mountaineering books

[nolanr]

"Conquistadors..." is probably my favorite. I've enjoyed everything I've read by David Roberts and Krakauer as well.

[mr._happy]

was in the bookstore tonight and noticed a new reprint of "the ascent of rum doodle" by w.e. bowman. i picked up an old copy at pilgrim's in kathmandu last april, and devoured it in about two days. have never seen a copy here in the states, until now. maybe the funniest book about climbing i've ever come across(not that there's many out there).

and no, i am not affiliated with w.e. bowman or the publisher of the book. i just think it's a great and funny read for anyone who mountain climbs. check it out, it's only like 5 or 6 bucks.

[Alpine_Tom]

quote:

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Originally posted by mr. happy:

what's the story on kropp?

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Well, I planned on really enjoying his book, since I'm a cyclist. But it's mostly about how everyone but him cheats -- he lists all these guys who didn't make it to the summit of climbs they claimed. And how no one appreciates him.

So he decided that he'd climb Everest the only way that was fair -- he'd bicycle down there, climb solo, and bicycle home. Anything else would be cheating, you see?Certainly I don't begrudge him his feat; I'll never be capable of doing it. (For one thing, I have a job, a family, and a mortgage.) But he no more "did it himself" than Edmund Hillary. After all, he took full advantage of modern climbing gear, acclimatization, knowledge of physiology, route information, weather information, and every other advantage of the modern climbing scene. For his actual summit climb he didn't use the fixed ropes thru the icefall, but for his acclimatization climbs he did.His book reminds me of the quote by, I think, Newton, "If I've seen further than other's it's because I was standing on the shoulders of giants." Kropp doesn't seem to think he's standing on anyone's shoulders.

It's all a question of degree, and you're certainly entitled to your own views of what's "fair means" and what's not, like Twight says, as long as you're honest about it. What I find offensive is that he takes his arbitrarily chosen personal values and uses them to judge every other climber.Plus, just so there's no question of how much more macho he is than you, he includes a tick list in the book, of all the peaks he's climbed.

The kicker is that he claims in the book to be the second person to summit K2 without supplimental oxygen. This is in the '90s, about 94 or so, I think. Hell, the Wickwire expedition in '78 had three people summit without supplimental oxygen. That's what I meant by being a liar.

[joekania]

Seems I've read the least mtneering books out of anyone who's posted, but Sam Lightner's "All Elevations Unknown" is a great recounting of his climb of a little-known spire stabbing the cloud cover in central Borneo, and everything he went through with sponsors, travel, egos, jungle hazards, no beta, etc. Also includes a heart pounding account of the Aussie operations in WWII to raise a native army to drive the Japanese from their primary oil source. Great read!

[imorris]

quote:

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Originally posted by Nelly:

The Breach Wall: Kilimanjaro & the Conquest of Self by Rob Taylor.

It's Touching the Void 15 years before Joe Simpson even though of climbing! A great read, better than "Void"

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I randomly gained a signed copy of "The Breach" from somewhere....had never heard of it and read it a long time ago before I was even into climbing much. Gripping, and at times, disgusting (when he makes it back below treeline). Thumbs up.