Rock Climbing
Overview of our climbing and mountaineering collections
North America
Below are some featured history books about climbing in North America. You can find other climbing-related books in the Libraries catalog.
American Rock: Region, rock, and culture in American climbing by Call Number: GV199.4 .M45 2001Explores the different types of rock found at a dozen major climbing destinations across the United States, and discusses how these physical environments have affected the history, style, ethics, and culture of the sport.
Climbing in North America by Call Number: GV199.4 .J66 1997Publication Date: 1976 and 1997 versions availableA history of mountaineering in the US and Canada from the earliest days of the sport through the 1970s, celebrating climbers and their peaks and routes.
Continental Divide: A history of American mountaineering by Call Number: GV199.4 .I77 2016In Continental Divide, Maurice Isserman tells the history of American mountaineering through four centuries of landmark climbs and first ascents. Isserman traces the evolving social, cultural, and political roles mountains played in shaping the country. A magnificent, deeply researched history, Continental Divide tells a story of adventure and aspiration in the high peaks that makes a vivid case for the importance of mountains to American national identity.
Desert Towers: Fat Cat Summits and Kitty Litter Rock, a Hundred Years of Adventures on the Sandstone Towers of the Colorado Plateau by Call Number: Oversize GV200.2 .B368 2010Desert Towers documents the history of climbers and their ascents of the wild and historic sandstone towers of the Colorado Plateau. The 350 pages of this book are lavishly illustrated with first-ascent photographs--many never seen in print before--and over two dozen contributed essays by the pioneering desert climbers of the last fifty years, many never previously seen in print. A must for any climber's coffee table.
Stone Crusade by Call Number: GV199.4 .S44 1999Publication Date: 1999-01-01Stone Crusade transcends the climbing guidebook genre. Blending history and commentary with information on all the major U.S. bouldering areas, John Sherman has created the definitive bouldering book. He shows how bouldering began, provides its masters, explains the ethics, and reveals why bouldering is the poetry of mountaineering. With an irreverent style, Sherman demonstrates his keen ear for wonderfully outrageous stories told by local climbers, as well as his photographic talent. An invaluable reference for aspiring climbers, stone gymnasts, or armchair mountaineers.
Ways to the Sky: A historical guide to North American mountaineering by Call Number: GV199.44.N67 S45 2004A new look at the history of mountaineering in North America combined with route descriptions for more than 40 historic climbing routes.
Wizards of Rock: A History of Free Climbing in America by Call Number: Special Collections GV200.25 .A64 2002This is the first and only definitive book about the free-climbing history of North America, written by Master of Rock Pat Ament. While other books have covered some of the material, there has never been as clear a chronology or as thorough, accurate, and well-researched a treatment. Ament leaves the critique and analysis to others and lets these remarkable events speak for themselves in a succinct, refreshing, and imitable style. This readable encyclopedia includes interviews, anecdotes, stories, and colorful quotes, along with funny and imaginiative writing. This is the book for newcomers to the sport as well as long-time aficionados. It will appeal to both die-hard climbers and to those who prefer adventuring in an armchair. A marvelous sense of suspense and adventure radiates from virtually every page.
Yosemite:
Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite rockclimber by Call Number: Special Collections GV199.42.C22 Y6763 1994Anecdotes chronicle the most significant climbs and most riveting controversies of the golden age of big-wall Yosemite climbing. Camp 4 looks at the most significant climbs, and the most riveting controversies of a legendary era. With more than 50 fascinating historical photographs, most never before published, Camp 4 is the definitive chronicle of the period.
El Capitan by Call Number: Special Collections GV199.42.C22 E423 2000An unforgettable faceall 3,000 granite feet of it. El Capitan towers above California's Yosemite Valley, a sheer rock wall, seemingly insurmountable, and by far the most coveted rock climb on earth. El Capitan traces the mountain's unique history and recounts the vertical adventures had.
Pilgrims of the Vertical: Yosemite rock climbers and nature at risk by Call Number: GV199.42.C22 Y67985 and eBookIn this surprising story of the premier rock-climbing venue in the United States, "Pilgrims of the Vertical" offers insight into the nature of wilderness adventure. From the founding era of mountain climbing in Victorian Europe to present-day climbing gyms, Pilgrims of the Vertical shows how ever-changing alignments of nature, technology, gender, sport, and consumer culture have shaped climbers relations to nature and to each other.
The Stone Masters: California Rock Climbers in the Seventies by Call Number: Oversize GV200.2 s76The Stonemasters: California Climbers in the Seventies is an award-winning book that documents the lives of a group of teens in the Southern California of the 70s, a loosely organized tribe known as the Stonemasters. Becoming a Stonemaster required an ascent of Valhalla in Idyllwild, California in those early years, but as the years progressed and both their strength and sense of adventure increased, the core Stonemasters' climbs and endurance feats extended to ever bigger mountains in Yosemite Valley, the Canadian Rockies, and on to other continents including a crossing of the North Pole.
Yosemite in the Sixties by Call Number: ebookThe sheer granite walls of Yosemite Valley galvanized a dedicated group of rock climbers in the 1960s, who saw the nearly holdless, glacier-polished faces as the purest form of challenge. During this era, the climbers of the sixties developed the techniques, tools, and philosophies that made Yosemite the most influential rock climbing arena in the world.
Worldwide
Below are some featured history books about climbing worldwide. You can find other climbing-related books in the Libraries catalog.
The 9th Grade: 150 Years of Free Climbing by Call Number: GV200.25 .C45 2015A review of the history of the sport of rock climbing with biographies of its pioneers.
Born to climb: from rock climbing pioneers to Olympic athletes by Call Number: eBook & GV200.2 .R49 2022In Born to Climb, anthropologist and climber Zofia Reych shares with us the fascinating cultural history of rock and competition climbing. Zofia offers a fresh perspective on some of the pivotal moments and outstanding individuals of the sport, from eighteenth-century exploratory forays on rock, via the rise of climbing legends such as Emilio Comici, Wolfgang Güllich and Lynn Hill, to the limelight of the Olympic arena for the stars of today – Janja Garnbret, Adam Ondra, Shauna Coxsey and more.
Vertical Margins: Mountaineering and the Landscapes of NeoImpressionish by Call Number: GV199.89 .E44 2001This engaging analysis of twentieth-century imperialism takes early mountaineering beyond the realm of recreation. Vertical Margins sets Halford Mackinder's 1899 climb of Mt. Kenya, Annie Smith Peck's 1908 ascent of Huascaran in Bolivia, and John Baptiste Noel's filming of the 1924 British attempt on Mt. Everest in the larger historical context of American and British foreign policy and neo-imperialism. -Reuben Ellis shows that mountain exploration fed the "New Imperialism"—the end of the era of European empire-building and the beginnings of American dominance in world affairs. With so many mountains at the margins of European and American territorial and economic domains, mountaineering often overlapped with the motivations of empire; the earth's mountains came to be regarded as frontiers open to the full range of political, economic, and personal concerns that drove geographical exploration.
The Young Savages by Call Number: Level 4: Special CollectionsThe Young Savages presents a highly revealing up close and personal look at the young rock stars of climbing, including portraits of Adam Ondra, Matilda Söderlund, Johanna Ernst, Alexander Megos, Brooke & Shawn Raboutou, Cameron & Jonathan Hörst, Ashima Shiraishi, Shauna Coxsey, Mélissa Le Neve and Domen Skofic. Packed with marvelous large-format photographs, this book tells the backstory of some of the world's top young adult and teenage climbers, known for pushing the limits and occasionally causing a stir with their incredible ascents. Over a two-year period, adventure photographer Claudia Ziegler accompanied some of these youngsters to document not just how they climb, but who they are and how they live off the rock.
Europe
Below is a featured history books about climbing in Europe. You can find other climbing-related books in the Libraries catalog.
Alpine Exposures by Call Number: GV200. G75 2014In Alpine Exposures, mountain sports photographer Jon Griffith presents over ten years of breathtaking photography in the Western Alps.
Himalaya
Below are some featured history books about climbing in the Himalayas. You can find other climbing-related books in the Libraries catalog.
The Will to Climb: obsession and commitment and the quest to climb Annapurna--the world's deadliest peak by Call Number: GV199.44.N46 V54 2011Viesturs chronicles his three attempts to climb the world's tenth-highest and statistically deadliest peak, Annapurna in the Himalaya, while exploring the dramatic and tragic history of others who have made - or attempted - the ascent, and what these exploits teach us about facing life's greatest challenges.
Himalaya: The Exploration and Conquest of the Greatest Mountains on Earth by Call Number: GV199.44.H55 H56 201The Himalayas are home to the 14 greatest mountains on the planet--each towering over 26,246 feet. In breathtaking images and panoramic mountain maps, Himalaya marks the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's landmark ascent of Everest, as well as the 50th anniversary of the first successful American expedition. It examines the region's geographical origins, peoples, and discovery by the West, along with heroic pioneering ascents--including K2, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse--and new frontiers, routes, and mountaineering techniques.
Fallen Giants: A history of Himalayan mountaineering from the age of empire to the age of extremes by Call Number: GV199.44.H55 I87 2008In this lively and generously illustrated book, historians Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver present the first comprehensive history of Himalayan mountaineering in fifty years. They offer detailed, original accounts of the most significant climbs since the 1890s, and they compellingly evoke the social and cultural worlds that gave rise to those expeditions. Throughout, the authors discuss the effects of political and social change on the world of mountaineering, and they offer a penetrating analysis of a culture that once emphasized teamwork and fellowship among climbers, but now has been eclipsed by a scramble for individual fame and glory.
Everest: The Mountaineering History by Call Number: GV199.44.E85 U57 2000Everest: The Mountaineering History is more than a catalog of daring events by brave men. It seeks to explain why success or failure came about. It shows how mountaineers have overcome storms and high altitude as well as the human condition. For even in an era when big money, commercial guiding, and changing attitudes have had a profound effect on events, there have also been grand displays of the highest principles of mountain tradition. With extensive appendices, radically revised and updated, this is a book no lover of mountain adventure can be without.
The Conquest of Everest: Original Photographs From the Legendary First Ascent by Call Number: GV199.44.E85 L669 2013"On 29th May 1953 Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stood on the summit of Mount Everest. Sixty years after that first ascent, the publication of this anniversary book celebrates the most majestic of mountains, with exclusive access to the outstanding imagery and private archives of George Lowe, a key climber and photographer on that triumphant expedition ... [This book] features a trove of original photographs -- many hitherto unpublished -- and other rare materials from the Lowe collection ... The extraordinary journey is told from Lowe's point of view, including his first meeting with Hillary and their earlier adventures together, as well as the challenges of the ascent itself ... and the effect it had on all their lives ..."--Inside front cover.
South America
Below is some featured history book about climbing in South America. You can find other climbing-related books in the Libraries catalog.
The Tower: A Chronicle of Climbing and Controvery by Call Number: GV199.44.A72 T63 2014Patagonia's Cerro Torre, considered by many the most beautiful peak in the world, draws the finest and most devoted technical alpinists to its climbing challenges. But controversy has swirled around this ice-capped peak since Cesare Maestri claimed first ascent in 1959. Since then a debate has raged, with world-class climbers attempting to retrace his route but finding only contradictions. This chronicle of hubris, heroism, controversies and epic journeys offers a glimpse into the human condition, and why some pursue extreme endeavors that at face value have no worth.
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.
