About Mountain Madness…
“Best known as one of the guides who perished near the summit of Mount Everest during the tragic spring of 1996, Scott Fischer was devoted to climbing the highest and most dangerous peaks on earth. In this vivid, candid biography, Robert Birkby—one of Scott’s close friends—gives a fascinating, in-depth portrait of the forty years of Scott’s life that led up to those final forty days at the top of the world.
“Scott’s life was a journey filled with adventures, deep friendships, and dramatic successes and failures in the obscure reaches of some of the world’s most beautiful and dangerous places. A captivating homage to a man who eagerly went where few dare to go, Mountain Madness is an extraordinary account of courage, passion, and extreme living.”
About Lightly on the Land…
“Lightly on the Land is the essential manual for everyone who enjoys America’s trails and open spaces and wants to help care for the lands they love. Packed with proven techniques for working in the backcountry. If you’ve got a trail to build near your home, need to repair the storm-damaged trails system of Mount Rainier National Park, or want to begin the restoration of a desert ecosystem, Lightly on the Land will tell you now.
“In addition to conservation crew leadership and risk management, Lightly on the Land presents the nuts and bolts of trail construction and maintenance; building with rock; felling and buckling; building with timber; bridge construction; and environmental restoration. It gets down and dirty with tools, knots, and rigging. Throughout, it teaches how to build pathways and reshape existing routes to require a minimum of attention over the years-essential in this era of shrinking park budgets.”
About The Boy Scout Handbook, 10th and 11th editions…
First published in 1910, The Boy Scout Handbook holds a cherished place as one of America’s best-known publications. A new edition is written about once a decade to reflect changes in Scouting and advances in hiking, camping, first aid, finding one’s way with a map and compass, and other skills of the woods. Tens of millions of copies of the Handbook have led generations of boys to swing packs onto their shoulders and head out for great adventures.
Robert Birkby is author of the Handbook’s 10th edition (1990-1998) and 11th edition (1999-present). Drawing on his experiences as a Scout and years as a wilderness guide and trail crew foreman working with young people in parks and forests in many parts of the world, he has helped keep the Handbook on the cutting edge of group leadership and modern adventures while celebrating outdoor skills and caring for the land.
About The Scout Fieldbook, 4th edition…
“Long time campers have discovered all sorts of tricks to make negotiating the great outdoors easier and more rewarding. The classic reference on the subject is the Fieldbook of the Boy Scouts of America. This giant compendium (over 600 pages!) is filled to the brim with information on hiking, navigation with map and compass, outdoor safety, backpacking, canoeing, mountain climbing, caving, wilderness rescue, weather, the night sky, nature observing and loads more. You'll find articles on sleeping bags, tents, water purification, cook stoves, and just about everything else related to camping. It really is a humdinger of a book. Mine is getting dog-earred from use now, but it's still one of the best investments I ever made.”
A sequel to The Boy Scout Handbook, Scouting’s Fieldbook is a manual of outdoor skills for older Scouts and adults interested in a complete guide to terrific adventures on the trail, in camp, and on open water. Author Robert Birkby draws on the experiences of millions of Scouts through the decades for the current edition of this outdoors standard.
Also…
Articles, essays, or photographs in Pacific Northwest, Rock and Ice, Mother Earth News, Backpacker, Appalachian Trailways, Cross-country Skier, Seattle Weekly, Des Moines Register, High Country, Sports Afield, Boys’ Life and other publications.