INSTRUCTIONAL

(Essential Reading)

Mountaineering, The Freedom of the Hills, The Mountaineers (the climbing bible)

Alpine Climbing, Techniques to Take You Higher, Kathy Cosley and Mark Houston (the classic alpine climbing/mountaineering textbook)

Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering, Martin Volken, Scott Schell, and Margaret Wheeler-Farmer (concise and focused, but rigorous in its depth; an excellent training manual)

The Ski Guide Manual: Advanced Techniques for the Backcountry, Rob Coppolillo (excellent and insightful book: written from a guide and/or team leader perspective)

Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, Bruce Tremper (the world’s best-selling avalanche education book, from one of the world’s foremost experts)

Avalanche Essentials, Bruce Tremper (an abbreviated version of the above, covering the core fundamentals of avalanche awareness, mitigation, and rescue. Required reading!)

Wilderness Navigation, 3rd Edition, Finding Your Way Using Map, Compass, Altimeter & GPS by Mike Burns and Bob Burns

Training for the Uphill Athlete, A Manual for Mountain Runners and Ski Mountaineers, Steve House, Scott Johnston, and Killian Jornet

Climbing Knots, Nate Fitch and Ron Funderburke (handy pocket guide to essential climbing knots)

GUIDEBOOKS 

Mont Blanc and the Aiguille Rouges, A Guide for Skiers, Anselme Baud (a classic by one of the sport’s great pioneers) (French Alps)

Mont Blanc Off Piste/Hors Piste, Francois Burnier and Dominique Potard (French Alps)

Mt. Blanc Freeride, Domenico Guisto and Georgio Passino (French Alps)

Freeride Verbier, Gilbert Crettaz, (French Alps)

Teton Skiing, A History and Guide, Thomas Turiano (an American classic) (Tetons/Wyoming)

Jackson Hole Backcountry Skiers Guide: South, Thomas Turiano (Tetons/Wyoming)

The Chuting Gallery: A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch Mountains, Andrew McClean (Wasatch, Utah)

Ski Mountaineering in the Dolomites, Francesco Tremolada (Dolomites, Italy)

Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast: 50 Classic Ski Tours in New England and New York, David Goodman (U.S. Northeast)

Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis, John Baldwin (Canada)

The Art of Shralpinism: Lessons from the Mountains, Jeremy Jones (professional snowboarder/splitboarder; prolific (foot-powered only) big mountain adventurer; frequent subject in his siblings’ Teton Gravity Research ski and snowboard films; founder and president, Jones Snowboards and Protect Our Winters); maybe the best backcountry snowboarding guidebook ever written (Global)

LEISURE/COFFEE TABLE

Alpenglow Ben Tibbetts. An inspiring book of photographs, stories and drawings describing the finest climbs on the 4000m peaks of the Alps.

Cabin Wild Ben Tibbetts. A portrait of remote bivouac shelters, with stories, photographs and practical detail from cabins across the European Alps.

Beyond the Mountain, Steve House. Fascinating memoir from one of the world’s best and most prolific alpine climbers (recipient of not one, but two Piolet d’Or awards!).

Deep, The Story of Skiing and the Future of Snow, Porter Fox, on the detrimental effects of mass tourism and global warming

The Classic Ski Descents of North America, Chris Davenport, Art Burrows (coffee table ski porn and informative ski mountaineering guide)

Overexposure, Chad Sayers. A beautiful collection of photographs and personal reflections on the life of professional ski mountaineer, surfer, climber, photographer, and all around adventurer.

Alpine Refuges: The Architecture and Culture of Mountain Shelter, Aaron Rolph. From sleek havens to rustic shelters, Alpine Refuges reveals the stories and designs behind the sanctuaries that connect humanity with the spirit of exploration, redefining how we experience the mountains.

Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits, Kit DesLauriers (compelling memoir from the first person to ski from all of the highest summits on every continent, an incredible accomplishment.

Wild Snow, A Historical Guide to North American Ski Mountaineering, Lou Dawson (Great context and meticulous documentation on the history of backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering in North America, including details of his own personal exploits)

The Edge of Never: A Skier's Story of Life, Death, and Dreams in the World's Most Dangerous Mountains, William A. Kerig (at once sobering and inspirational)

Tracking the Wild Coomba: The Life of Legendary Skier Doug Coombs, Robert Cocuzzo. An excellent biography of the life and death of one of the ski world’s biggest legends.

Mont Blanc Lines, Alex Buisse. A absolutely stunning coffee table book highlighting climbing/skiing routes in the Mont-Blanc range with bonus chapters on the Eiger and Matterhorn, “as well as many new, unpublished lines, drawings, action images from a decade of working as a professional adventure photographer in Chamonix, a history of each mountain, and a text by climbers who have a special relationship with each of these peaks.”