Sunrise hitting the east face of Annapurna I Main in the Himalayas; the snow-dusted tip of Kilimanjaro rising from the sunburnt African earth; the rainbow ridge of Vinicunca Mountain near Cusco, Peru — these are just a few of the images in the new book Mountains: Giants of the Earth, which pulls together the work of photographers from around the world.
The hard-cover tome showcases 100 astonishing photographs alongside inspirational quotes from authors including JRR Tolkien and William Blake. Here we select our ten favourite shots.
Mountains: Giants of the Earth is published by Skira Editore (£45, skira.net)
Annapurna I Main, Himalayas, Nepal
At 8,091m, it was the first peak with an elevation of more than 8,000m to have been conquered — bravo Maurice Herzog, who achieved this feat in 1950.
The Rosengarten group, Dolomites, Italy
Myths and legends swirl like clouds around this 8km-long range. Folk tales would have you believe that kings and princesses were responsible for the mountains blushing rosy hues at dusk — sadly, though, it’s down to the calcium and magnesium carbonates in the rock.
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Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
The highest free-standing mountain in the world, at 5,895m, rises majestically from plains. Kibo, its loftiest peak, is the cone of a dormant volcano that last erupted 200 years ago.
Machu Picchu, Andes, Peru
Famed for its Inca settlements that date from 1450, Machu Picchu is named for the Quechua Indian term for “old peak”.
Matterhorn, Alps, Switzerland
More than 500 people have died while trying to scale this shapely pyramid, making it one of the most perilous peaks in Europe.
Mont Blanc, Alps, Italy and France
The summit may be in France, but ownership of the mountain has been shared with Italy since the two countries signed a demarcation agreement in 1861.
Mount Denali, Alaska, US
The tallest summit in North America, named in Athabascan by the Native American Koyukon tribe — appropriately it translates as “the great one”.
Mount Everest, Himalayas, Nepal
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No introduction needed for the highest of the fabled “eight-thousanders”, the 14 mountains over 8,000m. Although the list was drawn up in the 1930s, the first person to summit all of them was the Italian climber Reinhold Messner in 1986.
Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia
The highest mountain on Borneo, at 4,095m, is also an incredibly biodiverse area — more than 6,000 plant species and 600 varieties of butterfly can be found on its slopes.
Vinicunca, Andes, Peru
Also known as Rainbow Mountain, a sacred site for locals, this peak gets its extraordinary coloured bands from the 14 minerals in its rock. These have been visible only in the past few years, after the summit’s snow and ice melted.
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