Books

Join The Mountaineers in welcoming famed snowboarder Jeremy Jones on November 10 as he presents his new book The Art of Shralpinism: Lessons from the Mountains. Read more…

Enjoy the following excerpt from the prologue of Unraveled: A Climber's Journey Through Darkness and Back, by Katie Brown. Read more…

Mount Rainier National Park is a wonderland of outdoor escape, offering a little something for everyone. Hikers, backpackers, cyclists, naturalists, and climbers flock to the park, enjoying its larger-than-life views and breathtaking natural beauty. At Mountaineers Books, we are fortunate to have a wealth of titles centered on this incredible place. Below are a few resources for anyone who wishes to explore the wonders, large and small, of Rainier. Read more…

The reputations of Katie “Salty” Gerber and Heather “Anish” Anderson precede them. Katie is a renowned wilderness instructor and guide who has logged thousands of miles on trails including the CDT, PCT, Colorado Trail, and Oregon Desert Trail. Heather is a record-smashing legend who was named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year for her 2018 Calendar Year Triple Crown (hiking the AT, PCT, and CDT all in one year). Now they have joined forces to combine what they’ve learned on the trail and through their expertise in nutrition and personal training to create Adventure Ready: A Hiker’s Guide to Planning, Training & Resiliency, new from Mountaineers Books. Read more…

Summer is here! We’re celebrating longer days and warmer weather with our annual Summer Book Sale from July 1-30, 2022. Plan your next trip with our large selection of best-selling guidebooks and Green Trails maps, bask in a hammock reading one of our adventure stories, or rep The Mountaineers on the trail with new Mountaineers merchandise. You can also pick up a Discover Pass or Northwest Forest Pass while you’re here.  Read more…

Adventure Ready: A Hiker's Guide to Planning, Training, and Resilience, by Katie Gerber and Heather Anderson, empowers future thru-hikers to create goals, face challenges, and be stronger and smarter on the trail. Read more…

This May 15, 2022, there will be a total lunar eclipse. In our hometown of Seattle it will be between 8:34pm and 11:50pm, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 9:11pm. Learn about lunar eclipses with this excerpt from The Skies Above: Storm Clouds, Blood Moons, and Other Everyday Phenomena by Dennis Mersereau.  Read more…

Lauren DeLaunay Miller is the editor of a new anthology that shares the stories, famed and previously untold, of the remarkable women who have shaped Yosemite climbing history. Valley of Giants, published by Mountaineers Books, is a first-of-its-kind collection that gathers stories from journal excerpts, original essays, interviews, and archival materials from almost 40 contributors, including legends like Lynn Hill, Steph Davis, Kate Rutherford, Beth Rodden, Chelsea Griffie, and more. Lauren has worked for Yosemite Search and Rescue, served as Vice President of the Bishop Area Climbers Coalition, and as event coordinator for the American Alpine Club’s Bishop Craggin’ Classic festival. Read on as Lauren discusses her inspiration for this book, what it taught her, and more. Read more…

Mountaineers Books newest title, Crossing Paths: A Pacific Crest Trailside Reader, shares a diverse variety of stories from one of our nation's best-known trails. In it we hear from contributors like Cheryl Strayed, Carrot Quinn, Barney "Scout" Mann, Aspen Matis, Nicholas Kristof, Heather Anderson, Will "Akuna" Robinson, and many more. 
Read more…

Washington has no shortage of possible adventures waiting outside your door, and author Lauren Braden has compiled the best ones in her new book (coming June 2022), 52 Ways to Nature Washington: Your Seasonal Guide to a Wilder Year. We're giving an early sneak peek at one of the many activities included in the book, just in time for spring! Below is an excerpt from the spring section: "Detour to the Desert." Enjoy! Read more…

Finding the right plants for your garden can be difficult. Local garden stores sell a large variety of plants, but many of them are not native to the area. This can mean a lot of money is wasted on beautiful plants that can't survive our Pacific Northwest seasons.  Read more…

Katie Ives is editor in chief at Alpinist magazine and a well-known figure in mountain literature. Her debut book, Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams (Mountaineers Books, October 2021), is a true tale of mountain adventure and mystery that uses an infamous deception about a fake mountain range as a lens to explore the fascination with wild places and the lure of supposedly blank spaces on the map. Read more…

Go to any online hiker forum and after unleashed dogs, playing music, and toting a gun on the trail, the topic of hiking solo is sure to conjure up some strong opinions. What’s particularly interesting is that so many of the folks who are adamantly against solo hiking insist that others shouldn’t hike alone, either. And while an unleashed dog, music on the trail, or an irresponsible gun owner may certainly have a negative impact on others, a solo hiker is not having an effect on anyone’s experience except their own. So why the passionate pleas for solo hikers to partner up? Read more…

The Mountaineers is an incredible community of adventurers, students, instructors, advocates, and leaders. We’re proud of our community for persevering through another demanding year, prioritizing safety, and fostering connections to the outdoors. As we close the door on 2021 and look ahead to 2022, we reflect on our core values and how they’ve guided us through this past year.  Read more…

Written in the Snows: Across Time on Skis in the Pacific Northwest, new from Mountaineers Books, offers a definitive and visually rich history of the past century of Northwest ski culture. Read more…

Seth Kantner is a commercial fisherman, writer, and wildlife photographer. His newest book, A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou (Mountaineers Books; September 2021), is a stunning firsthand account of a life spent hunting, studying, and living alongside caribou. He lives in the Northwest Arctic. Read more…

Braided River, the conservation imprint of Mountaineers Books, tells visual stories that inspire a wide audience to protect our communities, lands, and wildlife. By taking book projects and turning them into events, regional and national media coverage, and museum exhibits, they create a diverse toolset to raise awareness for conservation causes and threats to wild places. Given the interconnected threats of the climate and biodiversity crises, Braided River’s work of inspiring action on conservation issues near and far is more important than ever. Read more…

The following is excerpted from Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams, new from Mountaineers Books. Read more…

Seth Kantner, author of  Ordinary Wolves, Swallowed by the Great Land, Shopping for Porcupine, and Pup and Pokey will be in Alaska reading from and discussing his latest book, A Thousand Trails Home. Read more…

Seth Kantner, author of  Ordinary Wolves, Swallowed by the Great Land, Shopping for Porcupine, and Pup and Pokey will be in Montana reading from and discussing his latest book, A Thousand Trails Home. Read more…

Many books have been written about mountain adventurers of the male persuasion. The accomplishments of women? Not so much. As a mission-focused, nonprofit publisher, Mountaineers Books is committed to broadly sharing the transformative power of the outdoors from unique perspectives. Read more…

Women have always been at the center of Yosemite, climbing on the walls, crafting their own equipment, establishing new routes, and showing us all what it means to dance with rock. Lynn Hill freed the Nose, Beth Rodden established the hardest single pitch climb in the Valley, and Sylvia Vidal raised the bar for hard aid solos. More recently, Libby Sauter, Josie McKee, and Quinn Brett completed mind-blowing speed ascents and link-ups, and Chelsea Griffie became the first African American woman to climb El Cap. Read more…

While the Washington coast is beautiful year-round, late summer is a particularly great time to escape to the coast or islands. Cool breezes and clean air make for a perfect getaway during these hot and smoky months. Check out these great resources for exploring Washington's waters, and learn about the creatures found there.  Read more…

The following is excerpted from Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home by Lynda Mapes, a new book from Mountaineers Books conservation imprint Braided River. Through interviews with scientists and Northwest Native tribal members, Mapes lays out the human causes behind the orcas' precarious situation, revealing that the health of the southern residents is deeply entwined not only with Chinook salmon, but with the entire natural world of the Pacific Northwest. Read more…

We're excited about our two new, fully illustrated books to help you enjoy your outdoor activities. Check them out! Read more…

It's officially summer in Washington and we're so lucky to live in a state full of a never-ending bucket list of things to do. We put together this list of just a few ways to explore the area and get the most out of your summer!  Read more…

There's a lot to be excited about in June. It's orca month, the weather is warming up, and people are getting outside again. Get the most out of June - dive into Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home to learn all about the southern resident group of orca whales, head into the wild with Backpacking Washington, 2nd Edition, and explore Portland, Oregon with Discovering Portland Parks.   Read more…

Braided River author Lynda V. Mapes has traveled across the West Coast to give voice to the region’s orca whales, iconic to the Pacific Northwest’s beautiful—but ecologically imperiled—marine ecosystem. In this excerpt, she travels to OrcaLab in British Columbia, where passionate and determined volunteers are led by founder Paul Spong. Located on Cracroft Point, above Johnstone Strait in British Columbia, they have been documenting the daily lives of the more robust northern resident orca pods since 1970. Read more…

I went to the Pacific Crest Trail to find my limit. I’d imagined my fastest known time attempt ending with me on hands and knees — dry heaving — at my utmost breaking point. Yet that never happened. I started the hike with my little plastic trowel, intent on digging deep as I’d learned to do over many ultramarathons, but the PCT laughed at that, and within a few days had handed me a full-size shovel instead. Read more…

From Chapter 2: Clothing and Equipment of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 9th Edition. Read more…