There is one organization, just one, that names a classic in outdoor literature. Among the Kendal, Banff, and others, only the National Outdoor Book Awards, or NOBA, has a category called “Outdoor Classic.” According to NOBA:

Books nominated for this award should be full length works related to outdoor adventure activities or nature and should be a work of unusual significance and lasting value in the outdoor field. The book must be in print.

Two criteria I share with them: First, by “significance,” my definition is that it’s unique in context but substantively relevant for the mountaineering genre. Second, by “lasting value,” I think it means that it would still convey meaning to the contemporary reader.

The last clause, “The book must be in print,” I literally just started mulling this idea loosely for about a year. When I saw it in the NOBA criteria I wondered if it was genius.

If the book is in print, that implies something about readers. They still want to read it, right? If the book isn’t in print or readily available, can it be a classic?

However, the decision to print the book is the decision of a publisher to reintroduce it. Paul Pritchard’s books, for instance, return to print and are sometimes printed by other printers. On this standard, some of David Roberts books are definitely classics.

However, there are books that are not still in print, that deserve, in my mind, consideration. Take the obvious one: Edward Whymper’s Scrambles Amongst the Alps. It’s available through on-demand printing because it’s in the public domain, but does that mean it’s in print? You won’t find it on a bookshop shelf.

I think there are other criteria, such as how long ago it was written, and other matters unique to climbing books, but whether it should be in print is intriguing me. I suspect that NOBA operates, like Boardman Tasker and Banff, around submissions of recently published books. Or in the case of the classic category, recently re-published books. Going back and looking back at each generation, like nominations to the Baseball Hall of Fame, is not what is going on here.

So what is the right approach? I’d love your input. Do you think a mountaineering or climbing classic needs to still be in print? Email me or message me on Facebook or Bluesky.

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