The popularity of rock climbing is burgeoning across the globe, with dedicated communities practising everything from bouldering to sport climbing, top-roping to free soloing, in beautiful locations around the world. This stunning collection of climbing photography reveals the beauty of the sport from behind the lens, where patterned rock faces, vertical spires, honeycomb holds and sweeping landscapes of ochre, slate and snow all provide breath-taking visual drama. Capturing the beauty, theatre and emotions of a climb in a single shuttered moment invites the viewer to reflect, and meditative texts, written by the world’s premier climbers and focusing on themes from intensity to environment, lines to roofs, trace the experience of being out on the rock face. A reference section includes practical details such as a glossary, grading table and list of selected routes.

From the beauty of movement to the bounds of human endeavour, the splendour of landscapes and the allure of otherworldly formations, the art of rock climbing is shown in all its glories.