Michael Hoyt | Hikes and Climbs to Bitterroot Mountain Summits

Published: August 31, 2010

Mountaineering-photographer Michael Hoyt’s new 384-page book, written specifically for beginning and intermediate hikers and climbers, brings the world of guidebooks into the new century with more than 350 full-color photographs.

The aim, says the Corvallis author, “is to inspire more people to go off-trail and visit the summits of the Bitterroot Mountains and gain a better appreciation of these glorious peaks.”

Research for the book required several climbing seasons, one of which included more than 600 miles of hiking and climbing. The book covers mountains in the portion of the Bitterroot Range along the west side of Montana’s fabled Bitterroot Valley, one of the most popular hiking and climbing destinations in the American West.

Hoyt, a long-time mountaineer and recent transplant to Montana from Indiana, is a major contributor to the world’s most popular mountain climbing website, summitpost.org. His on-line writing includes mountain descriptions, route guides, trip reports, and “how-to” articles about photography and the use of pictures on web pages.

Vernon Garner of Missoula, known as “Saint Grizzly” in Montana’s climbing community, praises Hoyt’s book as “a truly remarkable accomplishment. Mike has given us that rarest of guidebooks, both informative and enjoyable.”

Hoyt's book was published by Stoneydale Press, Stevensville, Mont., and sells for $34.95 softcover.