Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer: This is a relatively recent book on a fatal Mt Everest expedition. Certainly a great read with a very gripping story.
Minus 148, by Art Davidson. This book is about a small expedition that set out to be the first to Summit Mt Mckinley (Denali) in the winter. These guys were nuts!! The bottom of the windchill chart they were familiar with was minus 148 degrees F. They knew it had to be that or worse with the -40 degree 100 MPH winds they felt! I thourougly enjoyed this book.
Addicted to Danger, by Jim Wickwire. I stumbled across this book in a thrift store. It's even an autographed copy! I picked it up before a flight to California and I couldn't put it down until I was back in Seattle! This a memoir of Jim Wickwire who is a retired Seattle Attorney and Mountaineer. Jim has climbed with many of the famous American mountaineers like the Whittakers. Jim will take you on a whole bunch of his life's adventures in the mountains as he flirted in the face death. Your emotions will be touched as he describes tragic events where his fellow climbers died beside him. The title is a true depiction of Jim Wickwire.
Annapurna, by Maurice Herzog. This an older book about the first French expedition to summit Annapurna in the Himalayas. The book was originally written in French and was translated into English. The book starts off a little slow and I struggled to get engaged at first. I kept reading it since I knew it was a classic mountaineering book (Jim Wickwire mentions it as a book he read in his youth that inspired him to climb). The slow start of the book actually reflects the actual adventure of Annapurna. It is a very long approach to get to Annapurna and much of the book details the trip leading up to the base of the mountain. The book gets a little gruesome at the end as the climbers extremities are amputated by the expedition Dr Oudot...
Freedom of the Hills, by the Mountaineers. This is the book that every camper, climber, mountaineer, etc needs to read. This is essentially a mountaineering textbook covering everything you need to know from crevasse rescue down to how many calories you need to consume from carbs, fats, proteins...
In all the adventure books I've read so far, I end up climbing up these mountains in my imagination just as you would do with whatever book you're reading. I think there is a lot of value in preparing mentally for the climb. Police and Military training focus heavily on mental preparation. Think up the situations that you may face and imagine how you would overcome the situation and what gear would you need to survive. Frequently up in the mountains we need to be able to improvise when things are not going well. Here's are some simple examples and some things I should have done...
It was fast approaching dark so I hastily pitched my tent on some lousy uneven ground. All night I was sliding off my sleeping pad and I hardly slept. Next to me was all my gear. Why didn't I just stuff my gear under one side of the sleeping pad to make me level or provide a barrier? One time I woke up to a frozen tent (about 5 degrees) and my boots were frozen stiff. Why didn't I put them in the bottom of my sleeping bag? Trust me, that mistake won't happen again. I still remember the frozen toes thawing out in the bathtub. Or, what if I dropped my gloves up high on the mountain and they slide off a cliff? Will my hands freeze? How about pulling out a pair of socks to put over my hands? In distress and high altitude, the mental capacity shrinks, so one needs to have some background knowledge to lean on. Hopefully as I read these novels, I can learn from the other climbers and tuck away this info for a timely need up on the slopes. Thankfully, I serve a God who will make the difference for me when I fail to be prepared.
I read the first three books on your list and I can definitely agree that they are worth reading!
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