Sure thing! Here’s a more conversational take on books and a documentary that really capture the excitement of climbing mountains:
Mountaineering has become incredibly popular these days. What used to be a sport for only the bravest adventurers is now the extreme activity everyone wants to try. Take Mount Everest, for example. After Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the summit in 1953, only about 12 people a year managed to climb it over the next 40 years. But in 2023, over 1,200 people attempted the climb, with 655 making it to the top and 18 losing their lives in the process. Climbing Everest has become a big business: for anywhere from $35,000 to $110,000, guides will take people to the top. Despite this commercialization, the adventure and romance of mountaineering still shine through. Here are five books and a documentary that let you experience the thrill of climbing without the risks.
**”Killing Dragons” by Fergus Fleming**
This book dives into the early days of mountaineering in Europe, focusing on British adventurers. While Britain’s highest peak, Ben Nevis, is only 1,345 meters high—much lower than the Alps’ Mont Blanc at 4,805 meters—the British played a huge role in conquering Alpine peaks. The Alpine Club, the world’s first mountaineering club, was established in London in 1857. Edward Whymper, who was the first to climb the Matterhorn (4,478 meters), sparked the trend of Alpine tourism. Fergus Fleming tells the stories of these early explorers, who were often eccentric or notable, and captures the allure of these previously unclimbed peaks. Their achievements paved the way for British climbers to tackle even higher mountains in Asia in the 20th century.
**”Eiger Dreams” by Jon Krakauer**
This book, published in 1990, is a collection of essays and articles by Jon Krakauer, known for his gripping accounts of climbing disasters. In “Eiger Dreams,” Krakauer dives into the world of mountaineering, exploring the thoughts and experiences of climbers as they tackle some of the world’s toughest peaks. The book features a dozen essays that originally appeared in magazines, each telling a unique adventure. The stories cover climbs on famous mountains like Denali, K2, and the Eiger. Krakauer provides vivid, straightforward accounts of these climbs without getting bogged down in technical details. One of the standout stories describes Krakauer’s own solo climb of Devils Thumb in Alaska, where he faced a sheer 3,700-foot drop, balancing precariously on a mountain that felt like “a house of cards.”
**”Time on Rock” by Anna Fleming**
In “Time on Rock,” Anna Fleming, an academic and journalist, shares her journey from a nervous teenage climber to a confident lead climber. The book, set mainly in the British Isles with a chapter on Greece, explores what it’s like to be a woman in a male-dominated sport. Fleming delves into the nature of the rocks she climbs, describing one as “a good stone” for lunch breaks. She reflects on how the true joy of climbing lies in the journey across the rocks rather than just reaching the summit.
**”No Picnic on Mount Kenya” by Felice Benuzzi**
Felice Benuzzi, an Italian soldier in World War II, wrote this engaging account of how he and two fellow prisoners escaped from an internment camp to climb Mount Kenya. Using improvised gear, like spikes from rusted fences, they reached the lower peak and then surprisingly made it back to the camp. The book, which first came out in Italian in 1947 and in English in 1952, is known for its dry humor and has become a classic in the climbing community.
**”Into the Silence” by Wade Davis**
Wade Davis’s “Into the Silence” provides an in-depth look at George Mallory’s tragic attempt to climb Mount Everest in the 1920s. This detailed book explores life after World War I, following Mallory’s expedition from the Royal Geographical Society in London to the Himalayas. Davis’s extensive research paints a vivid picture of the era and the ambitious quest.
**”Free Solo” (2018)**
This Oscar-winning documentary follows climber Alex Honnold as he attempts to scale El Capitan in Yosemite without any ropes or safety gear. The film is intense and sometimes nerve-wracking, capturing Honnold’s breathtaking ascent up the 914-meter rock face. If the high-stakes climbing scenes are too intense, you can also find a lighter video of Honnold reviewing famous climbing scenes from movies on YouTube.