Rock Climbing Books

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

The Mountaineers

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Mountaineers Books Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $14.89

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Rock Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 70 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Absolute Pinnacle of Mountaineering Information 5 out of 5 stars.
33 of 33 people found this review helpful.

With over 1/2 a million copies sold, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills truly is "the bible" of safe and efficient climbing. With the book measuring in at over one inch thick, it would be impossible to accurately give it justice in the space provided here. Therefore, I'll hit the highlights. The 6th edition, which I have, is divided up into 6 parts:

-outdoor fundamentals...covers things such as clothing/equipment/land nav/food

-climbing fundamentals...knot tying/rappelling info

-rock climbing...footholds/shoes/leading on rock

-snow, ice, and Alpine climbing...the in's and outs of ice and snow climbs (includes various rescues)

-emergency prevention and response...leading in a crisis situation/first aid

-the mountain enviroment..mountain geology/snow cycles/cloud types (neat pics!!)

The book ends with a nice list of additional reading (like you'd really need to with all the info in this book!). As you can see, there's really one word to describe this book- COMPLETE. So, if you're looking for a mountaineering resource to put on your shelf for when some questions come to mind- GET IT! Also recommend Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff if you have a shoulder problem that interferes with your climbing.

Editorial Review:

This sixth revised edition of the mountaineering classic is an essential reference for novices and experts alike. Chapters are devoted to in-depth discussions of outdoors fundamentals; climbing techniques for rock, snow, and ice; safety procedures and emergency response; geology and weather; and appendices for climb ratings and supplementary reading, among other topics. Detailed sections on navigation, ropes, knots, and protection include drawings, diagrams, and maps. Enjoy the freedom of the hills to the fullest with this thorough guide.

Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert)

Craig Luebben

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Craig Luebben Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $12.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Instructional
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Rock Climbing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Best basic book on rock climbing 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Guide, author and climbing gear inventor Craig Luebben's book won a National Outdoor Book award and it's well deserved. For anyone taking up rock climbing, or wanting to bring their knowledge up-to-date this is the book to start with.

It's well organized and well-illustrated. Luebben starts the basics of pure climbing - footwork, holds and jams along with special climbing challenges like chimneys and off-widths (he's the Yoda of off-width climbing). Then he covers the gear you'll need like shoes, harness and ropes. He describes basic climber knots and working with ropes and slings. Then he talks about protection, natural and man-made.

He tells you how to build anchors and keep your partner safe with proper belaying technique. He covers top-roping, sport climbing and the basics of traditional climbing including the approach, route-finding, setting pro and the physics and psychology of leading.. Later chapters introduce multi-pitch free climbing, descending and rappelling, bouldering and training for climbing. The concluding chapter explains how to avoid turning your climb into an epic by learning basic self-rescue techniques.

This is by far the best, most up-to-date book on basic rock climbing. After you've read it (more than once) and practiced the skills he describes, get Luebben's book on building climbing anchors.

Bill Becher

Editorial Review:

490426 Features: Specifications:

The Self-Coached Climber: The Guide to Movement Training Performance

Dan M. Hague, Douglas Hunter

Amazon Price: $23.07 List Price: $34.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Stackpole Books Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $21.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Rock Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

great for climbers with little experience 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

if you have climbed for a couple of months and want to
1) understand better techniques and movements
2) improve your style
3) become more aware while climbing and watching others climb

then this is a good starting point

It deserves 6 stars 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Brilliant book.

So many ideas for those non-professional climbers (like me) who don't have a coach.
Turning, flagging, drop knees are fully explained. Chapter about Movement initiantion - was like total revelation to me. Plus it has DVD - so you can see how you MUST move.

After reading this book I got really sceared: what if I had not bought it, then I might have spent hundreds of hours of my climbing training deepening bad climbing habbits !

It certainly deserves six stars.

Editorial Review:

This is a book and DVD. A dynamic package of training material from a pair of expert coaches, "The Self-Coached Climber" offers comprehensive instruction, from the basics of gripping holds to specific guidelines for developing a customised improvement plan. Hague and Hunter base their methods on the four fundamental components of all human movement - balance, force, time, and space - and explain how to apply these principles to achieve efficient results. The DVD presents live demonstrations of training exercises and features an original documentary of a 5.14a/b redpoint attempt by Adam Stack and Chris Lindner.

Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide (The Mountaineers Outdoor Experts Series)

Craig Luebben

Amazon Price: $18.57 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: The Mountaineers Books Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $12.24

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Rock Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

THE Anchor Building Book! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I've read all the anchor building books and so far, I have found this one to be the best one. Easy to understand, backed up by testing, lots of pictures (a picture speaks a thousand words!), a well-written guide!

I highly recommend this to all climbers out there!

Great 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Craig breaks anchors down into clear concepts, some of which John Long made blurry. The only thing I would have liked were color pictures...simply because some of the anchors were hard to see in B and W.

Editorial Review:

Climbing anchors allow climbers to safely defy gravity. Solid anchors and proper rope techniques can prevent a fall from turning into a catastrophe, while bad anchors are an accident waiting to happen, says certified guide Craig Luebben, who invented his own type of climbing protection, the Big Bro. Since then, he has taught rock climbing to hundreds of clients and has conducted self-rescue clinics across the United States. He distills more than twenty-five years of experience into Rock Climbing Anchors.Specifications: Paperback: 256 pages. ISBN: 1594850062.

Training for Climbing: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Climbing Performance

Eric J. Horst

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: Falcon Amazon Marketplace: 26 new & used starting at $2.86

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Hiking & Camping -> Instructional
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Instructional
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Just what I was looking for... 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I've been climbing for a few years and I wanted to begin a more serious, structured training program to help me break through to the higher grades. Training For Climbing is the book I was looking for, given its scientific look at improving technique, strength and the mind. While such a detailed, measured approach to training may not be for everyone, it has great appeal to me as a longtime athlete who engaged in formal training for other sports. Training For Climbing helped me understand the many unique aspects to, well, training for climbing, which I found to be much different than what I had been used to from my previous sports experience. Furthermore, I enjoyed seeing the many research references and footnotes, and more importantly I was pleased by the overall LACK of "do as so-and-so hot-shot climber does" or "train like I train." Training For Climbing helped me diagnose and design the best training program for me, and I sense that the book will remain a key resource for me for many years to come.

Editorial Review:

This is the completely revised and updated edition of Flash Training, the fundamental manual for physical and mental training for rock climbers. Drawing on new research in sports medicine, nutrition, and fitness, the author has created a training program to help any climber achieve superior performance and better mental concentration on the rock, with less risk of injury. A necessary book for rock climbers everywhere.

Conditioning for Climbers: The Complete Exercise Guide (How To Climb Series)

Eric J. Horst

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Falcon Amazon Marketplace: 31 new & used starting at $11.39

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Hiking & Camping -> Instructional
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Instructional
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The only conditioning book a rock climber needs Rock climbing is one of the most physically challenging sports, testing strength, endurance, flexibility, and stamina. Good climbers have to build and maintain each of these assets. This is the first-ever book to provide climbers of all ages and experience with the knowledge and tools to design and follow a comprehensive, personalized exercise program. Part One covers the basics of physical conditioning and goal-setting. Part Two takes readers through warm-up and flexibility routines, entry-level strength training, weight loss tips, and fifteen core-conditioning exercises. Part Three details climbing-specific conditioning, with twenty exercises to target specific muscles of the fingers, arms and upper torso to develop power and endurance. An entire chapter focuses on the antagonist muscle groups that help provide balance and stability, and prevent muscle injury. This section also has a chapter devoted to stamina conditioning, increasing the climber's endurance at high altitudes. Part Four shows how to put together a customized training program to suit the climber's needs. The book includes workout sheets for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced skill levels, tips for children and those over age fifty, secrets of good nutrition and an insider's take on avoiding injuries. Eric Horst is a performance coach who has helped thousands of climbers. His published works include "Learning to Climb Indoors, Training for Climbing," and "How to Climb 5.12." He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Climbing Anchors, 2nd (How To Climb Series)

John Long, Bob Gaines

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Falcon Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $6.40

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Rock Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Concise, informative, and well researched 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is a well written and well researched book. The most significant aspect for me are the new tests on various anchors presented in the book. As a novice outdoor climber, I was most interested in rigging good top-rope anchors and was quite surpised to learn about the faults of the cordelette. Fortunately he introduces a better alternative called the equalette. He also dispels some myths about the sliding X and the fear many have of potential shock loading. The chapter where he describes the tests of various anchor setups is quite eye opening. It really begs for additional tests to be performed and has me thinking about what other false assumptions exist in this sport. A good reference and essential reading for any outdoor climber.

too complicated to be useful ? 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I was a little disappointed about John Long new anchor book. I felt the book lost touch with the reality that climbing safe often means climbing fast, especially in the mountains and on long routes. . While the new tests reported on belay anchors are interesting, they seem to miss statistical validity and the conditions used to carry out the tests seem very extreme and seldom occur in real climbing. What the book does not say is how many accidents have occurred in the real climbing world because of the type of failures that were observed in the testing lab. If that is a significant number, I am willing to change the way I rig my anchors, otherwise it is probably better if I stick to my older simpler method. The solutions proposed to make better (more equalized) anchors are so complicated that it is difficult to imagine how to rig them properly after you climbed 20 pitches with a power bar for lunch. Maybe the information disclosed in the book is useful in specific cases, when all your pieces are awful. I am not an expert, but I just wonder if trying to make belay anchors so complicated at all the time, even when your pieces are great, may cause more accidents due to mistakes and more epics due to wasted time. I would appreciate an expert opinion on this matter. Thanks.

Editorial Review:

The comprehensive guide to anchoring systems for rock climbers.

Rock Climbing Joshua Tree, 2nd (Regional Rock Climbing Series)

Randy Vogel

Amazon Price: $23.12 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Falcon Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $20.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Rock Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

This is the book. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

There are others out there, but Vogel's Rock Climbing Joshua Tree is the definitive overall guide that both new and experienced climbers rely upon. However, for more detailed information on routes in specific areas of Joshua Tree (Lost Horse, Indian Cove, Hidden Valley, etc.), don't leave home without Alan Bartlett's excellent guides.

That said, Rock Climbing JT is and will always be a work in progress, as is any climbing guide, and should be viewed as such. Bolts on old routes can become unreliable, new routes are always being established and the ratings themselves are highly subjective. Some 5.8 routes have felt like 5.10, while another 5.8 can seem like a walk-up. Paradoxically, it is the trusted guide that can't always be trusted.

Each route has a star rating, a qualitative scoring process which is again highly subjective. Some routes have descriptions, some don't. Not all routes have accompanying photographs and in this second edition, there is still an annoyingly large number of misspellings and incorrect cross references. But as I said before, this book is a work in progress. It takes years and years of climbing prowess and research to gather information for a guide of this magnitude and despite the highly opinionated nature of this and all climbing guides, it is still an essential piece of climbing gear no Josh climber should do without.

How to Rock Climb!, 4th (How To Climb Series)

John Long

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Falcon Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $4.32

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Outdoors & Nature -> Hiking & Camping -> Instructional
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Instructional
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not for the best to start off with 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The book is strange. It's written for beginners but they use a lot of jargon that beginners don't know. Also, while they do their best, there is a lot of things that they talk about but don't show pictures for. It's really difficult to learn about any technique when there are not pictures for half of the topics they discuss.

Perfect Book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book has all of the information that you wished people would have told you over the years. Well written, fun to read, and extremely useful for techincal information.

Editorial Review:

How to Rock Climb!, now in its fourth edition, is the world's top instructional book on climbing. All the fundamentals--from ethics to getting up the rock--are presented in John Long's classic style. Revised and updated to reflect the modern standards of equipment, technique, and training methods, this guide includes sections on face climbing; crack climbing; ropes, anchors, and belays; getting off the rock; sport climbing; and much more. It is the essential how-to book for rock climbers everywhere.

Better Bouldering (How To Climb Series)

John Sherman

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Falcon/Globe Publishing Co. Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $3.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Mountain Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> Rock Climbing
Subjects -> Sports -> Mountaineering -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A "painfully" objective guide to the bouldering trade 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 29 people found this review helpful.

Having come from a traditional climbing background, and having discovered John Gill through Pat Ament during my peak, I evolved into a boulderer for the sake of bouldering, rather than just training for traditional climbing. Why? For me personally, bouldering was the obvious channel for a mortal being to follow while coping with the reality that I am a maturing human. Because the nectar of laying hands on Mother Earth's various forms of lithified artwork was never to evaporate, the need to ascend soaring heights of the stuff has. In short, no more Sentinel Mental Journey's. John Sherman has written an honest, humorous, and quality book that describes the nuances involved with high limit bouldering. Of particular credit is John's painfully objective efforts at describing even those controversial elements of bouldering that exist such as cheater stones, route altering and manufacturing, etc. Don't despair John, it was the right thing to do. The beauty of bouldering is in its inherent variety of ways it can be approached. John Sherman does not advocate one way or the other but does indeed get his beliefs across to the reader without appearing too evangelistic. That is noble. So whether you choose to boulder nude without shoes or chalk, or if you choose to approach bouldering with a flak jacket, John Sherman's book epitomizes its title, Better Bouldering. He should be proud of this book and you should buy it and read it if you too decide that you don't want anymore Sentinel Mental Journeys.

Editorial Review:

This guide provides the techniques and tricks gleaned from a 22-year career by John Sherman, America's most noted and notorious bouldering guru.