New Zealand Mountaineering


A history in photographs

By John Wilson

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"Wilson takes the reader on a visual journey that grips the imagination and the eye... A beautifully presented book to the feed the exploring spirit within."
Chris Moore, NZ Listener

The long and colourful history of this marvellous sport in New Zealand is told in over 200 fascinating photographs, accompanied by informative captions and text covering the decades, from those early beginnings in the 1880s to the present day. The images illustrate many aspects of the distinctive character of New Zealand climbing and give non-mountaineers an idea what those engaged in the sport actually do and the satisfaction they gain from it.

Ever since the 1880s, when mountaineering began in New Zealand with the first attempt on Aoraki/Mount Cook, we have had a special affinity with our mountains, and climbing them in particular. Mountaineers climb for many reasons — for the thrill of the challenge and the sense of achievement from reaching a summit, or purely for pleasure and relaxation. 

252 x 252 mm, 160 pages, colour, over 200 photographs, hardback with jacket

9781869538231

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John Wilson

A keen climber from the 1950s to the 1970s John Wilson climbed in North America and Peru as well as in New Zealand. He now lives surrounded by mountains in Arthur’s Pass. With a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University, his career has embraced both history and journalism. He was a leader writer for the Christchurch Press and the founding editor, in 1983, of the magazine of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

In 2012 he published Joy of the Mountains — A Climber’s Life, about John Harrison, one of New Zealand’s leading climbers of the 1950s and ’60s in association with the Canterbury Mountaineering Club and the New Zealand Alpine Club. He has also written histories of two rural areas of Canterbury, Cheviot and Waikakahi.