Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills [Paperback]

Don Graydon (Editor), Kurt Hanson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

For more than thirty-five years and through five editions, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills has been the "bible" of the climbing world. An essential teaching tool and resource for novice to advanced mountaineers, it is the standard text for climbing courses throughout the United States and abroad. Freedom is the best-selling mountaineering book of all time, with over 500,000 copies sold. Completely updated and revised, the 6th edition reflects the rapid changes in mountaineering that have accompanied its increased popularity, the development of new techniques, and the introduction of new and improved equipment. It redefines the basics with the latest information on climbing and outdoor fundamentals; rock, snow, ice, and alpine climbing; emergency prevention and response; and the mountain environment. Included in the 6th edition are expanded treatments of belaying, leading and protecting on rock, glacier travel and crevasse rescue, and wilderness travel.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This updated edition of the mountaineering classic is an essential reference for novices and experts alike. Chapters are devoted to in-depth discussions of outdoors fundamentals; climbing techniques for rock, snow, and ice; safety procedures and emergency response; geology and weather; and appendices for climb ratings and supplementary reading, among other topics. Detailed sections on navigation, ropes, knots, and protection include drawings, diagrams, and maps. Enjoy the freedom of the hills to the fullest with this thorough guide.

From Publishers Weekly

This hefty tome, first published in 1960, was the book that started The Mountaineers Books. Known as "the climber's bible," it covers virtually all aspects of climbing, from choosing equipment and tying knots to basic rappelling techniques and expedition planning. There are sections on rock climbing, alpine climbing, emergency prevention and response and snow cycles, along with appendices on wind chill temperatures and suggestions for further reading. This seventh edition, written by a team of more than 40 expert climbers, reflects changes in equipment and technique, with new chapters on waterfall ice climbing and mixed climbing, physical conditioning, and land stewardship issues. It's also enhanced with 415 new illustrations depicting the "chimney technique" and the "twin-rope technique," among other maneuvers, and a new "ten essentials" list. Although the prose is workmanlike at best ("understanding fall factor and how it determines impact forces is fundamental to safe leading"), this work remains a must-have for climbing enthusiasts.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; 6th Rev edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898864275
• ISBN-13: 978-0898864274
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #43 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Mountaineering > Rock Climbing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars if you own no other climbing book, own this one, January 31, 2005

By 

P. Morelli (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (Hardcover)

This book has managed to condense all the fundamentals of (outdoor) climbing - from rock to ice- and to present them in an easily understandable and concise format. I found it invaluable as a beginner and have continued using it as a reference book. If you take climbing seriously, you will probably buy some other books on more specialized techniques down the line, but this book is where you should start. Nothing essential is missing. The book is also very good at pointing out all the ways you could possibly make mistakes, so you don't make them.

FYI, this book does not go so much into training for climbing as it does the skills and knowledge you will need to climb. (For rock climbing, the best book on *training* I've found is "Performance Rock Climbing".) It also does not go too much into first aid, but the publisher of this book also puts out a book on wilderness medicine if you are interested...

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Calling this book "essential" is an understatement., October 28, 2001

By 

Michael Knoll (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (Paperback)

Here in Seattle -- where mountaineering is almost a religion -- Freedom of the Hills is to climbing skills what Fred Beckey's Cascade Alpine Guide is to climbing routes: the bible. It's the fundamental textbook for the Seattle Mountaineers' climbing curriculum, reputed to be the most thorough and rigorous in the Pacific Northwest and perhaps in the country. Virtually every sentence in Freedom of the Hills has a piece of information that has helped me in the mountains. I've re-read portions so many times that my 1979 copy is more tattered than your grandmother's New Testament. Since I first read Freedom of the Hills I've climbed dozens of peaks in Washington's Cascades and Olympics -- on steep snow, ice, technical rock, and glaciers, you name it. I've been through the Ptarmigan Traverse, up eight peaks in the Pickets, and atop Rainier three times. To put it bluntly, if I'd attempted these climbs without the knowledge and skills in this book, by now I would certainly be dead. So, before you go up there: Take a class. Read this book. Stay alive. . . . Okay, I gotta go. I'm buying four more copies of this book right now to send to friends in Colorado.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars READ THIS, August 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (Paperback)

I have a huge, thick copy right here and it is the bomb. Want to know somethin' about the mountain experience? Everything is here in the book. Every serious and safe climber has read from it. Read it, you'll see why it's the best source to turn to. Even Alex Lowe calls it "an essential...remarkable compilation." Yeah Baby! :) Read & Climb On!