Imaginary Peaks

"A cat-footed exploration of the vaporous fantasies, deceptions, and obsessions of the climbing world, this book is a noble successor to Macfarlane’s Mountains of the Mind, but also, in a way, to Calvino’s Invisible Cities. It is, in every sense of the word, dreamy." --Robert Moor, best-selling author ofOn Trails: An Exploration

Author is a renowned writer in international climbing communityFascinating story of hoax that inspired a quest for a North American Shangri-LaVivid recounting of fabled mountains from across the world Using an infamous deception about a fake mountain range in British Columbia as her jumping-off point, Katie Ives, the well-known editor ofAlpinist, explores the lure of blank spaces on the map and the value of the imagination. InImaginary Peaks she details the cartographical mystery of the Riesenstein Hoax within the larger context of climbing history and the seemingly endless quest for newly discovered peaks and claims of first ascents.Imaginary Peaks is an evocative, thought-provoking tale, immersed in the literature of exploration, study of maps, and basic human desire.