Few activities can push people to the edge of their physical endurance or strength of character, but, taken to its limits, mountaineering is one of them. World Mountaineering captures the essence of this exhilarating sport, with personal accounts of many of the world's most testing climbs and rare insights into the lives of those who dare to defy nature's most awesome challenges. 
Featuring more than 50 of the world's most daunting mountains from Mount Everest in Asia to Mount McKinley and Grand Teton in North America to Kilimanjaro in Africa, this book is organized geographically by continent. Each mountain has a detailed topographical description with its main climbing routes superimposed on extraordinary black-and-white photographs of the faces. Specially commissioned aerial maps show the surrounding areas to give an instant, breathtaking overview of all the peaks and ridges.