In the Zone


Peter Potterfield - 1996
    Veteran journalist with 25 years of climbing experience, author Potterfield is a master craftsman who has himself been in the zone. These stories, the result of extensive interviews, reveal that the keys to averting tragedy lie in the head and heart as much as in technical proficiency and physical strength.There is the story of Colby Coombs' disastrous experience on Alaska's Mount Foraker, which ranks with Joe Simpson's Touching the Void as one of the greatest survival stories of the genre. On K2, experienced climber Scott Fischer (who lost his life in the 1996 Everest tragedy) and partner Ed Viesturs battle for the summit in the face of numerous setbacks, severe injuries, and harrowing weather conditions. Peter Potterfield recounts his own riveting tale of hope and desperation after a climbing fall that left him trapped and badly injured on a narrow ledge in Washington's North Cascades.

The First Fifty: Munro-bagging without a Beard


Muriel Gray - 1991
    In this hilarious, irreverent and frequently controversial book she explains the real joy of hill-walking and climbing the Munros.

Moments of Doubt and Other Mountaineering Writings


David Roberts - 1986
    The articles are composed of three types: Adventures (Roberts' own climbs and outings), Profiles (other adventurers), and Reflections (meditative essays about the meaning of the whole business). Roberts ranges the globe (Africa, Alaska, New Guinea) and introduces unique personalities (Reinhold Messner, John Roskelly, Don Sheldon). He also recounts how his own love of writing and the useless pastime of climbing combined to produce the bread and butter of his career today.Popular with audiences far beyond active mountaineers, Roberts sets himself this challenge: "For me, the abiding puzzle of adventure writing lies in keeping, on the one hand, a sense of proportion about the absurdity of most of our antics in the outdoors, while staying alert, on the other, to the majesty of spirit which at their best those antics demonstrate."RUNNING TIME ⇒ 10hrs. and 39mins.©1986 David Roberts (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Cold Wars: Climbing the Line Between Risk and Reality


Andy Kirkpatrick - 2011
    Pushing himself to new extremes, he embarks on his toughest climbs yet - on big walls in the Alps and Patagonia - in the depths of winter.

Summit Fever: An Armchair Climber's Init(i)Ation to Glencoe, Mortal Terror and 'The Himalayan Matterhorn'


Andrew Greig - 1985
    Dramatic, amusing, and engaging observations of a major climb by a first-time climber.

Ascent


Chris Bonington - 2017
        He has undertaken nineteen Himalayan expeditions, including four to Mount Everest which he climbed in 1985 at the age of fifty, and has made many first ascents in the Alps and greater ranges of the world. Along the way we will be fascinated by his many daring climbs, near-death adventures, and the many luminaries of the mountain fraternity he has climbed with, and in some cases - witness their deaths on the rock. The mercurial Dougal Haston; the legendary-tough Don Whillans, the philosopher of the rock Stephen Venables, and the enigmatic Doug Scott, plus many more – this will be an expert’s opinion on the past sixty years of British/ world mountaineering.In Ascent Chris also discusses his first wife (Wendy) who tragically passed away after a long battle with motor neuron disease  - his many years of caring for her, and then in his twilight years deciding to return to an iconic climb from his past - The Old Man of Hoy - to summit at the age of 80 years of age. He has now also found love again amidst the sadness and grief. It is a truly inspirational tale.     Ascent will be a memoir like no other. Not only a cerebral narrative on what it takes to conquer fear, and learn/ develop the technical skills necessary to climb the world’s greatest peaks; what it is like to survive in places no human being can ultimately reside in for longer than a few months at very high altitude, but also how one overcomes emotional obstacles, too, and rediscover what drives us on to happiness.

Aftershock: One Man's Quest and the Quake on Everest


Jules Mountain - 2017
    The odds of surviving his type of cancer were one in five; the odds of dying on Everest are one in sixty.But just as he reaches Base Camp in April 2015, the giant earthquake in Nepal sets off an avalanche that will kill 21 . Jules is within touching distance of his life's ambition and is now faced with an agonising choice about his next move.Aftershock is a heart-stopping eyewitness account of the deadliest day in history on the world's most iconic mountain. It is also an exploration of the choices we make in life, and throws up difficult questions about how logic and compassion can be affected by altitude and extreme stress.

Outbreak In The Woods: Thru-Hiking During a Worldwide Pandemic


Ryan Michael Beck - 2021
    Should they follow cautionary guidelines to return to a major city or take a chance by continuing north through the back country?Thru-hiking from Georgia to Maine on any given year has its own enormous obstacles. What do you eat? Where do you sleep and can you reach your family? In 2020, during a worldwide shutdown these challenges became nearly impossible to overcome. See how rural trail town communities were affected by the pandemic and understand an untold perspective of pursuing your dreams at all costs.Avoiding law enforcement, entering into "closed" federal land and even overcoming death - all while attempting the impossible. With a wife and two daughters at home, the outside world against him and seemingly unreliable information, this epic tale follows Ryan Michael Beck's journey 2,193 miles in pursuit of a dream to thru-hike the entire Appalachian Trail against all odds.

When I Walk, I Bounce: Walking from Land's End to John o'Groats


Mark Moxon - 2007
    In this entertaining and frequently hilarious book, Mark takes us on a journey not only of 1111 miles, but of the highs and lows of long-distance walking.'I read the entire journey cover to cover in a couple of days. Totally fascinating, very amusing.' - Howard J'I highly recommend that people read it from start to finish. It is a great tale ' - Peter K'Thank you for being so enthusiastic about travelling and revealing your passion in such a constructive way ' - Jenny S'A certain cure for a jaded outlook.' - Marilyn S'You can't put it down.' - Frank W'A great job ' - Kevin P

The Day Job: Adventures of a Jobbing Gardener


Mark Wallington - 2005
    He is going to change the face of British comedy.Unfortunately for the residents of north London, he's going to finance this dream by becoming a gardener.The result is The Day Job, an account of a year spent working in other people's gardens: people like Mrs Fleming who is convinced there is buried treasure in the bottom bed; Mr Walters who is trying to create a fascist state policed by gnomes in his well-guarded plot in Gospel Oak; Mrs Glover who is probably the most attractive woman living in Britain; and poor Mr Nugent, who likes to save his urine in jam jars and pour it over his compost.Over four seasons Wallington crosses Hampstead Heath from job to job. He survives brushes with the evil contract gardeners who keep trying to knock him off his bicycle. He strives to impress literary agent Herman Gapp who might represent him - depending on what sort of job he does on Gapp's Alpine Terrace. He even finds time to fall for a housecleaner-cum-actor named Helen, as he becomes part of a strange band of artistes, each with a day job of their own, all waiting for that first break.This is the story of long nights spent in the back room of a pub trying to write unsolicited scripts, and of much longer days spent trying to understand the British and their strange obsession with gardening.

Tour of Mont Blanc: Complete Two-Way Trekking Guide


Kev Reynolds - 1983
    The route takes the walker into France, Switzerland and Italy and is described in both anti-clockwise and clockwise directions, with variants and information about facilities en route.

Racing Winter on the Pacific Crest Trail


Kyle Rohrig - 2018
    Prepare to feel the blistering heat of the southwestern deserts as you dodge rattlesnakes in the never ending quest for water. Climb into thin air and the dizzying heights of the Sierra Nevada alpine while post holing through miles of treacherous snow pack. Fight the brutal heat waves of northern California as dust cakes your skin and chokes your pores. Hurdle the countless blow downs and foot chewing lava rock of remote Oregon - and brave the freezing storms across the barren ridge-lines of Washington's Northern Cascades. --------------------------------------------------------- This is the adventure you signed up for, and now must see to the bitter end. Face your unknown, embrace solitude, and push the limits of your highest thresholds. You better buckle up, this is the Pacific Crest Trail... -------------------------------------------------- For more content from the Author, as well as to follow his past, present, and future adventures; check out the following pages! Website/Blog: BoundlessRoamad.com Instagram: @_roamad_ Facebook: facebook.com/kyle.rohrig.7 Youtube: youtube.com/c/NomadWisdom

K2: The Story of the Savage Mountain


Jim Curran - 1995
    Curran mines the rich history of K2 to discover a repeating pattern of naked ambition, rivalry, misjudgment, selfless heroism and inspired route-making.

Take a Thru-Hike: Dixie's How-To Guide for Hiking the Appalachian Trail


Jessica "Dixie" Mills - 2016
    While preparing for my journey on the Appalachian Trail (AT), I often felt lost in a sea of information, usually overturning more questions than answers. The purpose of this guide is to help cut through the confusion, condense the information and present it in a straightforward and simple way. I want to leave you feeling more confident about your upcoming escapade, rather than intimidated by the thought of planning it. My first overnight backpacking trip was thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, so I hope my perspective can be appreciated by novice and seasoned hikers alike. Some of the topics included in this ebook are: -Physical & Mental Prep -Gear List -Picking a Pack -Backpacking Stoves -Shelter Selection -Hygiene on Trail -Financial Breakdown (of my hike) -Etiquette -Safety & Wildlife -Hiking With a Dog ...and more! Download a free sample!

Between a Rock and a Hard Place


Aron Ralston - 2004
    It started out as a simple hike in the Utah canyonlands on a warm Saturday afternoon. For Aron Ralston, a twenty-seven-year-old mountaineer and outdoorsman, a walk into the remote Blue John Canyon was a chance to get a break from a winter of solo climbing Colorado's highest and toughest peaks. He'd earned this weekend vacation, and though he met two charming women along the way, by early afternoon he finally found himself in his element: alone, with just the beauty of the natural world all around him. It was 2:41 P.M. Eight miles from his truck, in a deep and narrow slot canyon, Aron was climbing down off a wedged boulder when the rock suddenly, and terrifyingly, came loose. Before he could get out of the way, the falling stone pinned his right hand and wrist against the canyon wall. And so began six days of hell for Aron Ralston. With scant water and little food, no jacket for the painfully cold nights, and the terrible knowledge that he'd told no one where he was headed, he found himself facing a lingering death -- trapped by an 800-pound boulder 100 feet down in the bottom of a canyon. As he eliminated his escape options one by one through the days, Aron faced the full horror of his predicament: By the time any possible search and rescue effort would begin, he'd most probably have died of dehydration, if a flash flood didn't drown him before that. What does one do in the face of almost certain death? Using the video camera from his pack, Aron began recording his grateful good-byes to his family and friends all over the country, thinking back over a life filled with adventure, and documenting a last will and testament with the hope that someone would find it. (For their part, his family and friends had instigated a major search for Aron, the amazing details of which are also documented here for the first time.) The knowledge of their love kept Aron Ralston alive, until a divine inspiration on Thursday morning solved the riddle of the boulder. Aron then committed the most extreme act imaginable to save himself. Between a Rock and a Hard Place -- a brilliantly written, funny, honest, inspiring, and downright astonishing report from the line where death meets life -- will surely take its place in the annals of classic adventure stories.