Reddit reviews Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains

It really depends on what type of climbing you enjoy: adventure, sport, mountaineering, etc.

Here are some of my favourites:

If you like alpinism and want to learn how pathetic and weak willed you are compared to Steve House, check out Beyond the Mountain. Great book. Dude has insane ethics that make me feel bad for clipping bolts.

If you're more into big wall climbing and how it fits in with life lessons, The Push by Tommy Caldwell is phenomenal. He really throws it all out there and gives you an insight as to just how hard he worked to free the Dawn Wall and all the lessons that came with it.

If you want a really well written account of one of climbing's most bizarre controversies, The Tower by Kelly Cordes was one of my favourites this year. It gives a back-and-forth history and insight into climbing Cerro Torre and really gives a glimpse into life in Patagonia and the history of climbing Torre.

If you're a big dreamer and history nut, The Bold and The Cold gives first hand stories of the first ascents of some of the biggest routes in Canada. From the Bugaboos to Robson, it's a fantastic read and really gets you longing to get out out there.

Eiger Dreams was a fantastic collection of unrelated short stories centering around climbing and mountaineer. Some big characters and bigger adventures that are well told by the same author (and climber!) that gave us Into the Wild.

And finally, I recommend The Calling by Barry Blanchard for no other reason than it's a really well written account of the life of a fading alpinist in the Canadian Rockies.

Hope this helps!



Bonus recommendation: not climbing related, but a really great read for anyone who loves the outdoors: The Names of the Stars is a fantastic book that follows the personal account of a retired Park Ranger who spents 5 months alone in the wilderness of Montana watching fish eggs. It's a boring premise but the author is so vivid with his descriptions and shows the connection between us and the wild. I read it in a day, it was that good.

• Deeper/Further/(Eventually)Higher - If I can't be out riding, might as well watch people riding things I never could.
  
• Anything by Jon Krakauer. Into the Wild is an obvious choice, but Eiger Dreams and Under the Banner of Heaven are great as well.
  
• Ride the Divide is a good flick as well, and available on Netflix last I checked.
  
• 3point5. Pro-deal pricing can be addicting.Plus being in the top 5% for snowboarding, camping, and running have to count for something, right?!

Eiger Dreams is an excellent book.
http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1599216108

Maybe look around the area and see what gyms there are and get her some day passes to them.

Honestly though, the best support you could probably give her would be to climb with her. Then you too could become addicted!

Awesome- you are a quick reader, though. which one are you reading? If you are reading No Picnic on Mt. Kenya, be sure to read the forward by the author (or if you didn't get a version with the forward, try to find it in the library or online) because his life is fascinating.

If you like Krakauer's writing style, I recommend his other mountaineering book Eiger Dreams

some other good mountaineering writers to check out: Joe Simpson, Maurice Herzog , Ed Viesturs, Anatoli Boukreev, Nick Heil, Beck Weathers, and Dave Breashears