Eiger Dreams

No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant hardships and victories more brilliantly than critically acclaimed author Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest work from such magazines as "Outside" and "Smithsonian," he explores the subject from the unique and memorable perspective of one who has battled peaks like K2, Denali, Everest, and, of course, the Eiger. Always with a keen eye, an open heart, and a hunger for the ultimate experience, he gives us unerring portraits of the mountaineering experience.
Yet "Eiger Dreams" is more about people than about rock and ice--people with that odd, sometimes maniacal obsession with mountain summits that sets them apart from other men and women. Here we meet John Gill, climber not of great mountains but of house-sized boulders so hard to surmount that even demanding alpine climbs seem easy by comparison, and many more compelling and colorful characters.
"Eiger Dreams" is stirring, vivid writing about one of the most enthralling and dangerous of all human pursuits.