A summit book is a record of visitors to the summit of a mountain, usually one without a maintained trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

. It is usually enclosed in a weatherproof, animalproof metal canister. Some books are maintained in an informal manner by an individual or small group, while others are maintained by a club. Well known and often climbed peaks, such as those on peak bagging

Peak bagging

Peak bagging is an activity in which hillwalkers and mountaineers attempt to reach the summit of some collection of peaks, usually those above some height in a particular region, or having a particular feature.Peak bagging can be distinguished from highpointing...

lists, are more likely to have summit books.

Entries in a summit book vary, from a simple note of a person's name and date of the climb, to notes about the scenery or long essays about the events of the climb. Some summit books contain a record of climbs going back for many years. On an infrequently climbed peak, this record may exist in one volume on the peak itself, while on frequently climbed peaks with a well maintained register, this record may be spread over many volumes, all but the current one in the possession of the maintaining person or club.

Summit books are slightly controversial: on peaks with a wilderness character, summit books are sometimes removed by persons who feel they are incompatible with their surroundings. Systematic removal of summit books for this reason has led in some places to a loss of valuable climbing history.