Big Wall Climbing: Development, Techniques and Aids (First UK Edition, Signed)

The first edition of Doug Scott’s history of big-wall climbing, signed by the author and accompanied by a flyer for his 1981 Australian lecture tour.

Scott (1941–2020), one of the leading British mountaineers of his generation, wrote this book as an active climber rather than a historian. It opens with the early Alpine climbs that preceded big walls and then follows the form’s growth through Baffin Island, the Hindu Kush, Yosemite and beyond. The American Alpine Journal reviewer, Galen Rowell, called the book essential reading for anyone interested in mountaineering history, though he noted that it omitted several notable American big-wall climbs. He also praised Scott’s even-handed treatment of Yosemite and of disputed claims such as the 1959 Cerro Torre ascent. Oxford University Press published an American edition in the same year. The flyer is a modest piece of ephemera that ties this copy to Scott’s lecture tour in Australia.

First UK edition, signed by Scott to the title page in black marker. Square octavo. xii, 348pp., with black-and-white photographs and illustrations. Blue linen cloth in the original pictorial dust jacket, unclipped (£4.75). With a flyer for “An Evening with Doug Scott”, the series of lectures Scott gave around Australia in 1981. The jacket shows some small wear at the turn-in edges and spine ends but is otherwise well preserved. The volume is generally fine, with a few discreet markings here and there. W. Williams blind stamp to lower title. A near fine copy.

Not currently on display in store. For viewing or more information, please contact: rarebooks@harryhartog.com.au

Catalogue Number: HH000875