Ten Great Mountains. By R. L. G. Irving. (Dent. 12s.
6d.) NIL IRVING is well known as a sound mountaineer and one who has given many young climbers their introduction to the Alps. He is the author of an admirable history of mountaineer- leT and the compiler of an excellent Alpine anthology. His Present book describes climbs in Great Britain, Alaska, New Zealand, the Caucasus, the Alps and the Himalaya. Some are holiday climbs that any reasonably strong party might attempt; Others call for elaborate preparation and weeks of rough travel over uninhabited country before even the base of the mountain is reached. Thus MacCarthy, in a preliminary survey of Mount Logan (19,860 feet), undertook "5o miles tramping in almost entirely bad weather, more than half of it carrying a pack averaging sixty pounds, with .ascents that totalled up to 250,000 feet" Without moralising and philosophising, Mr. Irving corn- alunica.es something of the fascinatiorf of these climbs: "You may feel rotten, your head may ache, you may have to stop every ten Yards from exhaustion and still be conscious that these are moments of great living." Mr. Irving is all in favour of a quiet Pipe on the summit; and his outlook is that of the majority of English climbers. The outlook behind the Sclunids's desperate (Limb on the 'Matterhorn and the disastrous German attack on %riga Parbat, well described by Mr.. Irving, is something very different
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