The Best Mountaineering Books: 27 Great Books

The Best Mountaineering Books: 27 Great Books

Updated for 2021, we list the best mountaineering books ever written, drawing on accounts from world-class climbers in the harshest environments

As I've mentioned many times, my bookshelves are filled with stories of adventure travel, survival against the odds, and obsessive questing.

I'm an avid climber interested in winter mountaineering and wild camping, so naturally mountaineering books take up a large portion of my shelf.

It would be easy to fill a list like this with tales of Everest and K2 alone. With this in mind, I have attempted to include a wider range of reports from a variety of mountains spanning a century of alpinism and mountaineering.

The best mountaineering books

Using my personal favorites as well as Amazon bestseller lists and Goodreads most popular books, I have selected a number of the best mountaineering books ever written.

1. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

by Jon Krakauer | Buy on Amazon

Krakauer's controversial account of a 24-hour period on Everest that began with a storm and ended with the highest single-season death toll in the summit's history. Despite some inconsistencies in the narrative, the book remains an excellent and entertaining read.

Slepitssskaya/ShutterstockEverest appears several times on our list of the best mountaineering books

2. Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident

by Donnie Eicher | Buy on Amazon

In February 1959, a group of nine experienced hikers in Russia's Ural Mountains died mysteriously on a rise known as the Mountain of Death. This is her story.

3. Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival

by Joe Simpson | Buy on Amazon

This classic is undeniably one of the best mountaineering books ever written. Joe Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck.

4. Beyond Possible: The Man and Mindset That Climbed K2 in Winter

by Nimsdai Purja | Buy on Amazon

Nimsdai lit up the mountaineering world when he broke the record for the fastest ascent of any 8000-meter peak and followed it with the first winter ascent of K2. This book reveals the man behind the climbs - how his early life in Nepal and the UK Special Forces shaped him into the person who "goes beyond the possible".

alt="Nirmal Purja recently wrote one of the best mountaineering books">Nimdai PurjaNimsdai Purja has broken several mountaineering records

5. The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest

by Anatoli Boukreev | Buy on Amazon

In May 1996, several expeditions attempted to climb Everest. Tight conditions slowed their progress and late in the day 23 men and women, including the expedition leaders, were caught in a fierce snowstorm. Although a less exciting read than Krakauer's Into Thin Air, The Climb offers a more accurate account of the 1996 tragedy.

6. No shortcuts to the summit: climb the 14 highest peaks in the world

by Ed Viesturs, David Roberts | Buy on Amazon

This riveting and triumphant memoir follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he assaults history, one eight-thousander at a time.

7. Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest

by Wade Davis | Buy on Amazon

While the search for Everest may have begun as a grand imperial gesture, it ended as a mission of revitalization for a country and a lost generation bled dry by war. In a monumental work of history and adventure, Davis asks why Mallory continued climbing that fateful day.

Encyclopædia BritannicaMembers of the 1921 Everest Expedition (Mallory seated at far left)

8. Eiger dreams

by Jon Krakauer | Buy on Amazon

In this collection of his best work, Jon Krakauer explores mountaineering from the memorable perspective of someone who has battled K2, Denali, Everest and, of course, the Eiger.

9. The Girl Who Climbed Everest: Lessons Learned Facing the World's Toughest Mountains

by Bonita Norris | Buy on Amazon

Once an anxious teenager with an eating disorder, it was climbing that inspired Bonita Norris to change her life. Bonita draws on her experiences to capture the highs and lows of her incredible achievements and also shares the lessons learned, encouraging readers to gain more confidence.

10. Buried in Heaven: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day

by Peter Zuckerman | Buy on Amazon

When 11 climbers died on K2 in 2008, two Sherpas survived. Based on unprecedented access and interviews, Buried in the Sky reveals her amazing story for the first time.

Atlas & BootsK2, the “Wild Mountain”, also regularly takes part

11. No Way Down: Life and Death on K2

by Graham Bowley | Buy on Amazon

Thirty mountaineers venture to the summit of the wildest mountain on earth. You can do it. But before they begin their descent, an ice shelf collapses, taking their ropes with it. It's dark. Your lines are gone. They are low in oxygen. And it will be very, very cold.

12. The Ledge: An adventure story of friendship and survival on Mount Rainier

by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughan | Buy on Amazon

In June 1992, best friends Jim and Mike stood triumphant on Mount Rainier in Washington. Their conquest ended in disaster when a cave-in plunged them deep into a crevasse.

13. The White Spider

by Heinrich Harrer | Buy on Amazon

A classic of mountaineering literature, this is the story of the harrowing first ascent of the Eiger north face, the most legendary and terrifying climb in history.

alt="best-hiking-country-switzerland-eiger">DreamtimeThe Eiger in Switzerland has one of the great north faces of the Alps

15. Ascension

by Sir Chris Bonington | Buy on Amazon

The legend that is Sir Chris Bonington chronicles his many triumphs in the climbing world. Expect stories about his daring first ascents, extraordinary climbs and dramatic near-death adventures.

16. The mountains of my life

by Walter Bonatti | Buy on Amazon

A collection of Walter Bonatti's best mountaineering books, detailing his exploits on numerous expeditions as well as the true story behind the controversy over the events on K2 that changed his life.

17. The Tower: A Chronicle of Climbing and Controversy on Cerro Torre

by Kelly Cordes | Buy on Amazon

Since Cesare Maestri claimed the first ascent in 1959, there has been controversy surrounding this ice-covered peak. Since then, a debate has raged as world-class climbers tried to retrace his route but were met only with contradictions.

Sebastien Burel/ShutterstockCerro Torre has caused famous controversy

18. Pilgrimage to Nanga Parbat: The great mountaineering classic

by Hermann Bühl | Buy on Amazon

In 1953, Buhl made the first ascent of Nanga Parbat, the third eight-thousander to be climbed after Annapurna and Everest. Continuing alone and without supplemental oxygen, Buhl stormed to the summit after his partners turned around.

19. Everest the hard way

by Chris Bonington | Buy on Amazon

Everest the Hard Way is the exciting account of a classic battle of man against nature, a thrilling story of courage, endurance and teamwork.

20. Denali’s Howl: The deadliest climbing disaster on America’s Wildest Peak

by Andy Hall | Buy on Amazon

In 1967, 12 young men attempted to climb Alaska's fearsome Denali - known to locals as "The High One." Only five survived. This is her story.

Steve Allen/ShutterstockDenali is the highest peak in North America

20. K2: Life and death on the most dangerous mountain in the world

by Ed Viesturs, David Roberts | Buy on Amazon

A thrilling chronicle of the tragic story of climbing the most difficult and unpredictable mountain in the world.

21. No Picnic on Mount Kenya: A Daring Escape, a Dangerous Climb

by Felice Benuzzi | Buy on Amazon

In 1943, Felice Benuzzi and two Italian compatriots escaped from a British prisoner of war camp in equatorial East Africa with only one goal in mind: to climb the dangerous 17,000-foot Mount Kenya.

22. The Crystal Horizon: Everest – The first solo ascent

by Reinhold Messner | Buy on Amazon

On August 20, 1980, Reinhold Messner reached the summit of Everest - alone and without oxygen. This is an account of his extraordinary achievement.

TonelloPhotography/ShutterstockMountaineering legend Reinhold Messner

23. Blind Descent: Surviving alone and blind on Mount Everest

by Brian Dickinson | Buy on Amazon

All alone at 29,035 feet, low on oxygen and plagued by snow blindness, Brian Dickinson was forced to inch his way down Everest, relying on his survival training, instincts and faith.

24. Annapurna: First conquest of an eight-thousander

by Maurice Herzog | Buy on Amazon

In 1950, when no mountain over 8,000 m had ever been climbed, Herzog led an expedition to the summit of Annapurna. His book is considered a classic of mountaineering literature and one of the best mountaineering books ever written.

25. According to Atticus: Forty-eight high peaks, a small dog and an extraordinary friendship

by Tom Ryan | Buy on Amazon

After a close friend died of cancer, Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in the most unorthodox way. Ryan and his friend, Atticus the miniature schnauzer, attempted to climb all 48 of New Hampshire's 4,000-meter peaks twice in one winter.

Tom RyanAdventurers come in all shapes and sizes

26. Ghosts of K2: The race to the top of the deadliest mountain in the world

by Mick Conefrey | Buy on Amazon

This is my favorite book about K2 and one that I read on the way to K2 Base Camp. Mick Conefrey skillfully captures how many great mountaineers are obsessed with reaching the summit of the world's second highest mountain. From drug-addicted occultist Aleister Crowley to the Italian duo who finally made it to the summit, Conefrey explores the characters forever embedded in K2's legacy.

27. Touching My Father's Soul: A Sherpa's Sacred Journey to the Summit of Everest

by Jamling Tenzing Norgay & Broughton Coburn | Buy on Amazon

Touching My Father's Soul follows Tenzing's son Jamling Norgay's climb to the world's highest peak during the infamous Everest disaster of 1996. Norgay's physical journey to where his father once stood unfolds alongside an inner journey to understand his family's Sherpa history and the importance of the Himalayas.

Reader suggestions

Here's what our readers added to our list of the best mountaineering books ever written.

• Everest 1953: Die epische Geschichte der Erstbesteigung von Mick Conefrey
• Der letzte große Berg: Die Erstbesteigung des Kangchenjunga von Mick Conefrey
• Der Bund von Simon McCartney
• Ein Tag als Tiger von John Porter
• Summit 8000 von Andrew Lock
• Tartarin in den Alpen von Alphonse Daudet
• Leben und Glied von Jamie Andrew
• Der leuchtende Berg von Peter Boardman
• Wo der Berg seinen Schatten wirft von Maria Coffey
• Meine vertikale Welt von Jerzy Kukuczka
• Aufenthaltsort des Schnees von Kenneth Mason
• Der dritte Pol von Mark Synnott
• Der nächste Everest von Jim Davidson
• Dark Summit von Nick Heil

Mission statement: Vixit/Shutterstock

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