Ways to the Sky: A Historical Guide to North American Mountaineering

I own and have read many historical climbing books. This is one of the best. I especially like the 'recommended routes' section of each chapter, that gives specific route beta on selected climbs of yesteryear. A must-have for anyone wanting to learn more about the history of climbing in N America. Way to go Andy! Buy his book so he'll write more. DMT

This text is part of an AAC series to include North American histories on 1) bouldering, 2) ski mountaineering, 3) rock climbing, 4) ice climbing, & 5) wall climbing, whereas this text (6) has an emphasis on peaks, free climbing, and mountaineering. At this time, these other works have not been published. Selter's book is a logical successor to Chris Jones' Climbing in North America but combined with Steck and Roper 50 Crowded climbs (fundamentally a very interesting idea, but avoids overlapping S & R [having done climbs from both]). Jones, Steck, and Roper and their subsequent lives to 2004 are noted in the text. The book itself is chronological and includes a bit about Mexico which Jones did not really cover (minor point). Selters also covers the reason why the Pacific North-West and the Mountaineers get made fun of: George Meany [his name, apparently], the chair of the UWash., History dept. whose military style is covered in a little detail (worth reading as it related to the Mazamas and the Mountaineers). Each chapter has a nice selection of period routes (excepting the last and most recent where the author bows out. The earliest chapters are doable by mere morals (technical climbers) as are many of the later chapters with some experience and skill. The down-sides are minor: lacks reference to Ullman (maybe not a bad thing). Contains numerous small errors: the photo captioned Yvon Chouinard is actually Yvon's brother, certain other photo captions could be resolved with a little bit of close examination. Needs a little editorial research, I hope a later edition will come out. Worth owning, but a little flawed to be awarded the outdoor book award for '04, most of the reviewers were likely not climbers. Covers Mexico to the high Arctic.

Ways To The Sky: A Historical Guide To North American Mountaineering by experienced mountainner, expert mountain guide, accomplished photographer and cartographer Andy Selters provides contemporary readers with an informed and informative historical survey of mountaineering in North America. From evidence of ancient Native American ascents, to profiles of more than 40 historical mountain routes, to the stories of dedicated exploratory climbers who challenged the most demanding mountain routes, and much more, Ways To The Sky is a fascinating tour for mountaineering practitioners and armchair travelers alike. A wealth of historical black-and-white photographs, many previously unpublished, embellish this involving and fact-filled survery.