Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, High, and Fast

1999 Banff Mountain Exposition Award Winner

• The book that launched a renaissance in climbing technique and remains relevant today
• Techniques and mental skills needed to climb at a more challenging level
• Illustrated with full-color photos throughout

Big, high routes at the edge of a climber's ability are not the places for inventing technique or relying on old habits. Complacency can lead to fatal errors. So where does the hard-core aspirant or dreamer turn? The only master class in print, Extreme Alpinism delivers an expert dose of reality and practical techniques for advanced climbers.

Focusing on how top alpine climbers approach the world's most difficult routes, Twight centers his instruction on the ethos of climbing the hardest routes with the least amount of gear and the most speed. Throughout, Twight makes it clear that the two things he refuses to compromise are safety and his climbing ethics. In addition to the extensive chapters on advanced techniques and skills, Twight also discusses mental preparedness and attitude; strength and cardiovascular training; good nutrition; and tips on equipment and clothing.

MARK TWIGHT is one of America's leading alpinists. His gripping accounts have been published around the world and translated into five languages. He is also the author of the best-selling book Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, High and Fast, from The Mountaineers Books.

A trip leader for Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris, JAMES MARTIN has contributed to Outdoor Photographer magazine and has seventeen books to his credit. For the Planet Ice project, he has ventured to Antarctica, Greenland, Baffin Island, the Alaska Range, Mount Everest, Patagonia, Central Africa's Ruwenzori Mountains, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Alps, the Canadian Rockies, Glacier National Park in Montana, Ecuador's volcanoes, Washington State's Cascade Mountains, Alaska's North Slope, the Three Gorges in China's Yunnan Province, and Shishapangma, also in China. He is represented by Getty Images and ImageState. For more information on Martin and his newly released book with Braided River, please visit www.planeticebook.com or Planet Ice.