The ice mountains of the Karakoram are among the world's greatest natural treasures. At 8611 metres (28,251 ft), K2 is the second tallest mountain on Earth. There are three other mountains in the range that top 8000 metres (26,247 ft) - Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II - and more than 60 peaks above 7000 metres (22,966 ft). Extending in a south-easterly direction from the north-eastern tip of Afghanistan and spanning the borders of Pakistan, India and China, the Karakoram is part of a complex of ranges in Central Asia that includes the Hindu Kush to the west and the Himalayas to the south-east. These mountains, however, are distinctive. This is the most glaciated region on the planet outside the Arctic and Antarctic. But while most of the world's great peaks are almost blanketed in snow and ice, the Karakoram is an exception: the mountains are so vertical that they rapidly shed snow, leaving their bold, jagged outlines of black granite glistening in the sun. The name of the range comes from the Turkic term for 'black rock' or 'black gravel'. The well-known landscape photographer Colin Prior was initially inspired to visit the Karakoram in his early twenties: in his local library he picked up the book In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods (1977) by the American climber and photographer Galen Rowell, and was instantly captivated by images of the sharp, fractured peaks and vast glaciers. His first trip to the Karakoram came in the mid-1990s, and he has been passionate about these mountains ever since. Prior's new book is the result of six expeditions he has made to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of north-east Pakistan over the last six years. Because the region is so remote, there are no established base camps, and each expedition requires careful planning and miles of trekking with a large team of guides, porters and ponies to carry the equipment and provisions. There are regular rock falls and perilous snow-covered crevasses to contend with. The reward for Prior is what he calls the ultimate mountain landscape: 'The scenery is graphic, with towers, minarets and cathedrals of rock.' This beautifully produced volume showcases the breathtaking beauty of the Karakoram in some 130 duotone and colour photographs. The images are largely arranged to follow Prior's progress up the glaciers, and are accompanied by well-chosen quotations from accounts of historical expeditions to the region. A selection of 'making of' images at the end of the book highlights the challenges of documenting the most exceptional mountain range in the world.
The ice mountains of the Karakoram are among the world's greatest natural treasures. At 8611 metres (28,251 ft), K2 is the second tallest mountain on Earth. There are three other mountains in the range that top 8000 metres (26,247 ft) - Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II - and more than 60 peaks above 7000 metres (22,966 ft). Extending in a south-easterly direction from the north-eastern tip of Afghanistan and spanning the borders of Pakistan, India and China, the Karakoram is part of a complex of ranges in Central Asia that includes the Hindu Kush to the west and the Himalayas to the south-east. These mountains, however, are distinctive. This is the most glaciated region on the planet outside the Arctic and Antarctic. But while most of the world's great peaks are almost blanketed in snow and ice, the Karakoram is an exception: the mountains are so vertical that they rapidly shed snow, leaving their bold, jagged outlines of black granite glistening in the sun. The name of the range comes from the Turkic term for 'black rock' or 'black gravel'. The well-known landscape photographer Colin Prior was initially inspired to visit the Karakoram in his early twenties: in his local library he picked up the book In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods (1977) by the American climber and photographer Galen Rowell, and was instantly captivated by images of the sharp, fractured peaks and vast glaciers. His first trip to the Karakoram came in the mid-1990s, and he has been passionate about these mountains ever since. Prior's new book is the result of six expeditions he has made to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of north-east Pakistan over the last six years. Because the region is so remote, there are no established base camps, and each expedition requires careful planning and miles of trekking with a large team of guides, porters and ponies to carry the equipment and provisions. There are regular rock falls and perilous snow-covered crevasses to contend with. The reward for Prior is what he calls the ultimate mountain landscape: 'The scenery is graphic, with towers, minarets and cathedrals of rock.' This beautifully produced volume showcases the breathtaking beauty of the Karakoram in some 130 duotone and colour photographs. The images are largely arranged to follow Prior's progress up the glaciers, and are accompanied by well-chosen quotations from accounts of historical expeditions to the region. A selection of 'making of' images at the end of the book highlights the challenges of documenting the most exceptional mountain range in the world.
• A memoir of adventure in one of the most dangerous places on the planet • The Karakoram is home to K2, the deadliest of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks The best mountain climbing in the world, Steve Swenson will tell you, is in the Karakoram. Swenson has been climbing in these mountains since 1980 and has a perspective on the land and its people like few others. A complex place, the Karakoram Range is located in Kashmir, a western Himalaya border region that has a long history of tension and conflict between China, India, and Pakistan, tensions that have only been magnified since 9/11. Over the course of more than thirty years climbing there, Swenson’s experiences have been laced with daunting challenges, exhilarating successes, and terrifying moments—caused by the risks inherent in alpine environments, as well as politics below spilling into the peaks above. In Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict, Swenson writes evocatively of his naiveté on his first visit to Pakistan for an attempt on Gasherbrum IV, during which he faced the teeming, bewildering streets of Islamabad and new challenges of dealing with a confusing array of bureaucrats, hiring hundreds of porters desperate for work, as well as the business of attempting to climb a towering peak just shy of 8,000 meters. By 2015 when he invited climbers to join him on an attempt of K6, Swenson had become the old-hand; it was his familiarity with the region that got them through the planning, the trek, and the climb. Even as he managed a busy career and family at home, Swenson returned to the region more than a dozen times, making attempts on well known giants such as K2, Everest, and Nanga Parbat, as well as other, less familiar, peaks. While he often succeeded, he was often turned back, forced from the mountains by weather, failed logistics, fractured team dynamics, or unexpected skirmishes in the region. What drew him, again and again, was that he always learned something new and forged strong bonds with his climbing partners, including Doug Scott, Alex Lowe, Steve House, and others. Stronger still became his friendship with Haji Ghulam Rasool, a local Balti man whom he first met as a young cook in 1984. Rasool and other Pakistanis have served as Swenson’s window on this restive region, revealing how territorial conflicts can affect not just international climbing expeditions, but also the day-to-day livelihood of the local people. Karakoram is Swenson’s personal story of adventure in one of the most dangerous mountain environments on the planet. His love of climbing led him to these summits; his deep respect for the rugged landscapes and local people inspire his return. • A memoir of adventure in one of the most dangerous places on the planet • The Karakoram is home to K2, the deadliest of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks The best mountain climbing in the world, Steve Swenson will tell you, is in the Karakoram. Swenson has been climbing in these mountains since 1980 and has a perspective on the land and its people like few others. A complex place, the Karakoram Range is located in Kashmir, a western Himalaya border region that has a long history of tension and conflict between China, India, and Pakistan, tensions that have only been magnified since 9/11. Over the course of more than thirty years climbing there, Swenson’s experiences have been laced with daunting challenges, exhilarating successes, and terrifying moments—caused by the risks inherent in alpine environments, as well as politics below spilling into the peaks above. In Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict, Swenson writes evocatively of his naiveté on his first visit to Pakistan for an attempt on Gasherbrum IV, during which he faced the teeming, bewildering streets of Islamabad and new challenges of dealing with a confusing array of bureaucrats, hiring hundreds of porters desperate for work, as well as the business of attempting to climb a towering peak just shy of 8,000 meters. By 2015 when he invited climbers to join him on an attempt of K6, Swenson had become the old-hand; it was his familiarity with the region that got them through the planning, the trek, and the climb. Even as he managed a busy career and family at home, Swenson returned to the region more than a dozen times, making attempts on well known giants such as K2, Everest, and Nanga Parbat, as well as other, less familiar, peaks. While he often succeeded, he was often turned back, forced from the mountains by weather, failed logistics, fractured team dynamics, or unexpected skirmishes in the region. What drew him, again and again, was that he always learned something new and forged strong bonds with his climbing partners, including Doug Scott, Alex Lowe, Steve House, and others. Stronger still became his friendship with Haji Ghulam Rasool, a local Balti man whom he first met as a young cook in 1984. Rasool and other Pakistanis have served as Swenson’s window on this restive region, revealing how territorial conflicts can affect not just international climbing expeditions, but also the day-to-day livelihood of the local people. Karakoram is Swenson’s personal story of adventure in one of the most dangerous mountain environments on the planet. His love of climbing led him to these summits; his deep respect for the rugged landscapes and local people inspire his return.
'As I studied the maps, one thing about them captured my imagination - Across this blank space was written one challenging word, "Unexplored"' In 1937 two of the twentieth century's greatest explorers set off to explore an unknown area of the Himalaya, the breath-taking Shaksgam mountains. With a team of surveyors and Sherpas, Eric Shipton and H.W. Tilman located and mapped the land around K2, the second-highest mountain in the world. It was their greatest venture, and one that paved the way for all future mountaineering in that area of the Himalaya. For Shipton and Tilman, exploration was everything, with a summit a welcome bonus, and Blank on the Map is the book that best captures their spirit of adventure. With an observant eye and keen sense of humour, Shipton tells how the expedition entered the unknown Shaksgam mountains, crossing impenetrable gorges, huge rivers and endless snow fields. There's a very human element to in Shipton's dealings with his Sherpa friends, and with his Balti porters, some of whom were helpful, while some were less so. The expedition uncovers traces of ancient cultures and visits vibrant modern civilisations living during the last days of the British Empire. Only when all supplies are exhausted, their clothes in tatters and all equipment lost do the men finally return home. A mountain exploration classic.
A thrilling chronicle of the tragedy-ridden history of climbing the world's most difficult and unpredictable mountain, by the bestselling authors of The Mountain and No Shortcuts to the Top “Gripping . . . reveals a good deal about the rarefied noble-gonzo world of high-altitude mountaineering.”—The New York Times Ed Viesturs, one of the world's premier high-altitude mountaineers, explores the remarkable history of K2 and of those who have attempted to conquer it. At the same time, he probes the mountain's most memorable sagas in order to illustrate lessons about the fundamental questions mountaineering raises—questions of risk, ambition, loyalty to one's teammates, self-sacrifice, and the price of glory. Viesturs knows the mountain firsthand. He and renowned alpinist Scott Fischer climbed it in 1992 and got caught in an avalanche that sent them sliding to almost certain death before Ed managed to get into a self-arrest position with his ice ax and stop both his fall and Scott's. Focusing on seven of the mountain's most dramatic campaigns, from his own troubled ascent to the 2008 tragedy, Viesturs crafts an edge-of-your-seat narrative that climbers and armchair travelers alike will find unforgettably compelling. With photographs from Viesturs's personal collection and from historical sources, this is the definitive account of the world's ultimate mountain, and of the lessons that can be gleaned from struggling toward its elusive summit.
Research in recent years has increasingly shifted away from purely academic research, and into applied aspects of the discipline, including climate change research, conservation, and sustainable development. It has by now widely been recognized that “traditional” knowledge is always in flux and adapting to a quickly changing environment. Trends of globalization, especially the globalization of plant markets, have greatly influenced how plant resources are managed nowadays. While ethnobotanical studies are now available from many regions of the world, no comprehensive encyclopedic series focusing on the worlds mountain regions is available in the market. Scholars in plant sciences worldwide will be interested in this website and its dynamic content. The field (and thus the market) of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology has grown considerably in recent years. Student interest is on the rise, attendance at professional conferences has grown steadily, and the number of professionals calling themselves ethnobotanists has increased significantly (the various societies, like the Society for Economic Botany, the International Society of Ethnopharmacology, the Society of Ethnobiology, and the International Society for Ethnobiology currently have thousands of members). Growth has been most robust in BRIC countries. This new MRW on Ethnobotany of the Himalayas takes advantage of the increasing international interest and scholarship in the field of mountain research. It includes the best and latest research on a full range of descriptive, methodological, theoretical, and applied research on the most important plants in the Himalayas. Each contribution is scientifically rigorous and contributes to the overall field of study.
This is photojournalist Galen Rowell's acclaimed portrait of the mountain lands of China and Tibet -- a realm the Chinese call the "middle kingdom" between earth and sky, higher and more remote than anywhere else on earth. Rowell's text sets his own adventures in this exotic region against a rich historical and cultural background, recreating the exploits of and describing the dramatic changes that recent years have wrought on Chinese life and society. From the palaces of Lhasa to the pristine strongholds of the snow leopard, the 85 splendid color photographs and compelling narrative map a geography that stretches the bounds of imagination. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Colin Prior is one of the finest landscape photographers in the world and one who knows the Scottish wilderness like no other. Going to extremes in order to capture the most magical qualities of a landscape, his patience and masterful eye for natural beauty have produced extraordinary images over a remarkable career. This large format collector's edition, with a foreword by Sir Chris Bonington, is presented in a large landscape-format cloth-covered hardback in a slipcase, making it a perfect gift. The book showcases the very finest panoramas over that long career and combines them with his greatest new, unpublished images to present a beautifully-curated exhibition of work. Arranged by region and complete with maps that pinpoint the locations of every shot and chart their sweep for armchair travellers, photographers and anyone keen to appreciate these special views in person, this is a work of breathtaking beauty.
