Books

Morgan Sjogren’s new guidebook, The Best Bears Ears National Monument Hikes, came out in January, less than two months after the current administration reduced its boundaries by 85 percent. Published by Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) Press, Morgan’s book is the only guidebook published for this region. But Morgan, a writer, adventurer, and competitive trail runner, fell in love with Bears Ears while running in it and wanted to encourage others to explore this region, too. We asked her five questions  about the book and the Monument. Mountaineers Books is the worldwide distributor of CMC Press books. Read more…

Each week we bring you a personal story from one of our members. For our member profile this week we talked to.... Read more…

We got in touch with author Philip Kramer to ask him a few questions about writing his recent book,  Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Northern California. Here's what he had to say. Read more…

 The Mountaineers are proud to present the BeWild Speaker Series, putting passion and adventure on the stage! Come to these talks to unlock inspiration to seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish. This May we welcome Pacific Crest Trail guidebook authors, Eli Boschetto, Shawntè Salabert, Tami Asars, and Philip Kramer to share their adventures documenting the 2,650 miles of the PCT. Read more…

I was dumbfounded and could not quite comprehend what was happening. I crouched down on my knees and put my hands over my head. Otherwise I did not even try to defend myself; if I had done so, they would all have attacked me. Another Sherpa, standing above me, was aiming at my head with a brick-sized rock when Melissa got between us. Attacking a woman would have been against the Sherpas’ mores. Read more…

As Tom Hornbein stood in the shadow of Everest, he knew getting to the top wasn’t enough. He wanted more.

In 1963, Tom was a member of a sponsored expedition designed to send the first Americans to the summit of the highest peak in the world. The strategy was clear: climb the South Col route first established by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. While summiting via the South Col was far from a guarantee, the proven route was their best chance.  Read more…

Author Andy Kirkpatrick, who also happens to be a renouned big wall and alpine climber, recently wrote  1001 Climbing Tips, published by Mountaineers Books. That's a lot of tips! Since Andy is known for big, cold, scary climbs around the world, we thought we'd give him a challenge: Out of the 1001 tips in your book, what are your top five and why? Read more…

Joe Riis is a wildlife biologist turned photojournalist and filmmaker on the cutting edge of explorations of heretofore unknown animal migrations in Yellowstone’s expansive landscapes—within, and outside, the protection of the park. His first book Yellowstone Migrationswas recently published by Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books. Read more…

The Mountaineers are proud to present the BeWild Speaker Series, putting passion and adventure on the stage! Come to these talks to unlock inspiration to seek adventure, connect with nature, and work to protect the wild places we cherish. This March we welcome photographer Joe Riis. Read more…

It was an absolutely breathtaking Northwest late fall afternoon. I was doing field research (translation=hiking) for my upcoming Urban Trails Eastside Mountaineers Books guidebook. My task was to check out a patch of urban greenery on Lake Washington’s eastern shore. As I walked down this park’s trails and across its boardwalks, I was mesmerized by the surrounding natural beauty and by the moment itself. The sun was low, the sky deep blue. Rays of sunlight kissed my face and danced across the shimmering waters of a quiet bay. They illuminated the resident waterfowl and intensified the brilliant colors of the autumn foliage. The sun continued to sink in the sky and my surroundings became more surrealistic. I was in pure hiking heaven — utterly elated — senses completely stimulated.  Read more…

The National Trails System (NTS) Act was passed in 1968, making 2018 its fiftieth anniversary. Among all of the trails stewarded by this Act, the 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is one of just 11 designated National Scenic Trails. The anniversary coincides with publication of Mountaineers Books' final volume in its four-book Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail set. Released in February, Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Northern California joins the Southern California, Oregon, and Washington volumes to finish the most up-to-date and comprehensive guidebooks to this long-distance challenge. Read more…

We're crazy for stories -- campfire stories, stories in books, stories told at organized events, podcast stories and . . . well you get the idea. Recently we heard an inspirational podcast from She-Explores about how women over 50 are participating in the outdoors. We thought we'd share it with you. Read more…

"I just got back from a quick trip to the land of a thousand roads and zero caribou: New York City. It messed up my head. I've spent too much time on the land — a lot of it alone, talking only to myself — to adjust overnight to that blizzard of people and traffic, sirens and signs and stink and noise. My inability to live life through my iPhone made it worse. Apparently, half a century of learning not to get lost on the tundra has little value. What matters now is not to be virtually lost." Read more…

We are excited to launch an integrated Mountaineers Programs and Mountaineers Books website in an update we're calling mountaineers.org 3.0 in mid-February! This newest set of updates is focused on bringing Mountaineers Books and Mountaineers Programs together under one roof.  Read more…

Join Mountaineers Books for an evening with renowned photographer Jim Herrington as he presents The Climbers, the culmination of his two-decades-long project to capture the mountaineering icons roughly the 1930s to 1970s who used primitive gear, along with their considerable wits, talent, and fortitude, to tackle unscaled peaks around the world. His book includes 60 intimate, black & white portraits of greats Reinhold Messner, Royal Robbins, Gwen Moffat, Tom Hornbein, Yvon Chouinard, and Pertemba Sherpa, among others. Published in October, 2017 by Mountaineers Books, The Climbers received both the Grand Prize and the Mountaineering History Award at the 2017 Banff Mountain Book Festival. Read more…

A significant goal of The Mountaineers and its publishing division, Mountaineers Books, is to recognize and encourage diversity in our community and in the books we publish. A recent article in Alpinist Magazine reviewed four climbing instructional texts in regard to gender diversity and gave Mountaineers Books positive marks. Read more…

Northern Pygmy-Owls must enlarge their territories in the winter when prey becomes less abundant. Small mammals are harder to find, reptiles and amphibians are in hibernation, and many small birds have migrated. And so these owls often move downslope to places along waterways or near bird feeders, where there is a greater concentration of passerines and rodents. Read more…

Fred Beckey, a legend among Northwest Mountaineers, and a climber, environmentalist, historian, and Mountaineers Books author, passed away on October 30, 2017. On December 3 we will gather to celebrate his amazing life. Please join us to honor his enduring impact. Read more…

Cheers to Wild Places. To rugged, rocky, rain-soaked, sun-baked, out-of-the-way  places. To places we visit often. And places we’ll get to soon. Read more…

The Wild Lines of Jeremy Collins, a 2018 wall calendar, features 12 of the artist's amazingly detailed, hand-drawn works. Each month offers stunning original art and a mindful Action Prompt from Jeremy to encourage community engagement, as well as mini-essays about the artwork and notable dates in environmental activism. *We are sorry to inform you that the calendars are SOLD OUT* Read more…

Mountaineers Books, in partnership with  Seward Park Audubon Center and  The Trail Posse, presents J.R. Harris' Way Out There: Adventurers of a Wilderness Trekker talk and book signing at Third Place Books - Seward Park in Seattle on Wednesday, November 29 from 7-8pm.  The talk is free and open to the public.  Read more…

Among the most exciting travel destinations in South America, Peru boasts a wealth of trekking opportunities from the Amazonian jungle to glaciated mountain ranges, from remote villages to ancient ruins, and much more. Join Mountaineers Books’ on November 16 for a live webisode exploring this "Last Inca Bridge". Featuring Robert & Daisy Kunstaetter, travel writers and adventurous ex-pats who co-authored the new book, "Trekking Peru: A Traveler’s Guide", learn about the wealth of trekking opportunities in Peru. Read more…

Chosen from a field of more than 170 international titles, The Climbers by photographer Jim Herrington was awarded the prestigious Grand Prize at the recent 2017 Banff Mountain Book Competition in Banff, Alberta, Canada.  The Climbers was also named the competition's Category Winner for Mountaineering History. Read more…

Emily Erickson, Mountaineers Books sales representative, is constantly advising her bookstore, outdoor retail, and parks store customers about the titles in our library that are both great reads and will be strong sellers in their stores. Here she shares five books that are always on her “Recommended List.” Read more…

I think what has made this book even more meaningful for all of us here is the subject itself—birds. When the project first came to us, photographer Gerrit Vyn used the title “Why Birds?” It’s a good question. Why do we care about them? What makes them so interesting and draws our attention? How is it that so many birds are iconic and for so many different reasons? Read more…

Fred Beckey, a legend among Northwest Mountaineers, and a climber, environmentalist, historian, and Mountaineers Books author, passed away on October 30, 2017. He was 94. Read more…

Bill Thorness's new book, Cycling the Pacific Coast: The Complete Guide from Canada to Mexico, is an epic accomplishment both for the  effort it takes to research and write a nearly 2000-mile route, and because Bill's book replaces one of the longest running and most popular guidebooks  in Mountaineers Books library. The old title, in its fourth edition, had a great run (er, ride) but needed a complete rewrite. Here we talk with Bill about the route. Read more…

I’ve hiked in some of the world’s most beautiful and awe-inspiring places. I’ve logged miles in the Andes, Alps, Apennines, and the Appalachians. The Rockies, Sierras, Peninsula Ranges, and escarpments of the upper Midwest, too. I’ve trekked in the Pyrenees, England’s Lakes District, the Scottish Highlands, and Bulgaria’s Pirin Mountains. I’ve snowshoed and skied in Japan’s Ishikari range, the Austrian Alps, and Bolivia’s Cordillera Real. I’ve hiked deserts in the American West and in Northern Chile. Explored Patagonia, the Peruvian Amazon, and Ybycui National Park in Paraguay. I’ve hiked national parks in the Yukon Territory, Quebec and a whole lot in between. And I have logged thousands of miles in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve seen amazing landscapes and amassed incredible backcountry experiences. But my fondest, most vivid, and most heartwarming memories involve the people I have encountered along the way. Read more…

Join us October 24, at 7pm for the next Mountaineers Books Web Series event with Molly Hashimoto, author of the new book Colors of the West: An Artist’s Guide to Nature’s Palette. Molly is an award-winning artist and art teacher. In her book, Molly explains techniques for creating successful watercolor paintings en plein air, a French term meaning literally “in the open air.” Read more…

I sell Mountaineers Books for a living—not a tough assignment for someone who loves reading and outdoor sports. Our library is deep and strong, but since I had to keep my recommendations here to five, I've included some lesser known titles as well as popular selections. You won’t be disappointed with any of these. Read more…