Can't Get Out? Read Up
This week, the National Outdoor Book Awards selected ten books that offer house-bound hikers a way to get outside, even if the elements have conspired to keep you in. From thru-hiking stories to snow skills, wolves to Everest, you're sure to find your next great read on the list.
Sometimes in the winter, you just don't want to go outside. Maybe it's wet. Maybe it's cold. Maybe your bed is too perfectly warm to leave. But don't let that stop you from traveling to the North Cascades, the Pacific Crest Trail, or even Mount Everest!
Local favorites win National Outdoor Book Awards
- This NOBA Honorable Mention features research done in Washington's North Cascades. Photo courtesy North Cascades National Park
This week, the National Outdoor Book Awards selected ten outstanding books that offer house-bound hikers a way to get outside, even if the elements have conspired to keep you in.
All ten are worth a look, but we are happy to see that three of the ten winners are published by our friends at Mountaineers Books. Take a look at I Promise Not to Suffer, Everest: The West Ridge, and Snow Travel for entertainment, thrills, and outdoor education.
And if you've got a soft spot for wildlife, don't miss Wolves in the Land of Salmon, featuring new information and beautiful photographs of one of the most elusive species in the Pacific Northwest.
Wolves in the Land of Salmon
Photographer, expert tracker and instructor at North Cascades Institute David Moskowitz crisscrosses the Pacific Northwest looking for and observing wolves. From each journey, he comes away with some new understanding that adds a wealth of information on their behavior, biology, and the controversy swirling about them.
- Learn all about safe snow travel with Mike Zawaski's award-winning book. Photo courtesy National Outdoor Book Awards.
Snow Travel: Skills for Climbing, Hiking, and Moving Across Snow
By Mike Zawaski
Whether you're a hiker or climber, sooner or later, you’re bound to find yourself on snow slopes. Steep snow, of course, can be hazardous unless you are prepared.
This fully illustrated, comprehensive guide, by long-time outdoor instructor and trainer Mike Zawaski, is designed to help keep you safe. It covers pre-trip planning, self arrest, use of crampons, and advice on how to recognize and evaluate potential hazards.
- Read our spring interview with Mike Zawaski to learn more about safely crossing snow.
- Buy or download the book.
Everest: The West Ridge
By Thomas F. Hornbein
Everest: The West Ridge is a mountaineering classic; the story of the 1963 Everest ascent by a bold and entirely unknown route -- the West Ridge. After an exhausting final push, Hornbein and his climbing companion Willi Unsoeld, reach the summit, but it is so late in the day that they find themselves stranded at 28,000 feet. With no food, shelter, or water, they are well within the death zone.
Thanks to Mountaineers Books, The West Ridge has been re-issued in an impressive special 50th anniversary edition. It’s all here: the original text, the photographs, and a special addendum that follows-up with each member of the expedition fifty years later.
I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail
By Gail D. Storey
In the grand tradition of thru-hiker narratives, fifty-six year-old Gail Storey tells her story of tackling the Pacific Crest Trail with her husband. At first a reluctant thru-hiker, Storey endures the trek with grace and humor.
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