Are you ready to hear a story about a female mountaineer?

A woman who maintained a successful business career and decided in her 40s that she wanted to climb the seven highest peaks on each continent…A woman who summited Mt. Everest at age 51, establishing a record for being the oldest British woman to [...]]]>

Are you ready to hear a story about a female mountaineer?

A woman who maintained a successful business career and decided in her 40s that she wanted to climb the seven highest peaks on each continent…A woman who summited Mt. Everest at age 51, establishing a record for being the oldest British woman to do so…And a woman with a refreshing sense of humility?

Then you’ll want to read the inspiring story of Vicky Jack, who in May 2004 reached the summit of Everest, and successfully completed her impressive goal of climbing the Seven Summits.

Check out my book review of The Sky’s the Limit: The Story of Vicky Jack and Her Quest to Climb the Seven Summits.

Into the Wild is a great book! It combines adventure, a trek across the U.S., and the Alaskan wilderness with a deeper story line about a young man who questions societal norms.

As with many of Jon Krakauer’s books, the story is controversial. Was the protagonist, Christopher McCandless, irresponsible? Was he trying [...]]]>

Into the Wild is a great book! It combines adventure, a trek across the U.S., and the Alaskan wilderness with a deeper story line about a young man who questions societal norms.

As with many of Jon Krakauer’s books, the story is controversial. Was the protagonist, Christopher McCandless, irresponsible? Was he trying to prove something by living alone in the Alaskan wilderness? Perhaps he was the social misfit?

What do you think?

You can read my thoughts in my full review of Into the Wild.

Himalayan Quest was published in 2003, and is a compilation [...]]]>
If you’ve read my blog for awhile, then you probably are already familiar with the most famous American mountaineer, Ed Viesturs. Ed has climbed all 14 of the world’s highest peaks, and what is even more amazing is that he did so without supplemental oxygen!

Himalayan Quest was published in 2003, and is a compilation of photos from many of his death defying adventures. This self-proclaimed “incidental photographer” is a humble man: the pictures in this book are breathtaking!

Did this book get a 5 Star Ranking from the Hiking Lady? Read my full review of Himalayan Quest to find out.

If you have a fascination with adventure, and love to read stories about climbing Kilimanjaro (without a permit!), summiting K2, and exploring the Andes, then you’ll enjoy this book.

Check out my review of Risking Adventure: Mountaineering Journeys Around the World. Do you agree?

Have you ever thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail? I sure have!

A close hiking friend of mine insisted that I borrow her copy, and I swear I couldn’t put this book down. Obviously I am a fan of most books about hiking, but this one is truly special – Bill Bryson [...]]]>

Have you ever thought about hiking the Appalachian Trail? I sure have!

A close hiking friend of mine insisted that I borrow her copy, and I swear I couldn’t put this book down. Obviously I am a fan of most books about hiking, but this one is truly special – Bill Bryson weaves into his humorous story loads of history and science, all while sharing the details of his adventure.

Read my full review of A Walk in the Woods here.

Until I watched the IMAX movie Everest, I had never heard of Ed Viesturs. But since then I’ve read his book Himalayan Quest, have heard about him in David Breashears [...]]]> Renowned American mountaineer Ed Viesturs has just come out with a new book, called K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain.

Until I watched the IMAX movie Everest, I had never heard of Ed Viesturs. But since then I’ve read his book Himalayan Quest, have heard about him in David Breashears book High Exposure, tweeted with him on Twitter, and now read his latest book!

He is not just an amazing mountaineer, but apparently Ed is a nice guy in person too. I haven’t met him yet, but a friend who has told me he’s humble and down to earth. That’s quite impressive for a guy who is the only American to have climbed all 14 of the world’s highest peaks, and done so without supplemental oxygen!

His book K2 is worth reading. Check out my review of K2: Life & Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain here and let me know how you like the book.

Do you want one book that will cover almost everything you’ll ever need to know about hiking, backpacking, snow travel, rock climbing, and technical climbing? Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is it!

While I can’t say I’ve read the sections about technical climbing (I don’t plan on climbing Everest or K2 any [...]]]>

Do you want one book that will cover almost everything you’ll ever need to know about hiking, backpacking, snow travel, rock climbing, and technical climbing? Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is it!

While I can’t say I’ve read the sections about technical climbing (I don’t plan on climbing Everest or K2 any time soon!), the first several chapters about picking the right gear for your hikes and backpacking trips, leave no trace principles, and snow travel are excellent for the rest of us.

Read my review and let me know if you think it is as good of a reference as I think it is.

When he made the decision to climb Everest in 1996, Jon Krakauer was a journalist for Outside magazine (a Hiking Lady favorite!). Little did he expect that 1996 would result in the most tragic year on Everest with 15 [...]]]>
This bestselling book is a page turner – you won’t want to set it down!

When he made the decision to climb Everest in 1996, Jon Krakauer was a journalist for Outside magazine (a Hiking Lady favorite!). Little did he expect that 1996 would result in the most tragic year on Everest with 15 deaths.

In what has now become a controversial story in the climbing community, Krakauer provides his perspective on what happened during the climb in Into Thin Air. David Breashears provides color in his book High Exposure, and there are several others including Anatoli Boukreev’s The Climb.

Read my full review of Into Thin Air here.

Ed is the first American climber to summit all 14 of the world’s 8000-meter (26,200 ft) peaks! I recently watched Ed interviewed on The Colbert Report, and you may [...]]]> World class mountaineer Ed Viesturs is coming out with a new book in October called “K2: Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain.”

Ed is the first American climber to summit all 14 of the world’s 8000-meter (26,200 ft) peaks! I recently watched Ed interviewed on The Colbert Report, and you may recall seeing him in the highly acclaimed IMAX film: Everest.

This book started my obsession with all things related to the Himalayas.

I picked up a copy at a local used book sale, because I was intrigued by the cover photo. The author is the famous cinematographer who filmed one of my favorite movies, IMAX: Everest.

Check out my full review of High Exposure on my [...]]]>

This book started my obsession with all things related to the Himalayas.

I picked up a copy at a local used book sale, because I was intrigued by the cover photo. The author is the famous cinematographer who filmed one of my favorite movies, IMAX: Everest.

Check out my full review of High Exposure on my book review page.