The Mountaineering Handbook
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Product Description
Modern Mountaineering on Alpine Rock, Snow, and Ice If your experience as a backpacker or rock climber is drawing you higher; if the cold, remote alpine environment calls you nearer, this book is for you. The Mountaineering Handbook will teach you the skills that will take you to the top. Even if you’re already an experienced mountaineer, you’ll find detailed descriptions of the newest and most effective techniques to refine and organize your methods and equipment. The Mountaineering Handbook isn't mired in outdated traditionalism; its new-school techniques are safer, more effective, and more fun for mountaineers at every level. With constant emphasis on light, fast, and efficient mountaineering, Craig Connally shows you how to: - Move quickly up and down rock, snow, and ice with appropriate safety systems
- Manage mountain hazards, including rockfall, avalanche, lightning, and high-altitude illness
- Select the best equipment for your personal style and objectives
- Maintain sound nutrition and training according to the most up-to-date science
- Understand the human factors of mountaineering--the social and psychological forces that influence critical decisions
Connally’s passion for mountaineering is evident in his writing--The Mountaineering Handbook is clever, insightful, and entertaining. He intends to move mountaineering into the twenty-first century, but he’s also determined to turn the traditional how-to book on its ear by injecting personality, humor, and thoughtfulness into every page.
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
Not perfect but close
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Comment:
I am on my third reading of this book and I continue to pick up bits that I was not familure with. I have to agree that in the next revision a section on ski mountaineering would be a real plus. So if the author is listening please add it and please continue the good work.
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Summary:
Critical thinking required
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Comment:
I bought this book as an adjunct to Freedom of the Hills. The Mountaineering Handbook positions itself as "New School" and counterposes Freedom of the Hills as "Old School." It is very thought-provoking but does require the reader to use critical thinking skills. I would caution beginners (and I am a beginner although I do have many years of SAR experience) to get some real-world experience before relying on this book as a resource.
While Craig Connally provides useful insights, many specific claims are made without providing references. For example, he decries the weakening effect of the water knot as compared to the double fishermans for tying runners. To test his claim, I watched a friend who works at a testing lab measure the force to break two identical 1-inch nylon runners tied with each knot. In each case the knot broke at about 5000 lbs.
On the other hand, his claim that the water knot too easily unties is verifiable by just rubbing the knot between two hands. It will in fact fall apart in short order. Since reading this and then trying if for myself I have been much more diligent about checking all water knots before every use. I have also switched to sewn runners or the double fishermans for runners that I don't intend to retie.
Connally also has good points about the overemphasis on self-arrest to the detriment of the self-belay, the dogma of always using the end-person to initiate the placing of anchors in crevasse rescue, among many other valid criticisms of the "Old School."
If you are looking for a replacement for Freedom of the Hills I think Connally's book falls short, but as a thought-provoking challenge to many unquestioned traditional practices this book is very worthwhile.
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Summary:
A collection of old info with a lot of biases
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Comment:
This is an okay book if you already have several others and want another viewpoint. It should NOT be the only book you buy. There are too many errors and strong biases scattered throughout to make it a one-source reference. Freedom of the Hills (latest edition) is still a better resource if you're just going to have one. The Houston/Cosley book is more up to date and better researched. Twight's book is getting dated but still has good info for those who are pushing harder.
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Summary:
Good aspects, but some questionable and unsafe examples
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Comment:
Well, I just purchased this book and I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I own many of the books already compared in reviews here, and have climbed for years, and I feel that the other books are much better.
Here's why....
First, some of his choices are pretty odd, and are presented as 'the only way':
- Advocating the use of a backup sling sewn onto a 4000lb-test rap ring (if you're that worried, why not just use two rings - it's lighter, simpler, and won't tangle your anchor!)
- Spending four pages on avalanche discussion, but only one sentence on avalanche transceivers, and then only to call them 'corpse locators'
- Talking about the flipping problems of the figure-8 when used to join two ropes (he calls it 'ring-loading') and advises the use of the overhand (EDK) instead... but neglects to mention that the overhand can also flip.
And then, some of his photos are just plain hazardous (!):
- Transferring an entire belay to hang off only a skinny klemheist cord on page 316
- A subtle triaxial loading of a carabiner on a tree on page 142 (the force on the spine is inward, not outward)
- Not backing up any of his Munter-Mule combinations (they don't call the Mule knot a load-releasable-slip-knot for nuthin') on pages 315-317
And the above points were just from a day of reading and skimming...I'm sure the list goes on.
Sure, he's got some great stuff apart from all this. He includes a lot of numbers (everything from gear strength to giardia concentration) which I like. The nutrition chapter is quite nice, as is his chapter on anchor physics. Plus, I feel that the book is definitely more 'modern' than Mountaineering Freedom of the Hills, and cuts out a lot of items most mountaineers don't care about (aid climbing, dual-line rock rescue, etc).
But, being advertised as a 'handbook', I feel that this book (a) is too biased and (b) has enough subtle errors to make me say that other books are a more suitable basis for beginners. In short, I'd recommend spending the extra bit of $$ and getting both MFOTH and Alpine Climbing, and using Alpine Climbing to learn 'modern' climbing, and using MFOTH for the basics.
Just my two cents. Rock on.
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Summary:
Hopefully this will be fixed if there is a 2nd edition.
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Comment:
1 newton = 1 kg * m/s/s = force
1 pound = 1 sulg * foot/s/s = force
1 foot pound = torque
Torque is not Force!! the U.S./English units of force need to be changed from foot pounds to pounds in the next edition. Other than that the book is great.
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