Don_Serl Posted December 6, 2004 Share Posted December 6, 2004 how about the all time best book ever: the mountains of my life, Walter Bonatti!!!!! The Best by Far!! I nearly agree, but go back to the originals. find and read On the Heights (1961, English translation 1964) and The Great Days (1971, English translation 1974). more stories, simply told and extremely powerful, written by the great man in his prime. and less of the anguished ego than in Mountains of my Life. the "K2: The End of an Odyssey" section of the later book almost destroyed my climbing-career-long mental model of Bonatti as THE exemplar of mountaineering. let it GO, Walter, let it go! cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 The White Spider The Endless Knot by Kurt Diemberger Fifty Favorite Climbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fern Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 first climbing book I ever read was Banner In the Sky (James Ramsey Ullman) in grade 4. It may not be my favourite but this picture from the movie is funny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason_Martin Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 I'm suprised no one has mentioned: In the Shadow of Denali by John Waterman. Fantastic read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vwfanatic96 Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 Fall of the Phantom Lord, about Dan Osman is pretty good and Into the Wild (i know it doesn't have anything to do with climbing), by Jon Krakoeur is an awsome book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 Thank you for stopping lurking and making a first post vwfanatic. Always nice to hear new voices. That out of the way, I thought Fall of the Phantom Lord was one of the worst books I have ever tried to read. What a shit pile. If I wanted to read a book about Andrew Todhunter's masturbatory self centered narcissisism I would have had a different opinion. But honestly that book is 95% about Todhunter and 5% about Osman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 masturbatory self centered narcissisism If we're on that subject "Mountains of the Mind" Robert Mcfarland. A graduate thesis expanding into a book by adding a condscending narrative of how he's so much better than most climber's because he doesn't do hard climbs anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott_harpell Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 Mmmmm litterary onanism. Krakauer certainly falls into this category. Product of having a climber write a book. Self-centered bitches, the lot of ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmace Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 I forgot to mention, Hermann Buhl Nanga Parbat. The dude is so tough!! and his skiing partner, man those guys are my heroes. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Eiger Wall of Death Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeezix Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 What's the one the Alaska aerial photo guy wrote about his trip that was published recently or something. Anybody know what the hell I'm talking about? Because I don't. I bought it for my brother last xmas on the theory that he'd bring it to the beach and I'd read it, but it didn't work out that way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeezix Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Bradford Washburn. It's slooooowwwwly coming to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 The Storms of Silence, Joe Simpson. Great, like the rest of Joe's books. I especially like his description of women's gym fashions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 17, 2005 Share Posted February 17, 2005 Pushing the Limits, Chic Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj001f Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 If you are going to Nepal read HW Tilman : The Nepal Himalayas. It's in the Mountaineers compondium. Good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvilter Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 On the Ridge Between Life and Death : A Climbing Life Reexamined, by David Roberts. Not only does Roberts make one open his eyes to the risks inherent in climbing, he tells unbelievable stories of his expeditions in Alaska and Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 On the Ridge Between Life and Death : A Climbing Life Reexamined, by David Roberts. ...... Roberts make one open his eyes to the risks inherent in climbing.... The abstract of that idea alone is enough to put me to sleep. Who cares, that kind of stuff is for people whos idea of climbing is climbing out of bed in the morning. Like most of the books mentioned. Nobody mentions White Spider? Book I loved 30 years ago was " James Ramsey Ulman, "Banner in the Sky". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrogdortheBurninator Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 I liked white spider a lot. "The Climb up To Hell" (I think thats the title) was also pretty exciting. The Mordwand always makes for good reading IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figger_Eight Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 You guys stock that one at FF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erden Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyHarry Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 masturbatory self centered narcissisism When I saw that I thought you must have been referring to Kramer's Leavenworth guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figger_Eight Posted June 28, 2006 Share Posted June 28, 2006 You guys stock that one at FF? Actually, it's from my personal collection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvilter Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 I tend to agree that the title, alone, doesn't suggest that it's a compelling read. Be that as it may be, this guy put up first ascents in Alaska, which, at the time, were the hardest routes being put up. Roberts recounts his expeditions in incredible detail, and its absorbing reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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