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Sacred Summits: John Muir's Greatest Climbs

Edited and introduced by Graham White

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( from the book's dust jacket )

Sacred Summits: John Muir's Greatest Climbs
Edited and introduced by Graham White

$13.95 - U.S.
£ 8.99 - Great Britain

Revered throughout America as "Father of the National Parks," John Muir's reputation as a conservationist has overshadowed his record as a climber and mountaineer. He has been described as the greatest climber in America during the last quarter of the nineteenth century - in terms of first ascents and technical skills, as well as the vast extent of the territory he explored.

In the 1870s Muir scaled dozens of remote peaks and achieved first ascents of Mt. Ritter and Mt. Whitney - years before mountaineering existed as a sport in Scotland or America. He climbed alone, without ropes, crampons, or specialist clothing, discovering every technique for himself through trial and error.

Sacred Summits celebrates Muir the climber and explorer, casting new light on this great Scottish-American. His epic climbs and summit experiences, recorded in these glowing accounts, stand comparison with those of any mountain writer.

This is the first time that Muir's mountaineering pieces have been brought together in a single volume along with critical assessments of their significance by climbers, academics, and historians. The book also contains a dozen original photographs of Yosemite National Park, Mt. Whitney, Mt. Ritter and other High Sierra peaks.

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Contents

Introduction by Graham White
Timeline of Muir's Mountain Ascents

1. John Muir and Vertical Sauntering Arthur W. Ewart
2. John Muir and the Range of Light Francis P. Farquhar
3. A Scotish Climber on Cathedral Peak Ken Crocker
4. The Tuolumne Camp John Muir
5. A Near View of the High Sierra John Muir
6. Mountain Thoughts John Muir
7. Prayers in the Higher Mountain Temples - Or a Geologist's Winter Walk John Muir
8. A Perilous NIght on Shasta's Summit John Muir
9. The South Dome John Muir
10. The Rescue on Glenora Peak Samual Hall Young
11. The Stickeen River John Muir
12. Gloenora Peak John Muir
13. An Ascent of Mount Rainer John Muir
14. John Muir's Ascent of Mount Rainer Aubrey L. Haines

Bibliography

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GRAHAM WHITE is an environmental writer and an authority on John Muir. A keen supporter of the John Muir Trust, he lives near Dunbar on the east coast of Scotland and has followed Muir's trail across the American west. He edited and introduced The Wilderness Journeys of John Muir, published as a Canongate Classic, as well as Frederick Turner's highly acclaimed biography of Muir, From Scotland to the Sierra. He is the co-author and editor, with Magnus Magnusson, of The Nature of Scotland, published by Canongate.

Canongate Books Ltd.,
14 High Street
Edinburgh EH1 1TE
United Kingdom

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