Five of the best books on climbing mountains

MOUNTAINEERING HAS gone mainstream. What was once a pursuit for only the hardiest adventurers is now the extreme sport du jour. Take Mount Everest. In the four decades after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the summit in 1953 an average of 12 people a year followed in their footsteps. In 2023 more than 1,200 people attempted the climb; 655 reached the summit and 18 died trying. The ascent of Everest is now an industry: for between $35,000 and $110,000 guides will take novices to the top of the world. But the new commercialism should not detract from the romance of mountaineering. These five books and a documentary allow armchair alpinists to experience a bit of the thrill with none of the peril.