Climbing Books

I resonated to this book. Jamling Tenzing Norgay is a son of the famous Sherpa climber Tenzing Norgay, who together with Sir Edmund Hillary became, in 1953, the first men to reach the summit of Everest.
Some of you may have read Jon Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air", about the ill-fated Spring 1996 climbing season on Everest. Jamling follows in his father's footsteps and finds himself high on Everest that same Spring, as a key member of David Breashear's IMAX film team.
The book combines a most interesting and informative look inside the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism together with the local people's mythology of the spirits protecting the famous mountain. These are woven together with stories of the 1953 Everest climb, and the tragic Spring 1996 Everest climbing season. Jamling's journey is both an inner and outer one, and is presented to us with sensitivity and insight. I recommend it highly.

A fantastic read, totally compelling and involving. The fact that Paul Prtichard has actually gone through the experiences he describes is astounding. a book that leaves you feeling totally content with the world when you close the last page.

Especially good if you are laid up with a climbing injury!

Once again Professor Ellis has top-roped us Phillistines onto the challenging academic ledge that embraces the exploration narrative as powerful literature. Honestly, his scintillating start is followed by an even more promising introduction that speaks to the Gore-tex and fleece crowd, and draws a circle at base camp. While paying heed to scholarly conventions, Ellis' familar style shares an adrenaline-laced tale with the rest of us that emerges from the dusty and stained journals from the likes of London's Alpine Club. His insightful portrayal of Mackinder's 1899 imperial ascent of Mt. Kenya ressurects images of the Duke of Abruzzi, and his equally thoughtful recitation of Noel's 1924 film documentary of the British expedition on Everest is the stuff of current fancy. But Dr. Ellis initiates the reader 's stunned self-arrest at 58 year old Annie Smith Peck's amazing first ascent of Huascar'an in 1908. Peck, the original post modernist, is equally comfortable planting a banner, VOTES FOR WOMEN, on the summit, as she is detailing the arduous athletic nature of mountaineering and commenting on the rich social, cultural and geographical landscape from which the massif juts. One can only hope that Ellis will abandon his fine research, and ancient volumns, and chronicle his own peripatetic life's journey up the scree slopes of distant desolate peaks; after all, that's where the real story begins. 5.12

Great book for stories on climbers in Yosemite!

When we hear the term "via ferrata" we think of those routes in the Dolomites--permanent aids in the form of rungs, ladders, suspension bridges, and the like, that allow "tourists" easier access to places that are ordinarily inaccessible to anyone but a veteran climber. There are a number of fine books on the via ferrata in the Dolomites. The via ferrata in France started in 1988: this book describes about a hundred of the routes.

What you get here is a real gem! The pages are full-color and glossy--it's a delight to wander through. There are loads of maps, good narrative descriptions, and large numbers of photographs (including some real hair-raisers). The accompanying keys include vertical and horizontal distances, time for the route, difficulty (from suitable for children to extremely difficult), maximum altitude, exposure, views, escape routes, and approach time from the parking areas. Most of the route times are 1-3 hours, and most of the approach times are from 5 to 20 minutes. In France, there seems to be an emphasis on easy access to these routes.

The book stresses safety: helmet, harness, and lanyard. Some of the routes have Himalayan bridges (3 steel strands--one for the feet and two for the hands), others have monkey bridges (2 strands--one for the feet, the other for the hands), and still others have the more comforting narrow wooden walkway below the cables for the hands. There are routes (with photographs) of ladder climbs tilted beyond the vertical--you need good protection, strong hands and feet (losing your grip would not be fun!), and good nerves. This is a truly great guide, and a wonderful book to lose yourself in!

A terrific piece of writing by Jim Perrin about this hard man of grit who left his mark on hard gritstone rock and the people in that climbing arena then--and even now.
But given the background that the author manages to reveal through his writing about this great icon and his true word craft that paints a Lowry image of Don (not so much a stick figure though!)in a tough northern environment, why is Don Whillans painted as a villain? Maybe a rebel, but a hero not a villain. Sorry Jim, I cannot see the title being right for Don, but its just my opinion:)..Mind you I never got whacked by Don in a few of the times I met him, but his routes are stronger testament to his rebellion to authority than his social exploits.
It was a large project for the author, but very worthwhile to document what needed to be told--warts and all.
Its a bit of climbing history that was special at that time.
Isn't the route described in the book Ferdies Folly at Ravenstones, actually Freddys Folly?
Great.

The cover of this book really grabs you with the lushness of a summer day. A rustic wooden gate is framed by a wrought iron arbor, which sits on top of brick columns. Lush pink climbing roses and lavender colored clematis are cascading over the entire structure. A beautiful garden book is the perfect way to spend a cold winter's day and Vines & Climbers didn't disappoint me.

The book is divided into Five Chapters: (1) Looking Up -- In this part we're given the use and value of climbing plants. (2) The Supporting Player--This refers to the bones of the garden and any fences, walls, tall trees and other structures that are on site. (3) Growing Up -- This chapter discusses the essential elements that are needed by every garden: soil, mulch, compost, fertilizers, light, shade and moisture. Some information is also given on pests and diseases. (4) A to Z of Plants --This is the largest part of the book. It gives descriptions of over 120 different plants that include vegetables, fruits and colorful ornamentals. (5) Vines & Climbers In the Garden--This Chapter outlines different designs and gives planting suggestions for the home garden.

I enjoyed reading Vines & Climbers and liked the idea of using fruit and vegetable vines along with ornamental ones. The photographs are very attractive! My favorite picture is of a weather beaten doghouse that's completely covered with a gorgeous blooming nasturtium vine. The dog's face is even peeking out from his front door.

Although it took a long time to get the book, it was worth the wait. Excellent book. I appreciate the fact that I was kept informed with the constant changing delivery time.

The approach beta in this book for What's My Line and for the Rockfellow formations is better than that found in any other book on the area, including Kerry's book (Backcountry Climbing in Southern Arizona, the acknowledged bible for Cochise). In addition, the updated approach to Warpath, and the inclusion of Sedona routes like the Mace and Four Flying Apaches (another item not found in any other guide) would probably make this a worthwhile purchase for most visitors. Its low price is a huge plus for out-of-state visitors like me who nonetheless don't like to waste time getting hopelessly lost. It covers a lot of routes in a lot of areas within Arizona, more of a sampler than anything else, yet it somehow also manages to pack in a lot of extremely useful and current beta.

My first trip to Cochise was this past week and it was amazing. I don't know if it would have been half as much fun without the guidance of Abbott's book here. The finest route we climbed on, 'Endgame', is a steep, 5 pitch bolted 5.10a that I knew only from magazine photos and scant Internet beta. It's not covered in Abbott's book -- but the approach to the End Pinnacle routes is, paradoxically, better covered in Abbott's book than any of the guides that do have topos for Endgame. (If you want a comprehensive guidebook to Cochise, you need to supplement Kerry's book with the updated approaches found in this book, anyways -- and Kerry's book covers many more obscure crags which will be of keen interest to repeat visitors. Alas, it is out of print -- but the Summit Hut people have a copy which you may be able to Xerox, if you ask nicely.) In any event, once you arrive at the West Stronghold (another handy suggestion from Abbott is to stick with the West Stronghold as your base camp), it is likely that other climbers will be about, so ask them.

If you are planning a road trip to Arizona, this $10 book is a no-brainer.

I picked this book up earlier this summer and have been surprisingly happy with it. The route descriptions are good, and I feel that the author rates the climbs realistically. What I mean by that is that his 5.9 is consistent across the state. A specific example are the climbs at Exit 38. A climb there might be rated 5.10a in the Exit 38 guidebook, but David Whitelaw appropriately rates it 5.9-. I've noticed rating discrepancies in other areas too and have usually sided with David's ratings.