Post by Admin on Feb 1, 2019 23:11:50 GMT -5
Surprisingly, a select few climbers cite books as a means of climbing, though many mention them as potentially helpful resources in their closing thoughts. Those who explicitly mention books seem to have been climbing longer than those who have not read books, as a general trend among those interviewed. A short list of books or authors, mentioned by name, is as follows:
One respondent specifically noted that books "usually assume knowledge of rock and alpine climbing and look to improve your efficiency/safety through a variety of advanced techniques" and stated that they used the books specifically for technical knowledge. This thought was echoed by another climber who found technical books to be more useful than technique books (technical in this case referring to gear while technique referring to climbing movement). The same climber did offer a strong advocacy for books, stating that "there should usually always be a written resource because so much of climbing is situational." They found that books do an excellent job of explaining the many situations that may arise, something that a human teacher might skip over or leave pieces out from. A third climber noted that books do well in describing environmental and historical practices, something that is often left out of oral tradition. However, they still believed oral tradition should come before books in the learning process of new climbers.
While no two climbers used the same books (with the exception of Freedom of the Hills), all were in favor of books as having a specific place in the climbing community, even if that place is not at the forefront.
- Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills by Craig Leubben
- Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide by Craig Leubben
- Climbing Self-Rescue: Improvising Solutions for Serious Situations by Andy Tyson and Molly Loomis
- The Self-Coached Climber by Dan Hague and Douglas Hunter
- How to Climb 5.12 by Eric Horst
- Flakes, Jugs, and Splitters by Sarah Garlick
- AMGA Mountain Guide Manual by Mark Chauvin and Rob Coppolillio
- Books by John Long
- The Rock Warrior's Way by Arno Ilgner
- Freedom of the Hills (mentioned more than once)
One respondent specifically noted that books "usually assume knowledge of rock and alpine climbing and look to improve your efficiency/safety through a variety of advanced techniques" and stated that they used the books specifically for technical knowledge. This thought was echoed by another climber who found technical books to be more useful than technique books (technical in this case referring to gear while technique referring to climbing movement). The same climber did offer a strong advocacy for books, stating that "there should usually always be a written resource because so much of climbing is situational." They found that books do an excellent job of explaining the many situations that may arise, something that a human teacher might skip over or leave pieces out from. A third climber noted that books do well in describing environmental and historical practices, something that is often left out of oral tradition. However, they still believed oral tradition should come before books in the learning process of new climbers.
While no two climbers used the same books (with the exception of Freedom of the Hills), all were in favor of books as having a specific place in the climbing community, even if that place is not at the forefront.