bajema Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 i'm gona be back in washington real soon (no mountains here in east texas, i'll be glad to be back) and i want to start climbing. i've done a bunch of hiking and some scrambling, but i'd like to start learning the skills for climbing stuff like baker, shuksan, etc. i guess i want to start out by learning all the ice axe stuff, knots, ropes, all that jazz. what are some good books for on this stuff? also, could there possibly be anyone willing to teach a beginner some of this stuff some weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catbirdseat Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 Start with the "Climbing Bible", Freedom of the Hills. Published by Mountaineers Books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialed Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 Skip that shit and buy a book by Mark Twight called "Extreme Alpinism" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 bajema said: i've done a bunch of hiking and some scrambling, but i'd like to start learning the skills for climbing stuff like baker, shuksan, etc. its just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. repeat. ad nauseum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 catbirdseat said: Start with the "Climbing Bible", Freedom of the Hills. Published by Mountaineers Books. That book's outdated. The Mounties would be better off reading tradgirl and so would you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric8 Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 While i would not go as far as to call it the "Climbing Bible". Theres some good stuff in there for what he is lookin to do. Self arrest, crevasse rescue etc. I would also go to the local library and see if they have the Illustrated Guide to Crevasse Rescue, though I guess being from Texas they probably won't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 (edited) fleblebleb said: catbirdseat said: Start with the "Climbing Bible", Freedom of the Hills. Published by Mountaineers Books. That book's outdated. The Mounties would be better off reading tradgirl and so would you. Â C'mon Fleb, Â Sure tradgirl and rec.climbing have good info, but if you're starting from ground up, you need grounding in fundamentals. Freedom of the Hills does a pretty good job of that. Â Edited April 29, 2003 by Toast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A7U Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 There ya go again, TT, standing up for the Mounties on cc.com. U R a glutton for punishment. Going to turn out tomorrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiromi Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 Freedom of the Hills is a great book to get a beginner started. I still refer back to it periodically to brush up on skills like z-pulley, ice-axe carabiner belay, weird knots, etc. I don't know of any other books that are as comprehensive. Â There are several good classes you can take to get you started if you can't find someone to teach you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialed Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 I can't really talk shit. I read that book cover-to-cover when I was 13 and a weakling-wannabe trad climber / alpinist. Â Of course, not much has really changed, except that now I'm old enough to drink beer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummox Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 fuck reading. watch movies to get psyched. like just about any indy skate film, reruns of jackass (or the jackass movie). gets you primed to break sumpin. listen to thrash metal. drink. a lot. smoke em if you got em. Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialed Posted April 29, 2003 Share Posted April 29, 2003 Dogtown and Z-Boys. You MUST see this movie. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=A239388 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted April 30, 2003 Share Posted April 30, 2003 Book -> $$  Tradgirl etc -> gratis  Read tradgirl etc, buy gas, go climbing  Actually, Eric's is a good suggestion - Mike and Andy's cartoon books are a riot, and have all the stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothrop Posted April 30, 2003 Share Posted April 30, 2003 If you buy Freedom of the Hills you can lug it on your training hikes and read a chapter at the top. Bring it along when you go to practice crevasse rescue and use it to pad the lip. I bet if you showed up at the crag and started leafing through it, everyone nearby would either A) clear out for fear of having to rescue a newbie or B) helpfully answer any safety questions you might have. Either way, you win! Â I prefer books because you can read them away from a computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPaul_Hansen Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 There are number of good to fair references in the Seattle and King County library system. See www. spl.org and www.kcls.org. Go to your local library and ask for 'inter-library loan' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Yngve Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 I heard there's a new edition of FotH in the works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleblebleb Posted May 4, 2003 Share Posted May 4, 2003 I heard tradgirl has been updated umpteen times already this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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