Rock Climbing
Overview of our climbing and mountaineering collections
Biographies and Memoirs
Here are some featured biographies and memoirs by climbers and mountaineers. You can find other climbing-related books in the Libraries catalog.
Alone on the Wall by Call Number: GV199.92.H67 A3 2018 (1st and 2nd editions available)
Beyond the Element by Call Number: GV199.92.S54 A3 2013
Brotherhood of the Rope: The biography of Charles Houston by
It was a failed summit attempt and a failed rescue in the Himalaya that brought Charles Houston, M.D., fame and adulation in the mountaineering world. His leadership of the K2 expedition of 1953 is still celebrated as the embodiment of all that is right and good in the mountains. In Brotherhood of the Rope, Bernadette McDonald traces the development of an American hero. Houston is a mountaineer whose groundbreaking medical experiments on altitude and the human body helped calibrate the nation's WWII air-assault strategy and shorten the war. This is the man personally recruited by Sergeant Shriver to lead the first Peace Corps programs in India; the friend whom Bill Moyers credits with saving his life; the physician who built some of the first artificial-heart prototypes in his garage. Today, at age 93, Houston is still a leading authority in high-altitude medicine, and serves as a mentor for troubled teens.
Call Number: GV199.92.H85 M33 2007
Climbing Free: My Life in the Vertical World by Call Number: GV199.92.H52 A3 2003
Climb the Mountains by Call Number: F750.22.H36 A3 2016
Facing the Extreme: One Woman's Story of True Courage Death-Defying Survival, and Her Quest for the Summit by Call Number: GV199.42.A42 M3245 1998
Forget Me Not: A Memoir by Call Number: GV199.92.L67 L69 2008
The Hill: A True Story of Tragedy, Recovery and Redemption on North America's Highest Peak by Call Number: GV199.92.H66 A3 2001
Jerry Moffatt: Revelations by Call Number: GV199.92.M64 A3 2010
The Last of His Kind: The life and adventures of Bradford Washburn, America's boldest mountaineer by Call Number: GV199.92.W35 R43 2009
Learning to Fly: A Memoir of Hanging On and Letting Go by Call Number: GV199.92.D38 A3 2015
Master of Rock: The biography of John GillCall Number: GV199.92.G54 A75
The Mountain: My Time on Everest by Call Number: GV199.42.V54 A3 2013
Mountains of My Heart by Call Number: GV199.92.M47 K3513 2014
On the Nose: A Lifelong Obsession with Yosemite's Most Iconic Climb by Call Number: GV199.42.C22 Y67187 2016
Psychovertical by Call Number: GV200 .K57 2012
The Push: A climber's journey of endurance, risk, and going beyond limits by Call Number: GV199.92.C243 A3 2017
Rock Queen by Call Number: GV199.92.D47 A3 2015
Sixty Meters to Anywhere by Call Number: GV199.92.L46 A3 2016
Statement: The Ben Moon story by Call Number: GV199.92.M665 D684 2015
Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas of Everest by Call Number: GV199.44.E85 T46 2001
To Be Brave by Call Number: GV199.92.R62 A3 2009
Ueli Steck by Call Number: GV199.92.S73 S74 2018
Valley Walls: A memoir of climbing & living in Yosemite by Call Number: GV199.92.D46 A3 2016
Women Who Dare: North America's Most Inspiring Women Climbers by Call Number: GV199.9 .N626 2013
Yvon Chouinard: A life at the edge by Call Number: GV697.Y86 S77 2017
私とクライミング : 野口啓代自伝 Watakushi to kuraimingu : Noguchi Akiyo jiden by Call Number: GV200.2 .N648 2021Publication Date: 2021
Ascent Archive Podcast of Oral Histories with Rock Climbers and Mountaineers
Listen to rock climbers' oral histories from our collections on the Ascent Archive Podcast!
Who can borrow?
Even if you're not a University of Utah student, staff, faculty, emeriti, or retiree, you may be able to borrow materials from the Marriott Library!
As of November 2023, the following people can apply for a free permit:
- State of Utah residents 18 years and older with current government-issued Photo ID
- Faculty, staff and students of UALC, GWLA, or PAC-12 member institutions with proof of current affiliation
- University of Utah Alumni
- Utah International Baccalaureate (IB) high school students with a letter of introduction from an IB program Coordinator.
- Spouses and domestic partners of current University of Utah faculty or staff members.
- Continuing Education / Lifelong Learning students
Please note that some materials are limited to UofU students and employees. This website provides more detailed information about borrowing.
Suggest a Purchase
Is there a book or resource you think the library needs to purchase and include in our collection? You can request a purchase for any book! Fill out this form. You will be contacted when it arrives via email.
