Climbing Books

This is a highly inspirational book and I'm very glad the stories that Brad Washburn first wrote as a teenager have been reprinted. How great it was that Brad's parents took him to the Alps and let him climb. I can only imagine that today too many would worry about lawsuits, insurance and scheduled activities.

Its about character development. One can see why Brad Washburn achieved so much in later life. I'd highly recommend giving it to adventurous teens!

I've had the pleasure of working with Brad Washburn at the Museum of Science in Boston and have listened to him talk of his experiences many times. This book is a glimpse of the adventurer as a young man. His enthusiasm is infectious and even after 96 years, it's still there.

Brad is one of the last of a breed that the world will not see again.

After you have read this book be sure to read this book to your kids, they'll want to hike Mt Washington next summer!

Washburn: Extraordinary Adventures Of A Young Mountaineer is the true story of a young climber's daring early adventures. Black-and-white photographs sparsely illustrate this captivating, firsthand description of what it is like to brave snow, ice, high altitudes, and the risk of death all for the sake of exhilaration and achievement. An exciting read especially for armchair travelers, and the next best thing to daring to climb a peak oneself.

Sensational edjucation-the most important way to understand the frequency and causes of climbing misfortune.

This is the fifth report in this series I've read. It is the best resource for finding out what really hurts, cripples and kills people involved in mountaineering. You may read "On Rope", John Long, Craig Leubben, Craig Connelly, "Freedom of the Hills", etc., to find out what to do correctly, but the ANAM books will provide a strong sense of what can go wrong, when and where procedures should become your friend, and you'll read real case studies of how to avoid problematic issues when in the wilderness or mountainous terrain. Regarding practical mountaineering and climbing, I've learned at least as much from ANAM as I have from any other five titles. I believe it should be required reading for anyone transitioning from gym climbing to real rock. Or for those who seek the freedom of the hills.

This issue of Ascent is superior to some of the others. More professional and less flaky, it contains gripping trip reports and hilarious satire. The poetry is overall good, though very focused on the work of one author. The photography is beautiful but too much of it is in black and white. I found the reproduced paintings to be luridly colored and uninteresting. Overall, though, this book is well worth reading, with highlights including excellent work by Kelsey and Viola.

The scope, quality and depth of the prose in this issue of Ascent are of astoundingly high quality. Each one of the essays and stories in this collection provokes thought, and the sheer variety of the material, from farce through introspection to commentary, makes this a trove for climbers who love to read.

Alas, I cannot comment on the poetry, as I skipped all of it without reading a line.

The images in this issue are of more varied quality than the prose. While the colour photgraphs are crisp and rich, the monochrome photos are genreally poorly-reproduced, being flat and lacking in contrast. I was not impressed with much of the non-photographic art, as little of it has any quality that might draw attention to itself other than its subject matter.

Overall, I think that the 1999 issue of Ascent easily justifies its purchase price for the wonderful prose alone. If you are looking specifically for photography or artwork that pertains to climbing, though, you would do well to look elsewhere.

This book was part technical discussion of several studies at high altitude and part history and bio of the scientists who performed the studies. While the history might have been more interesting to others, I thoroughly enjoyed the technical discussions of the actual studies. My only wish was that there were MORE facts/figures included for each study. The book left me wanting to find the books/papers summarized so that I could read more detail.

The book is three books in one: fascinating Colorado history, interesting short biographies of scientists and their altitude research, and important information on the changes in human physiology when at altitude short-term or as a resident.

This book is a quick reading intro to the basic art of rock climbing. It gives good descriptions (with diagrams) of the various holds and ways to ascend the rock. As a beginning climber, this book has helped me better understand the mechanics of climbing.

This book is an excellent book and a great beginners guide to rock climbing as well as a guide and reference to those already into the sport and just want to check up on their skills. It provides a guide to knots and great moves. I even took this book with me on my first climb.

I laughed and laughed as I read this wonderful book. I can't wait for the next story from Bill and Dave.

This is a light, enjoyable book. If you've thought at all about cycling coast-to-coast, you can live vicariously through the experiences of Bill and Dave. This book isn't deep, nor are the adventures particularly wild, but there are some nice vignettes and interesting observations about the people and places the authors encountered.

First published in 1975, this book really should be titled `Mountaineering in Western North American.' The book does cover technical climbing, but it seems to be mainly concerned with how it affected mountaineering. The East coast is almost completely ignored. It mentions Seneca Rocks in passing, has a short chapter on the Vulgarians and mostly covers the Eastern climbers only when they visited the West. It neglects climbing in New Hampshire which is odd considering the state's role in ice climbing advances, that is central to mountaineering. In light of the large geographic area that Jones tries to cover, there is not a great deal of material. The time period he covers is from about 1900's to 1970. The topics he chooses to include seem a little random at times. He has great chapters on John Salathé, Yosemite and Tahquitz climbing that complements well with Roper's `Camp 4.' These chapters in themselves make the book worth it. Overall, a good read for people interested in mountaineering and climbing in the West. If you're interested in a history of East coast climbing, read `Yankee Rock and Ice.' It's the best climbing history I have ever read and I've read a lot of them.

This book is hard to put down. Although I am more interested in rock climbing and skipped a few chapters initially, this covers both mountaineering and rock climbing, east and west, very well. While Steve Roper's "Camp 4: Reflections of a Yosemite Rockclimber" might be THE single best history of that center of development, Jones' chapters such as "Hard Rock, Hard Steel," "El Capitan," and "The Granite Crucible" are worth the price alone. A must for the serious collector

This is a touching story about life in rural WV and a woman determined to change its hardships

A West Virginia coal mine accident becomes the driving force that changed Barbara Jean Scott's direction in life. She becomes a nurse that makes a difference in her community and in the lives of those she loves. She fights for what is right.
This is a great novel that shows a taste of how some people live in part of Appalachia, WV written by a sensitve suthor.

This book is exclusively devoted to climbing roses and is a welcome addition to rose reference works (as the author states, only two have previously been published, one by G.A. Stephens in 1933 and the other by Graham Stuart Thomas in 1965).

Over 1600 roses are covered here. They are arranged in chapters by classes (Chinese Synstylae and other species, Rosa gigantea and Rosa chinensis, Aryshire and Evergreen roses, Rosa setigera and the Boursault Roses, Noisettes and Tea roses, Rosa multiflora, Turner's Crimson Rambler Race, Wichurana hybrids, New Dawn and its descendants, Kordesii hybrids, Climbing Sports and Large Flowered Climbers). Within each of these chapters, the author divides the roses by hybridizer. A richly detailed biographical account of the breeder is usually given which is followed by a list of the roses he/she hybridized and a brief description of each rose. A final chapter, "Cultivating Climbing Roses" discusses growing roses in general. A section of 200 beautiful color plates is featured in the center of the book.

Only one gripe - sizes of roses is given in the metric system which is annoying but at least it will help you to learn meters and centimeters!

This is a comprehensive, world-wide study of climbing and rambling roses. The topic is a huge one, especially as the writer refuses to be constrained by the contributions of any one country. Most of the leading writers on roses have been American, English or French. The writer adds in the considerable contributions of rose growers in Australia, Germany and Italy as well as other countries.

Despite difficulties in taxonomy and in tracing the history of each rose, the writer has included some 1600 currently grown climbing and rambling roses. I was happy to see an explanation of the differences between the two. Climbers have a small number of stiff stems. Ramblers have a larger number of more pliable stems, and these often trail along the ground. To confuse the issue, some ramblers are known as semi-climbers, and some small climbers are known as "pillar roses". Let's confuse it even further - climate can make a considerable difference in growth. A rose that is a climber in one country may be a shrub in another.

The writer is Director of England's National Rose Society and he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the topic as well as the resources to research it throughout the world. The book covers the origin and history of each of the roses and the reader learns about the people and circumstances behind each of the different varieties.

The colour photographs of the roses, taken by the author in gardens around the world, are exceptionally fine Each rose is identified, of course, but we also find out in which garden and which country the photograph was taken.

This is a book for the gardener who loves roses. It contains a vast amount of information, well organized and presented.

A great overview of the ice climbing available in Colorado. The best book on the market.

I have all the ice guides to colorado, and this one is about the only one I trust. Ratings are, in my experience, slightly conservative, which is better than being the other way, particularly for ice climbs where getting in over your head can be very serious. Route information is, for all the routes in the book I've done, very accurate.