Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

I was first introduced to mountaineering in the Boy Scouts at age 12; Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills was in it's fourth edition, I believe, and my scoutmaster recommended I read it. I consider it not only the most helpful boy scout manual on the planet, but the best manual for anything that involves trails, hiking, camping, backpacking, technical climbing, and beyond. It covers all of the aforementioned as well as proper technique, safety, trail etiquette, gear (which has been updated in this version to include new materials offered to to public - Gore-Tex was brand new and prohibitively expensive when I was younger, but membrane jackets and clothing are common place nowadays), survival, menu planning, climbing gear and technique, and a boat load more. I recommend it for anybody and everybody who wants to get off the tarmac and enjoy the wilderness. Many sections include illustrations so it is easier to visualize. Just about every time I go camping or hiking, I use some tip, technique, or principle found in the book (from digging a proper snow cave or avoiding bears to preserving body heat while stranded at 12,000 feet on a rock ledge on the Grand Teton after the sun went down with only a rain jacket and beanie). Seriously, if you are considering it, buy it! Best $20 you'll ever spend on camping gear. It's not just for the hardcore mountaineer, either, but for ANYBODY who ventures off the paved road. It is several hundred pages, but it is well organized and easy to find information pertinent to your interests and abilities, plus some.

I have been backpacking, hiking, and climbing since I was little, and I am amazed at how much I have learned from this book about subjects I thought I had already mastered. This is the perfect resource for those looking to go from climbing fourteeners on Class Two routes to fall and winter climbs, couloir ascents, vertical faces, and taller glaciated mountains.To be honest, certain areas touched upon in this book are more thoroughly covered by other sources. The segment on avalanches is far from comprehensive, for instance, but the book admits very openly when further information is required, and points the reader in the right direction about where to learn more. However, certain users will not find this book very useful because of its focus on attaining summits. If you are looking for a book on hiking and backpacking, the first one hundred pages will be extremely valuable, but the remainder will be too summit-focused and too climbing-centric to be of much use. For those looking for info on skiing, this book has some interesting observations, but largely avoids the subject. To these people, I would recomend they look for more specialized books in their particular subjects until they gain an interest in bagging peaks.For anybody whatsoever looking to start climbing summits above treeline, performing vertical climbs of any difficulty, reviewing old materials, or looking at improving skills or developing new ones for climbing, this book is absolutely required. No matter your skill level, this book will have useful information to reference, review, or expand upon. There are no other books whose breadth, clarity, and organization match this book's.To put it poetically, for all aspiring mountaineers, this book is the Regolith upon which your skills should build. It should be the anchor upon which you hang. It will be a compass to those who know how to use it and appreciate its value, guiding you in the right direction. As the old saying goes, there are many paths to the summit, and this book will reveal all the ways to get there.

Certainly there is no doubt that this is the gold standard of mountaineering information. I have several editions of this book and have found it useful many times teaching others and looking up something I have been curious about after a trip into the mountains. I am sure there are more complete or more specialized books on individual subjects, navigation, rock climbing, mountain safety, and so on. But this book is still surprisingly accurate and covers things in enough depth for most people headed into the alpine environs. Certainly a must for any active mountaineer. Because most people keep up on equipment, and there is so much information on line I don't think it is enough changes in the 8th edition to warrant purchasing it if you have the 5th edition, for example. It is certainly an ideal gift for the mountaineer who doesn't have this issue. Lots of useful illustration.

Someone once told me "Mountaineering is just like backpacking with less margin for error". Of course the reality is that there are additional skills, concepts, and so on that you absolutely need to know before hauling yourself onto a rock face or glacier. This book contains all of that - the accumulated wealth of knowledge based on the experience of more than 40 of the world's best mountaineers. What makes this book so unrivaled?- Topics are effectively separated into chapters that allow you to find what you need fast- Information is presented with photos and diagrams to clarify each and every detail- The writing style is pleasant to read - neither frivolous nor obfuscating- Everything you ever wanted to know (about mountaineering) is in the bookBuy several copies, sleep with one as a pillow in the hopes the information will naturally osmose into your brain, love mountaineering, be safe, and in your many travels please respect our natural resources!