43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of four books compared, February 9, 2005
This review is from: The Mountaineering Handbook: Modern Tools and Techniques That Will Take You to the Top (Paperback)
If you're loking for a how-to book on mountaineering there are only a few to consider. Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is the classic, but it turns out to be too bloated and too non-committal--old school guidance, and not very good at that; sometimes it's just plain wrong. Extreme Alpinism is entertaining, but not a good textbook; it's too idiosyncratic, has little actual depth, and its information is not well organized. That leaves Alpine Climbing and The Mountaineering Handbook, both good choices. AC is certainly aimed at the more advanced climber, but TMH covers all the same territory and more; usually, they agree on details if not on emphasis. The difference is that TMH is more user-friendly, better organized, and covers a lot of basic details that will be new material for most mountaineers and backpackers, and that are missing from AC. TMH tends to offer the logical or technical basis for its advice, which I liked. AC takes a guide's viewpoint, with lots of lists of things to think about when making decisions but not as much of the justification that will help retain its wisdom. TMH is more like advice from you your best friend, and it covers many more subtle details. AC's photos are often hard to interpret while the illustrations in TMH are usually very clear. Some of the techniques found in TMH are too new to be found anywhere else; AC is much more up-to-date than FOH, but you wouldn't call it new-school. Here's just one example: using autoblock belay devices is a useful, modern technique. FOH, according to its index, doesn't even mention it. AC mentions two such devices but doesn't give enough information on how to actually use them, warning that when locked they are hard to release. EA is better, but TMH mentions or illustrates a half dozen devices and illustrates many uses, with plenty of coaching. It shows means of releasing them that are better and simpler than even the manufacturers offer. It shows how to use this technique as part of a fast climbing style and it even discusses using autoblock belay devices with modern, thin ropes. If I could pick only one it would be The Mountaineering Handbook, especially if I were getting started or were getting rusty. If I had more experience I might add Alpine Climbing. If I got another copy of Freedom of the Hills, I'd probably blow off most of what it says, just as other experienced climbers do. For entertainment, I'd pick either Extreme Alpinism or The Mountaineering Handbook--or both--depending on my mood.
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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Mountaineering Text/Instruction Book Anywhere!!!, June 8, 2005
This review is from: The Mountaineering Handbook: Modern Tools and Techniques That Will Take You to the Top (Paperback)
As a mountaineer, I am always on the hunt for up-to-date textbooks/instruction books with methods/techniques to make my climbs (Aconcagua/Denali) safer, faster, and more enjoyable. And as an avid reader of just about everything--especially history--I am always on the lookout for a good, entertaining book.
I have collected most of the editions of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills (FOH), and have found them lame/lacking. Extreme Alpinism (EA) is a big step in the right direction. However, Mark Twight mentions methods/techniques but doesn't explain details--as if the reader ought to know them already. This comes off a little condescending.
There are none of these problems in The Mountaineering Handbook. Craig Connally delivers the very best mountaineering textbook/instruction book on the market and does so with a refreshing wit/good humor that makes it an excellent read. (A textbook/instruction book a good read--imagine that!!) As an experienced mountaineer, I found virtually every chapter to be a wealth of useful and often ingenious information:
-His chapter on knots cuts through outdated crap found in FOH--he trashes the holy-grail figure of eight/water knot, and replaces them with excellent instruction on the Yosemite bowline, butterfly, "beer" knot and munter-mule;
-His rope techniques are right on--especially his treatment of using skinny/lightweight ropes which hardly gets mentioned in other texts;
-His treatment of anchors I think surpasses John Long's excellent books on the subject;
-I like his emphasis on lightweight safety, as opposed to "going naked"--a theme known to be lionized in Twight's earlier days;
-He discusses such cutting edge snow/ice equipment as igloos, pulks/sleds, firngliders, trekking poles, etc., that hardly get mentioned in other texts;
-The chapter on climbing forces documents/explains critical safety issues completely ignored in other texts;
-No other text deals with the "angle of repose" issue, which seems fundamental to dealing with mountain terrain;
-Even the antidotes regarding his Native American Grandfather were great--especially the "ten essentials" discussion!!
-ETC. ETC. ETC.
I was disappointed that Connally--a professed ski mountaineer--did not delve into that subject at all. If skis are new school and snowshoes are old, why discuss snowshoes but not expound on skis?? Right now, there really isn't any good texts on ski mountaineering on the market--perhaps this could be his next project (or a whole chapter in an updated edition). Also, I ordered the book through Amazon, got one with misprinted/blank pages in places, returned it for exchange and got the same thing. Apparently, there has been some quality problems at the printers--certainly not Connally's fault.
Now if the climbing community can weasel Connally and Climbing Magazine's illustrator Mike Clelland to collaborate on a second edition with that added chapter on ski mountaineering, what more can an aspiring mountaineer ask for??
If you buy one textbook on mountaineering, this is it.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Critical thinking required, May 17, 2007
This review is from: The Mountaineering Handbook: Modern Tools and Techniques That Will Take You to the Top (Paperback)
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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