An energetic and engaging investigation into the life and death of legendary climber, paddler, and recluse Billy “Kayak Bill” Davidson.Billy Davidson (1947–2003) was born in Calgary, Alberta, and grew up in an orphanage in the 1950s. Living close to the Rockies, he was introduced to mountaineering at an early age and climbed his first mountain at 12 years old, eventually becoming one of Canada’s most prolific big wall climbers, with historic ascents in the Rockies ...

Over the past 100 years, climbers have been pushing standards in the Canadian Rockies. From long alpine ridges to steep north faces, the Rockies are synonymous with cutting-edge ascents. Peaks such as Robson, Chephren, Kitchener, the Twins and Alberta elude the many and reward the few. Many of the big faces were climbed between the 1960s and 1990, the golden age of alpinism in the Rockies. The men and women who first were part of that set high standards.Future alpinists read old jo...

In national bestseller The Mountain, world-renowned climber and bestselling author Ed Viesturs and cowriter David Roberts paint a vivid portrait of obsession, dedication, and human achievement in a true love letter to the world’s highest peak.In The Mountain, veteran world-class climber and bestselling author Ed Viesturs—the only American to have climbed all fourteen of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks—trains his sights on Mount Everest in richly det...

As he teetered on a narrow rock ledge a yak's bellow short of the stratosphere, with a rubber mask strapped to his face, a pair of mittens the size of a sealion's flippers, and a drop of two kilometres below him, it's fair to say Mark Horrell wasn't entirely happy with the situation he found himself in.He was an ordinary hiker who had only read books about mountaineering, and little did he know when he signed up for an organised trek in Nepal with a group of elderly ladies that ten...

The Lure of Faraway Places is the publication canoeist Herb Pohl (1930-2006) did not live to see published. But Pohl's words and images provide a unique portrait of Canada by one who was happiest when travelling our northern waterways alone. Austrian-born Herb Pohl died at the mouth of the Michipcoten River on July 17, 2006. He is remembered as "Canada's most remarkable solo traveller."While mourning their loss, Herb Pohl's friends found, to their surprise and delight, a manuscript...

Named one of the Five Adventure Books You Need to Read This Summer” by Backpacker MagazineFor readers of Into Thin Air, riveting high-altitude drama and the passion and drive that inspire outsized mountaineering achievements.Master of Thin Air opens with a fall that the author very nearly could not stop down an almost vertical rock ramp leading to a three-thousand-foot drop. The qualities that saved him then on K2-in addition to ...

What compels mountain climbers to take the risks that they do? Is it the thrill in the physical accomplishment, in managing to defy the odds, or both -- and why do they continue to do what they do in the face of such great danger? In On the Ridge Between Life and Death, David Roberts confronts these questions head-on as he recounts the exhilarating highs and desperate lows of his climbing career. By the time he was twenty-two, Roberts had already been involved in ...

RMB is pleased to present the third edition of Summits and Icefields 1: Alpine Ski Tours in the Canadian Rockies, one of our bestselling guidebooks. Researched and written by legendary alpinist Chic Scott, with the assistance of mountain guide Mark Klassen, this guidebook will continue to be the bible of ski mountaineers in the Rockies. There will be plenty of new tours in the book, particularly in newly developed areas where skiers can grab a few powder turns near the road. Infor...

A highly personal account of the travels of Max Finkelstein as he retraces, some two hundred years later, the route of Alexander Mackenzie, the first European to cross North America (1793). Mackenzie's water trail is now commemorated as the Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route.More than just a travelogue of a canoe trip across Canada, this is an account that crosses more than two centuries. It is an exploration into the heart and mind of Alexander Mackenzie, the explorer, and Max Fin...

Following the success of his first snowshoeing guide, Snowshoeing in the Canadian Rockies (RMB, 2011), Andrew Nugara has now written the ultimate guide for those finding themselves on snowshoes for the first time.A Beginner’s Guide to Snowshoeing in the Canadian Rockies describes over 40 great routes for new snowshoers. The trips extend from scenic Waterton in the far south to the breathtaking Columbia Icefield in the north section of Banff National Park. Stunning...

This new edition of Summits & Icefields 2: Alpine Ski Tours in the Columbia Mountains continues RMB’s tradition of offering snow enthusiasts updated editions of our bestselling guidebooks. Researched and written by legendary alpinist Chic Scott, with the assistance of certified mountain guide Mark Klassen, this guidebook—along with its companion volume Summits & Icefields 1: Alpine Ski Tours in the Canadian Rockies (RMB, 2011)—will continue to be the bibles for ski mounta...

'You fall you're dead,' the voice inside my head told me. I was balancing on a knife-edge ridge, sheer drops either side of me. The cold was chilling me to my core. But I could not give up. I had to focus, The summit was within reach.Everest: the highest mountain in the world and also one of the most dangerous.On May 24 2007, Tori James made history when she became the first Welsh woman, and youngest British woman, to climb to the summit of Everest. It was an amazing achiev...