‘Great things are done when men and mountains meet; this is not done by jostling in the street.’ In that famous couplet the poet William Blake put his finger on the thrilling quality of mountain scenery – the sense of otherness, of remoteness from humdrum everyday life. This book captures some of that magic of high places, in a collection of mountain stories from all seven continents.

Based on first hand accounts, including some of Stephen’s own climbs, it ranges from legendary climbs such as the North Face of the Eiger and the first ascent of Everest, to less well known stories from remote peaks in Antarctica, Mongolia and Tierra del Fuego.

Here there are desperate epics, such as Walter Bonatti’s famous escape from Mont Blanc’s Central Pillar of Frêney and Doug Scott’s descent from the Ogre; but also gentler, more contemplative explorations, such as Irene Oehninger’s and Cestmir Lukes’ journey to Antarctica. In time, the book ranges from Victorian pioneers such as Gertrude Bell, to those great pre-war Himalayan explorers, Bill Tilman and Eric Shipton, and contemporary climbers like John Harlin, who followed his father’s steps up the Eiger in 2005.

From the Foreword by Sir Chris Bonington:
‘In this page-turner of a book, Stephen has collated spell-binding tales, some of which are iconic chapters in mountaineering history, others of which are less well-known but still deserving of epic status. Every mountain has its own unique personality and a big part of the allure lies in the human tales lived out on it slopes.’

Cassell Illustrated 2006 ISBN-10:1844034496 ISBN-13:978-1844034499 North American edition Voices from the Mountains Reader’s Digest 2006 ISBN-10:076210810X ISBN-13:978-0762108107 German edition: Bis ans Limit Bruckmann Verlag GmbH 2007 ISBN-10: 3765448192 ISBN-13: 978-3765448195 Spanish edition: Encuentros con las Montañas Blume 2007 ISBN-10: 848076726X ISBN-13: 978-8480767272

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