CLASSIC CLIMBING BOOKS

Brilliant photo and essay portrait of the 4000m peaks of the Alps - a must!

Helmut Dumler (born 1940) lives in Augsburg, Germany. He is a mountaineering journalist and author of long experience, sometime Deputy Editor of Alpinismus and Editor of Bergkamerad. He has climbed and skied in the Alps for over thirty years and first completed all the 4000-metre peaksin 1968.

Willi Paul Burkhardt (born 1922) works from a photographic studio/laboratory complex at his home in Buochs, Switzerland. His outstanding large-format pictures of the alpine peaks have been used in many books and are famed for their crisp detail and superb lighting.

225 pages 290 x 288mm hardback.

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Not so much a new edition as a reprint with extra pages of the 1983 round up of British (mainly Scottish) winter classics from Point Pive to the Cuillin Ridge. Profusely illustrated. Hardback, Ken Wilson, Dave Alcock & John Barry, 280 pages.

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NB This new edition contains a 16 page supplement at the back containing extra historical information and additional photos. For people wishing to update their old 1983 volumes, the supplement is available on its own - see below.

Sorry - Out of print - reprint expected February 2007.
 

A similar volume on himalayan mountaineering. By Steve Venables and the late Andy Fanshawe.

192 pages, 280 x 293mm hardback.

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Third edition of the 1974 classic that inspired a thousand tick-lists. Describes 60 of the hardest UK rock climbs of the day, that is from VS to E2, though the Scoop at A3 still stops most "puerile tickers" and modern aspirants will have trouble with Deer Bield Buttress which collapsed in 1997, though you could always walk over the debris. Profusely illustrated. Hardback, Ken Wilson, 236 pages.

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NB: For more information on Hard Rock and other books in the series, please see the Hard Rock Pages. 

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Completely new edition of Classic Rock with the same essays but lots more historical information and masses of new colour photos! Describes a hundred or so classic rock climbs (from Diff to ca Mild VS) from all over the UK (with the notable exception of Northern Ireland). 288 pages. By Ken Wilson.

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First, and possibly the only, edition of "Hard Rock for Modern Times (at least as far as 1987)". Describes routes from E1 to E7 all over the UK. Hard Back, stacks of extremely daunting photos and essays, by Ken Wilson & Bernard Newman, 296 pages.

Long out of print and unfortunately a reprint seems unlikely as the plates appear to have gone missing, so if you see it second hand buy it (it changes hands at well over £100 these days!), or if you know where the plates are contact Ken Wilson.  

Update your 1983 Cold Climbs with this 16 page Supplement of photos and information which comes complete with a sticky strip to glue it into the back of Cold Climbs.

NB This supplement is already included free in the 2001 edition above. 

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Wild Walks gives another selection of superb British walks, this time selected because the frequent wilder and more remote places. Hardback, Ken Wilson & Richard Gilbert, 280p.

Sorry - out of print.
 

The Big Walks covers British mountaineering expeditions of a long and challenging nature and was conceived as a companion volume to the Hard Rock series. Unfortunately it is out of print with no known date for a reprint. Hardback, Ken Wilson & Richard Gilbert, 280p.
 

Classic Walks is a companion to the long out of print Big Walks, but covers over 70 less serious mountain and moorland expeditions and low level walks. Hardback, Ken Wilson & Richard Gilbert, 280p.

Sorry - out of print.

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A more convenient large guidebook sized volume containing all of the walks in The Big Walks, Wild Walks and Classic Walks. Some colour photos, and good maps. By Richard Gilbert. Card cover, 224 pages.

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Beautifully presented picture book with good clear maps, covering the 3000 foot peaks of Scotland (The Munros), England, Wales and Ireland. By Irvine Butterfield. Hardback, 320 pages.

NB Although this book is subtitled Volume 1, Volume 2 which would cover the lower hills, has yet to be published.

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The text of the above book in a lightweight field guide with no maps or photos, but including notes on access during the stalking season, and a logbook section. Covers the 3000 foot peaks of Scotland (The Munros), England, Wales and Ireland. Paperback, 112 pages.

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Classic selection of routes from easy to hard for their day (1973). Superbly illustrated and thoroughly inspiring. Only problem is all the other equally inspired aspirant alpinists encountered en route. Hardback, Gaston Rebuffat, 240 pages.

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This new edition is very little altered from the original, and still includes such classic climbs as the Bonatti Pillar which collapsed completely in 2005. This is still a very inspiring book though. 

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Often described as the American Hard Rock, but unfortunately long out of print. Hardback first editions (published by Diadem) change hands for several hundred pounds, but you should be able to pick up the paperback version (1996) more reasonably. By Steve Roper & Allen Steck. 

Subtitlted "the ultimate North American tick list", this could be best described as a Yankee version of Extreme Rock, except that it includes a sprinkling of ice routes. One thing's for sure - they're all hard! By Mark Kroese. Lots of inspiring colour illustrations, card cover, 224 pages.

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If you know little or nothing of British mountaineering history, then Colin Wells's excellent and concise book (commissioned by the Mountain Heritage Trust) is a good place to start. Drawing on a knowledge built up over many years of climbing and journalism, Wells presents the essential facts accurately, clearly, and above all, interestingly. Profusely illustrated, cardback, 120 pages.

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The archetypal British hero and instigator of some of the finest expeditions from the time just before and just after the Second World War. Much hailed for his dictum that any expedition should be capable of being organised on the back of an envelope - a stark contrast to the massive expeditions of the time. Contents: Snow on the Equator (1937), The Ascent of Nanda Devi (1937), When Men and Mountains Meet (1946), Everest 1938 (1948), Two Mountains and a River (1949), China to Chitral (1951), Nepal Himalaya (1952). Paperback, 896 pages.

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In later life Tilman took to sailing exploration (mainly in his pilot cutter Mischief), eventually being lost at at sea in the South Atlantic in 1977 - he was 79 years old. His voyages form the subjects of these books. Contents: Mischief in Patagonia (1957), Mischief among the Penguins (1961), Mischief in Greenland (1964), Mostly Mischief (1966), Mischief Goes South (1968), In Mischief's Wake (1971), Ice with Everything (1974), Triumph and Tribulation (1977). Hardback, 956 pages.

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Sorry, out of print. 

Tilman's companion on many of his mountaineering ventures was Shipton, whose books are almost as equally well known and sought after. Contents: Nanda Devi (1936), Blank on the Map (1938), Upon that Mountain (1943), Mountains of Tartary (1950), Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition 1951 (1951), and, Land of Tempest (1963), along with two articles from the Alpine Journal corcerned with Patagonia. Hardback, 800 pages.

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Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker, two of Britain's most experienced himalayan mountaineers, disappeared on the North-East Ridge of Everest in 1982. By that time, however, they had achieved remarkable things in the mountains, and written some remarkable books. Contents: Savage Arena (Tasker, 1982), The Shining Mountain (Boardman. 1978), Sacred Summits (Boardman), and, Everest the Cruel Way (Tasker). Hardback, 880 pages.

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Austrian, Kurt Diemberger is perhaps best described as the grand old man of himalayan mountaineering. He is the only climber alive to have made the first ascents of two of the fourteen 8000m peaks, and survived the tragic events on K2 in 1986 when his climbing partner Jule Tullis died. Contents: Summits and Secrets (1971), The Endless Knot (1991), and, Spirits of the Air (1994). Hardback, 864 pages.

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Lionel Terray's life story of historic first ascents in the Alps, Alaska, Andes, Patagonia and Himalays is one of mountaineering literature's acknowledged classics - it certainly has the best title! Card cover, 370 pages.

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Hermann Buhl's account of his momentous ascent of Nanga Parbat in 1953, achieved by a long and committing summit push, is preceded by many chapters devoted to his significant climbs in the alps. The book that inspired a generation of himalayan mountaineers. Card cover, 353 pages.

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Sorry - out of print. 

Sir Edmund Hillary's account of how he made the first ascent of Mount Everest, first published in 1955, is a gripping Boys Own Paper type yarn by a very self-effacing hero. Paperback, 246p.

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Classic tale of derring-do on the North Face of the Eiger. By Heinrich Harrer (who was one of the first ascent team). Paperback, 315 pages.

Out of print but will be re-printed in the next few months.

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Heinrich Harrer's incredible tale of his escape from internment in war time India, flight into Tibet and years spent as tutor to the Dalai Lama. Paperback, 315 pages with 20 extra pages of biographical detail.

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Reprint. Joe Simpson's epic to beat all epics - totally gripping. Paperback, 207pages.

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Reprint. Joe Simpson's sequel/prequel to Touching the Void and just as well written. Paperback, 330 pages.

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Reprint of Alastair Borthwick's classic tales of climbing in Scotland in the 1930s.

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Reprint. Also includes "Undiscovered Scotland". Two classic works on Scottish Mountaineering by Bill Murray. Paperback, 470 pages.

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A perfect counter balance to Borthwick, this classic tale of bothys, howffs, dosses and their denizens, brings the post-war world of impecunious mountaineers, walkers and other reprobates to life. By Dave Brown & Ian Mitchell. Paperback with line drawings, 176 pages.

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Sorry out of print. Due for a reprint 2008. 

Sequel to Mountain Days & Bothy Nights. Slightly more leftwing politics, but still very enjoyable. By Dave Brown & Ian Mitchell. Paperback with line drawings, 185 pages.

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Tom Patey's classic collection of humourous tales of climbing in Scotland and elsewhere. First published in 1971, just after his death. Includes many first ascent accounts (Cuillin Ridge in winter, Zero Gully etc) plus timeless skits such as"The Art of Climbing Down Gracefully". If you only ever buy one climbing book, make sure this is it. Paperback, 287 pages.

Sorry, out of print - reprint 2008 possibly. 

Joe Brown's autobiography, first published in 1967, is the classic tale of a working class climber making his mark on a world which was then largely inhabited by upper middle class university students and graduates. An essential insight into one of the greatest driving forces of British Mountaineering at a period that is now recognised as a pivotal turning point. Paperback, 256 pages.

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Sorry - out of print. 

Actually a combination of The Ridiculous Mountains & Nothing So Simple as Climbing, the two hilarious collections of GJF Dutton essays concerning the mountaineering doings of the Doctor, the Apprentice and the Narrator in the Scottish Highlands. Complete with a cast of eminently recognisable characters from Sodder the English Crag Rat to the Pitfoulie Mountain Rescue Team. Essential reading for anyone with a love of Scottish hills and a sense of humour. Paperback, 160 pages.

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Hilarious! WE Bowman's brilliant spoof account of the first ascent of Rum Doodle (4000½ feet), the highest mountain in the world. The leader, Binder, is an inspired creation, while Pong the cook will be instantly familiar to anyone who has ever trekked or climbed in the Himalayas. Paperback, 171 pages.

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NB: For more information on Rum Doodle and WE Bowman, visit rumdoodle.org.


 

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2006 reprint. A selection of 100 classic mountaineering articles edited by Ken Wilson. Includes such brilliant pieces as Robin Smith's "The Bat and the Wicked" and Mike Thompson's "Out with the Boys Again". Paperback, 558 pages.

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Reprint. A further selection of 100 classic mountaineering articles edited by Jim Perrin. Paperback, 688 pages.

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