Climbing in North America [Paperback]

Chris Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

Climbing in North America is the definitive, complete history of mountaineering in the United States and Canada, from the earliest days of the sport through the 1970s. In this climbing tribute, Chris Jones celebrates the climbers and their routes, peaks, and adventures, bringing them to life through anecdotes and historic black and white photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Climbing in North America takes a historical look at the fascinating, dangerous world of mountaineering in the U.S. and Canada. Expatriate English climber Chris Jones offers a unique perspective, capturing the intensity and wealth of personality in the men and women who have the gritty determination to go to the top. He introduces North American climbing pioneers such as Zebulon Pike and Royal Robbins, who helped to establish a completely new style of climbing, as well as the noteworthy athletes and thrill seekers who would come after. Each climbing legend is presented with a fresh voice and a true eye for the sport's detail. This 1997 reprint edition also includes classic black-and-white photos of the sport's summit chasers. --Lance Judd

Product Details

• Paperback: 365 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089886481X
• ISBN-13: 978-0898864816
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,822,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mis-titled, February 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Climbing in North America (Paperback)

First published in 1975, this book really should be titled `Mountaineering in Western North American.' The book does cover technical climbing, but it seems to be mainly concerned with how it affected mountaineering. The East coast is almost completely ignored. It mentions Seneca Rocks in passing, has a short chapter on the Vulgarians and mostly covers the Eastern climbers only when they visited the West. It neglects climbing in New Hampshire which is odd considering the state's role in ice climbing advances, that is central to mountaineering. In light of the large geographic area that Jones tries to cover, there is not a great deal of material. The time period he covers is from about 1900's to 1970. The topics he chooses to include seem a little random at times. He has great chapters on John Salathé, Yosemite and Tahquitz climbing that complements well with Roper's `Camp 4.' These chapters in themselves make the book worth it. Overall, a good read for people interested in mountaineering and climbing in the West. If you're interested in a history of East coast climbing, read `Yankee Rock and Ice.' It's the best climbing history I have ever read and I've read a lot of them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High recommended if you are interested in climbing history., April 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Climbing in North America (Paperback)

This book is hard to put down. Although I am more interested in rock climbing and skipped a few chapters initially, this covers both mountaineering and rock climbing, east and west, very well. While Steve Roper's "Camp 4: Reflections of a Yosemite Rockclimber" might be THE single best history of that center of development, Jones' chapters such as "Hard Rock, Hard Steel," "El Capitan," and "The Granite Crucible" are worth the price alone. A must for the serious collector