In 1962 a climbing magazine ran a photo of an impossible range of granite spires called the Riesenstein, said to be in British Columbia, and climbers went looking for it. It was a hoax — the picture showed the Kichatna Spires in Alaska, and the man behind it wanted to see what people would do. Ives edited Alpinist for years, and she uses the prank to get at something bigger: The blank spaces on maps, the explorers who invented ranges that didn’t exist, and what happens to climbing when there’s nothing left unlabeled. Half history of mountain hoaxes, half meditation on why we need somewhere unmapped. This is a fantastic book. Interest in climbing goes a long way to enjoying it, but isn’t necessary.
Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams