What's on My Mountain Bookshelf? Alex Roddie

14th March, 2016

This has been read 4,988 times

The great outdoors has inspired some great (and not so great) writing. In this series we ask fans of mountain literature to pick their top reads. Here's Alex Roddie, a writer with a particular passion for the history of mountaineering.

When did you start 'collecting' mountain books, and how many do you have now?

In about 2005, shortly after I started getting into hillwalking and mountaineering. At the last count I have 127. Most are horribly disorganised but I try to keep significant ones, and any books I'm currently reading, on a specific shelf in my office.

Can you remember the first mountain book that you read?

Unless you count Swallows and Amazons, the first outdoor book I read was Wainwright's The Southern Fells. My family had a holiday in a cottage in the Lake District about twenty years ago, and some of the Wainwright guides happened to be on the bookshelf. I was captivated. After that, the next one I remember is The Backpacker's Handbook by Chris Townsend.

Is your interest primarily historical or do you also go for contemporary books?

I'd say it's split 50/50. Many of my books are contemporary – guidebooks, other reference material, and modern outdoor writing. However, I enjoy the historical books the most, and a few of them were particularly hard to acquire. It took me years before I found an affordable copy of Mountain Craft by Geoffrey Winthrop Young.

Why is mountain literature important to you?

I've always loved books and reading, and I've been a mountain enthusiast for all of my adult life, so outdoor literature has a special significance for me. Sometimes when you're far from the hills, or when the rain is hammering on the roof and the good times seem long ago, all it takes is to read some really good mountain writing and you're transported up to a snowy ridge glinting in the sunshine. You can't put a price on magic like that.

Alex's Top Three Titles

The Badminton Library: Mountaineering by C.T. Dent and other writers

Published in 1892, this is one of the oldest books in my collection and a superb example of Victorian mountain writing at its most lavish. It is an early attempt at creating a comprehensive 'manual' for the mountaineer – something achieved most famously by Geoffrey Winthrop Young's 'Mountain Craft' many years later. What I love about this book is its tone of cheerful humour and the many exquisite illustrations throughout. It also happens to be the book that Aleister Crowley used to teach himself how to climb before his first trips to the Alps.

Travels Through the Alps of Savoy and Other Parts of the Pennine Chain by James David Forbes

This is one of the most important books on Alpine exploration to be published in the 19th century, but one of the least known. In 1842, Forbes, a Scottish geologist, conducted a pioneering tour of the Alps. He surveyed, mapped and studied the Mer de Glace, contributing vital data and theories to glacial science, and hiked for hundreds of miles from Chamonix to Zermatt and beyond, always collecting more data to support his theories. It's possible that he was the first to hike what is now known as the Tour of Monte Rosa. The result is a wonderfully enjoyable travel book offering a glimpse into the vanished Alpine world that existed before the peak-bagging years began.

Scotland's Mountains Before the Mountaineers by Ian Mitchell

As the title says, this one focuses on Scotland before Munro's time. It's really a look at the world of mountains as seen through the eyes of other 'mountain users' – the map-makers, the scientists, the crofters, the solders. If you've ever wondered who might have climbed to the top of Ben Nevis before the idea of peak-bagging really occurred to anyone at all, this is the book to read. You might be surprised how many Scottish hills had been climbed dozens of times by people who did not think of themselves as walkers or mountaineers.

About Alex Roddie

Regular UKH contributor Alex Roddie is a freelance editor, writer and outdoor enthusiast. He divides his time between editing the work of others and writing about mountains.

His passion is the history of mountaineering and he has published two novels on the subject, The Only Genuine Jones and The Atholl Expedition.

For more on what Alex is up to see his website

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