Books

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…

Just try to get journalist Greg Johnston to stop talking about the allure of Washington’s Pacific Coast: the wild headlands, windswept beaches, and salmon-rich rivers.  Read more…

It was one of the rare late winter weeknights with a full moon and a clear sky, but I missed a turn. Our Seattle Stairway Walks hiking group was passing several back doors (or were they front doors?) going up many unintended Magnolia steps. This was not the Gaia route I had planned and followed the prior week. Nor was it the highlighted route on the map tucked in my trouser pocket, or the same Gaia route on my iPhone.  Read more…

Join us on September 21 for the next Mountaineers Books Web Series episode with author Maria Mudd Ruth. Maria calls herself an accidental naturalist and has written more than a dozen books about natural wonders that have, one, fascinated her and, two, she became obsessed with learning about.  Maria’s new book, A Sideways Look at Clouds, shares her curiosity about clouds and what she’s learned about them—why there are so many variations, what they tell us, how far away they are, and why they are even there, among much more. Read more…

Mountaineers Books is thrilled to announce that two of our recent titles are finalists for the 2017 Washington State Book Award — My Old Man and the Mountain: A Memoir by Leif Whittaker and Turning Homeward: Restoring Hope and Nature in the Urban Wild by Adrienne Ross Scanlan. Each of these are debut books by the authors. Read more…

Although my bookshelf overflows with well-thumbed copies of our where-to hiking guides, these stories and how-to titles have each offered me a different way of seeing the world. Read more…

Mary Metz, current title Senior Editor, is well into her thirty-first year at Mountaineers Books. She found picking only five books to be quite a challenge, so she’s glad that her predecessors already covered two of her all-time faves, Stehekin and A Field Guide to the Cascades and Olympics. And she cheats a little.* Read more…

In 2007, I was working for The Washington Post and Slate magazine in New York City. My role was to support the sales team in developing media plans and executing digital media campaigns across our publishing platforms: The Washington Post, Slate, Newsweek and Budget Travel. I worked for The Washington Post for about six years, during which time I watched the decline of print newspaper subscriptions as the ascendancy of online media, tablets and smartphones took hold. I experienced first-hand how digital devices altered the world of print publishing. Read more…

The converted bicycle wheel supports much of the litter’s weight, but this trail is miles of boulders and steep hairpin switchbacks, and the light is fading. In the beginning we tie a piece of webbing to the back of the litter for a tagline; four people hold the litter up and then a half-dozen other people grab onto this piece of webbing to keep the brakeless contraption from rocketing downhill with gravity. Nobody can see their feet, and this trail, like all trails, is too narrow to fit the litter in the middle with two people abreast on either side, so the people on the sides are intermittently mashed into trees, or have no footing and suddenly disappear downslope to be picked up at the next switchback. The folks on the front and back ends do not have a better time. Read more…

Mountaineers and friends are invited to join a free webinar, Tuesday, June 20, 7pm. Get tips for starting what for many is a bucket list item: hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) across your state. The presenter for this online event is Eli Boschetto, author of the new book, Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Oregon. Eli will talk about how to plan to section hike the Oregon length of the PCT, but his tips will be relevant to anyone planning  to hike the Washington PCT, too. Read more…

After climbing for over 20 years in the Cascades, I have lived through a few incidents and near-misses. This is the story of how I almost died glissading down Aasgard Pass in the Enchantments. Read more…

Mountaineers Books has about 700 titles in print, and many of them are wonderful. This month Art Freeman, the publisher’s Chief Financial Officer, recommends five of his all-time favorite titles. Art is an avid skier, hiker, sailor, and climber, who has completed the Washington Bulger List of 100 highest mountains in the state. When he’s not playing outside, he has a book in his hands. Read more…

Save your legs and learn expert outdoor tips from the comfort of your living room! Mountaineers Books is excited to bring you author webinars this summer - just in time for your next big adventure. Read more…

If you love great nonfiction stories as much as I do, it's always a treat when a friend recommends a gem you wouldn't have discovered on your own. Here are five of my favorites from Mountaineers Books that I think you'll be delighted to find: Read more…

We're excited and thankful for the generous support we've received from Fjällräven to further our mission. Similar to The Mountaineers, Fjällräven is committed to protecting our wild places, engaging as many people as possible in the outdoors, and giving back to the communities they serve.

Additional gratitude is extended to our friends at Canoe Ridge Vineyard, who share a passion of the outdoors and Pacific Northwest adventure, for their generous philanthropic and in-kind support to advance our mission. Read more…

The Nautilus Book Awards recognize books that transcend barriers of culture, gender, race, and class, and promote conscious living, green values, spiritual growth, wellness and vitality, and positive social change. Read more…

Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books, has just been honored with two Independent Publisher Book Awards gold medals for 2016.  Read more…

Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books, will be giving away our We Are the Arctic books at the rallies ahead of the  upcoming March for Science and the People’s March for Climate  and we need volunteers to help make it happen.  Read more…

Steve Swenson, a current Mountaineers Director at Large, has been climbing for more than 45 years. He has made ascents of K2 and Everest, both without supplemental oxygen. In 2012, he and his partners made the first ascent of Saser Kangri II (7518 meters), then the second-highest unclimbed mountain in the world, a feat for which they were awarded the prestigious Piolet d’Or. Steve and his wife, Ann, divide their time between Seattle and Canmore, Alberta. Read more…

Most middle-school art teachers have really small budgets. Lida Enche, author and illustrator of Pacific Northwest Nature: Coloring for Calm and Mindful Observation, teaches about 250 students a year with only $1000 for supplies. That doesn’t go far, so we thought we’d reach out to our community to give her a hand by donating copies of this new adult coloring book from Mountaineers Books. Read more…

On Wednesday, March 1, a large group of Mountaineers gathered for the Everett Branch’s Annual Pot Luck Dinner and Gear Grab at the Everett United Church of Christ (UCC). Members of the general public attended as well and learned about Mountaineers courses and activities. The UCC is a historic gathering place for the Everett Branch because its membership meetings convened there for 38 years.  Read more…