Five Big Mountains


Book Description

What does it take for a regular guy to climb some of the highest mountains in the world? Five Big Mountains takes you there, instantly placing the reader and the author on a steep glacier on Pico de Orizaba with equipment trouble and the tough decision any high altitude climber inevitably faces-should he turn back or keep going to the summit? The central theme of the book is that with proper preparation, careful planning, persistent training, and the best guides, even an amateur with little mountaineering experience can climb and reach the summits of some of the most famous mountains in the world, though there are risks involved that need to be minimized. Written in the first person, Five Big Mountains takes the reader into the mind of a regular guy trying to reach the summit of four of the famous Seven Summits, as well as his first high-altitude climb of a steep, glaciated Mexican volcano. The book tells what climbing is really like, the struggles and the triumphs, the emotions and the dangers, moment by moment. The reader is taken to Russia, Africa, Antarctica, South America, and Mexico. Along the way, the reader is able to travel with and discover the local flavor of each exotic or not so exotic venue. Color photos help the reader to visualize the glorious majesty of the peaks, but the narrative provides the nitty-gritty of the author's daily challenges on the mountains.




Five Big Mountains


Book Description

What does it take for a regular guy to climb some of the highest mountains in the world? Five Big Mountains takes you there, instantly placing the reader and the author on a steep glacier on Pico de Orizaba with equipment trouble and the tough decision any high altitude climber inevitably faces-should he turn back or keep going to the summit? The central theme of the book is that with proper preparation, careful planning, persistent training, and the best guides, even an amateur with little mountaineering experience can climb and reach the summits of some of the most famous mountains in the world, though there are risks involved that need to be minimized. Written in the first person, Five Big Mountains takes the reader into the mind of a regular guy trying to reach the summit of four of the famous Seven Summits, as well as his first high-altitude climb of a steep, glaciated Mexican volcano. The book tells what climbing is really like, the struggles and the triumphs, the emotions and the dangers, moment by moment. The reader travels to Russia, Africa, Antarctica, South America, and Mexico, and along the way discovers the local flavor of each exotic or not so exotic venue. The narrative provides the nitty-gritty of the author's daily challenges on the mountains.




High Asia


Book Description




Seven Summits


Book Description

Tour the globe and witness spectacular feats of human determination, endurance, and strength. Travel with dedicated mountaineers as they climb the "Seven Summits"—the highest peak of each of the seven continents. Stunning full-color photographs capture the breathtaking scenery and courageous athleticism of the climbers. Essays and diaries of mountaineers, along with striking photos, capture these harrowing adventures and take readers to each of the Seven Summits: McKinley (North America), Aconcagua (South America), Vinson (Antarctica), Kilmanjaro (Africa), Elbrus (Europe), Kosciuszko (Australia), and Everest (Asia).




World Mountaineering


Book Description




Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains


Book Description

Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains: An Environmental History of the Highest Peaks in Eastern America




No Shortcuts to the Top


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This gripping and triumphant memoir from the author of The Mountain follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time. “From the drama of the peaks, to the struggle of making a living as a professional climber, to the basic how-tos of life at 26,000 feet, No Shortcuts to the Top is fascinating reading.”—Aron Ralston, author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place and subject of the film 127 Hours For eighteen years Ed Viesturs pursued climbing’s holy grail: to stand atop the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go. A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto, “Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. In addition to the raw excitement of Viesturs’s odyssey, No Shortcuts to the Top is leavened with many funny moments revealing the camaraderie between climbers. It is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and his beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.




Climbing the Seven Summits


Book Description

CLICK HERE to download the first 50 pages from Climbing the Seven Summits * First and only guidebook to climbing all Seven Summits * Full color with 125 photographs and 24 maps including a map for each summit route * Essential information on primary climbing routes and travel logistics for mountaineers, with historical and cultural anecdotes for armchair readers Aconcagua. Denali. Elbrus. Everest. Kilimanjaro. Kosciuszko. Vinson. To a climber, these mountains are known as the Seven Summits* -- the highest peaks on each continent. If you've ever dreamed of climbing Denali or Everest, or joining the even more exclusive "Seven Summiters " club, then Climbing the Seven Summits is the guidebook you need to turn your dream into reality. With Mike Hamill as your guide, you will discover different approaches to tackling the list, as well as details on what you'll need to plan an expedition and what to expect from each climb. For each mountain you'll learn about documents and immunizations, expedition costs, training, guiding options, climbing styles, best seasons, essential gear, day-by-day itineraries, summit routes, maps showing approaches and camps, regional natural history, cultural notes, and even post-climb activities like going on safari in Africa or wine-touring in South America. Throughout you'll also find helpful and inspiring stories from the likes of Conrad Anker, Vern Tejas, Damien Gildea, Eric Simonson, and other famed climbers. Special insider tips from Hamill, based on his years of experience, as well as full-color photographs of each peak round out this collectible guidebook. And, because there remains some controversy about whether Kosciuszko in Australia or Carstenz Pyramid on the island of New Guinea is the "seventh summit," this guidebook to the Seven Summits actually covers eight mountains! *Within mountaineering circles there is debate over which peaks are considered the official Seven Summits. For the purposes of this guidebook, the Seven Summits are based on the continental model used in Western Europe, the United States, and Australia, also referred to as the 'Bass list.'




Texas Mountains


Book Description

A collection of photographs by Laurence Parent which profile the beauty of the Texas mountains.




Al-Rabghūzī, The Stories of the Prophets (2 vols.)


Book Description

A first edition of The Stories of the Prophets, written in Khwarezmian Turkish by the judge (qāḍī) Rabghūzī and completed in 1311, was published in 1995 by a group of authors. For the second edition H.E. Boeschoten and J. O’Kane have thoroughly revised both the text edition and the translation volume on the basis of additional manuscripts and reviews of the first edition. The Stories of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā’) is a traditional genre in Islamic literature. Such a work contains the res gestae of the biblical prophets and stories about other personalities and peoples up to the birth of the Prophet Muḥammed. Exceptionally, Rabghūzī’s Stories also contains a sizable account of the life of Muḥammed and his family. The work is a fundamental source both for Turkic linguistics and for Islamic Studies.