (2017)
- The Mountain Guide Manual: The Comprehensive Reference–From Belaying to Rope Systems and Self-Rescue (2017)
- Glacier Mountaineering: An Illustrated Guide To Glacier Travel And Crevasse Rescue (How To Climb Series) (2009)
- Climbing Mt. Fuji: A Complete Guidebook (4th Edition) (2017)
- Mountains of the Mind: Adventures in Reaching the Summit (2004)
- The Mountain of My Fear / Deborah: Two Mountaineering Classics (Legends and Lore) (2012)
- Accidents in North American Climbing 2018: Number 3; Issue 71 (Accidents in North American Mountaineering) (2018)
- I Climbed Them All NH48 Hiking Journal: Logbook for Hikers Climbing all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000 foot peaks. 6×9, 120 pages of college ruled lined white paper (2019)
- Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide (2013)
- The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier (2007)
- Life and Death on Mt. Everest: Sherpas and Himalayan Mountaineering (2001)
- Mountain Bike Tahoe: 50 Select Singletrack Routes (2017)
- Beyond the Mountain (2012)
Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (2017)
“The definitive guide to mountains and climbing . . .”―Conrad AnkerFor nearly 60 years it’s been revered as the “bible” of mountaineering–and now it’s even better than ever Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is the text beloved by generations of new climbers―the standard for climbing education around the world where it has been translated into 12 languages.
The Mountain Guide Manual: The Comprehensive Reference–From Belaying to Rope Systems and Self-Rescue (2017)
Written by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) certified mountain guides Marc Chauvin and Rob Coppolillo, The Mountain Guide Manual is the go-to reference for novice and experienced mountain guides, as well as advanced recreationalists. Covering everything from rope systems and belaying to advice on group dynamics and rescuing, the manual combines practical how-to instruction with clear graphics, illustrations, and awe-inspiring alpine imagery.
Glacier Mountaineering: An Illustrated Guide To Glacier Travel And Crevasse Rescue (How To Climb Series) (2009)
Glacier Mountaineering provides the knowledge and skills needed to safely and self-sufficiently navigate over glacier terrain. Hundreds of hilarious and helpful illustrations by Mike Clelland complement the clear and concise text by Andy Tyson. Providing critical instruction for anyone planning to travel over glacier country―from the Cascades to the Rockies to Denali―this book will guide and entertain readers through glacier anatomy, equipment, route finding, and rescue techniques.
Climbing Mt. Fuji: A Complete Guidebook (4th Edition) (2017)
This is a “must read” for anyone who wishes to be successful in climbing Mt. Fuji. Don’t be fooled by the apparent simplicity of the mountain – it is a tough and grueling climb and the guidebook explains all there is to know about it. The guidebook is a comprehensive and easy to read recipe for what it takes physically and psychologically to get to the summit of this amazing but unpredictable mountain.
Mountains of the Mind: Adventures in Reaching the Summit (2004)
Combining accounts of legendary mountain ascents with vivid descriptions of his own forays into wild, high landscapes, Robert McFarlane reveals how the mystery of the world’s highest places has came to grip the Western imagination—and perennially draws legions of adventurers up the most perilous slopes. His story begins three centuries ago, when mountains were feared as the forbidding abodes of dragons and other mysterious beasts.
The Mountain of My Fear / Deborah: Two Mountaineering Classics (Legends and Lore) (2012)
The publication of The Mountain of My Fear in 1968 and Deborah in 1970 changed the face of the mountaineering narrative. Now these two classic expedition narratives by acclaimed writer David Roberts are together again in one volume for a new generation of readers.Deborah is the story of Roberts’s 1964 expedition with fellow Harvard Mountaineering Club member Don Jensen to the eastern side of Mount Deborah in Alaska.
Accidents in North American Climbing 2018: Number 3; Issue 71 (Accidents in North American Mountaineering) (2018)
Every year, novice climbers and experts are injured or killed by inadequate preparation and errors in judgment. Since 1948, the American Alpine Club has documented the year’s most teachable climbing accidents, providing invaluable lessons to climbers. In Accidents in North American Climbing, each significant incident is carefully analyzed so climbers can avoid similar situations in the future.
I Climbed Them All NH48 Hiking Journal: Logbook for Hikers Climbing all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4,000 foot peaks. 6×9, 120 pages of college ruled lined white paper (2019)
If you are planning a trip to the Granite State to climb peaks like Mt. Washington, the Presidential Peaks of the White Mountains, this journal is a great way to keep track of your climbs as you hike the mountains.
Rocky Mountain National Park: The Complete Hiking Guide (2013)
The complete experience of hiking Rocky Mountain National Park has finally been captured in one comprehensive volume. All 400 named features in the Park are explored and two-thirds of this book covers off-trail hikes not commonly found in guidebooks. Extensively field-checked and accompanied by striking photography and USGS maps, this amazing collection draws upon Foster’s over 7,000 hours of backcountry expertise.
The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier (2007)
In The Measure of a Mountain, Seattle writer Bruce Barcott sets out to know Rainier. His method is exploratory, meandering, personal. He begins by encircling it, first by car then on foot.
Life and Death on Mt. Everest: Sherpas and Himalayan Mountaineering (2001)
The Sherpas were dead, two more victims of an attempt to scale Mt. Everest. Members of a French climbing expedition, sensitive perhaps about leaving the bodies where they could not be recovered, rolled them off a steep mountain face. One body, however, crashed to a stop near Sherpas on a separate expedition far below. They stared at the frozen corpse, stunned.
Mountain Bike Tahoe: 50 Select Singletrack Routes (2017)
Northern California is known as the birthplace of mountain biking, and Tahoe is its most famous destination. The 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) circumnavigates the sparkling blue lake along the spine of the Sierra and Carson Ranges that circle it, and serves as the backbone of Tahoe’s intricate trail skeleton. Over its course, numerous other trails and roads intersect the TRT creating endless options for loops of various lengths, point to point rides, and all-day epics.
Beyond the Mountain (2012)
What does it take to be one of the world’s best high-altitude mountain climbers? A lot of fundraising; traveling in some of the world’s most dangerous countries; enduring cold bivouacs, searing lungs, and a cloudy mind when you can least afford one. It means learning the hard lessons the mountains teach.Steve House built his reputation on ascents throughout the Alps, Canada, Alaska, the Karakoram and the Himalaya that have expanded possibilities of style, speed, and difficulty.
Best Mountaineering Books You Must Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some mountaineering books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
The World Beneath Their Feet: Mountaineering Madness and The Deadly Race to Summit the Himalayas
Author(s): Scott Ellsworth
ID: 2543029, Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, Year: 2020, Size: 28 Mb, Format: pdf
Mountaineering Handbook: 101 Tips and Tricks Pocket Guide to Climbing even the Highest Mountain
Author(s): Outdoors Incorporated
ID: 2673361, Publisher: , Year: 2020, Size: 1 Mb, Format: epub
The World Beneath Their Feet: Mountaineering, Madness, and the Deadly Race to Summit the Himalayas
Author(s): Scott Ellsworth
ID: 3158568, Publisher: Little, Brown, Year: 2020, Size: 27 Mb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are absolutely record-breakers according to The Wall Street Journal, others are composed by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.