Yesterday's dramatic rescue of three hikers on Mount Hood started me wondering what real-life mountain adventure stories we have in our collection. And there are quite a few. Of course, there's Jon Krakauer's bestseller Into Thin Air, about his expedition to Mount Everest. You'll find it in the Adult Nonfiction section at 796.522. Browse around it on the shelf and you'll find numerous others, such as:

• Savage summit : the true stories of the first five women who climbed K2, the world's most feared mountain, by Jennifer Jordan
• On the ridge between life and death : a climbing life reexamined, by David Roberts. The author looks back on his own experiences and examines the human costs of the sport.
• Where the mountain casts its shadow : the dark side of extreme adventure, by Maria Coffey. Mountaineers' loved ones give their view of the sport.
• Touching the void; the True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival, Joe Simpson ; with a foreword by Chris Bonington. Both book and video available.
• Mountain men : a history of the remarkable climbers and determined eccentrics who first scaled the world's most famous peaks, by Mick Conefrey and Tim Jordan.

There are several on Tenzing Norgay, the first Sherpa to reach the summit of Mount Everest:

• After Everest : an autobiography, by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, as told to Malcolm Barnes.
• Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpas of Everest, by his grandson, Tashi Tenzing (with Judy Tenzing).
• Touching my father's soul : a Sherpa's journey to the top of Everest, by Jamling Tenzing Norgay with Broughton Coburn.

If after reading about the many dangers of mountaineering you're still inspired to try it, make sure you're prepared. Here are a couple of how-to books to get you started:

• Wilderness navigation : finding your way using map, compass, altimeter & GPS, by Bob Burns and Mike Burns.
• Mountaineering : the freedom of the hills, edited by Steven M. Cox and Kris Fulsaas.