INSTRUCTIONAL

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

Alpine Climbing, Techniques to Take You Higher, Kathy Cosley and Mark Houston (classic)

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

Backcountry Skiing, Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering, Martin Volken, Scott Schell, and Margaret Wheeler-Farmer (concise and focused, but rigorous in its breadth)

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 knots) 

GUIDEBOOKS 

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

Mont Blanc Off Piste/Hors Piste, Francois Burnier and Dominique Potard

Mt. Blanc Freeride, Domenico Guisto and Georgio Passino

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

Jackson Hole Backcountry Skiers Guide: South, Thomas Turiano

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

Alpine Ski Mountaineering Western Alps: Volumes 1 and 2, Bill O’Connor

Freeriding in the Dolomites, Francesco Tremolada

LEISURE

Beyond the Mountain, Steve House (fascinating memoir from one of the world’s best and most prolific climbers)

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

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

Wild Snow, A Historical Guide to North American Ski Mountaineering, Lou Dawson (offers historical context on backcountry skiing/mountaineering)

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)