How to Climb Series: Climbing Anchors (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: two wired nuts, passive chocks, slider nuts, Anchor Dynamics, Rawl Drive, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The most valuable skill you can acquire as a traditional climber is the ability to build sturdy, reliable anchors. Without that, no amount of natural talent or dumb luck will allow you to live a long, healthy life as a rock climber. Fortunately, John Long's guide to climbing anchors is a definitive source, with sections on natural, equalized, haul bag, and rappelling anchors. Whether you're using spring-loaded, camming devices or the old-school, passive tri-cams, Long presents a number of creative options for nearly every possible situation. Long is a patient teacher and his writing is clear and concise, but it's the hundreds of illustrations that really drive his lessons home. --Benjamin Tiffany

Product Description

Rock climbing anchors are the foundation of all safe climbing experiences. Placing and configuring solid, secure anchors in a variety of situations is the focus of climbing anchors. John Long, author of the definitive instructional text How to Rock Climb!, applies the same entertaining and straightforward style to this manual and gives readers the lowdown on natural anchors, removable gear anchors such as nuts and camming devices, and fixed gear anchors. The crucial dynamics of equalization and opposition are thoroughly discussed, and useful knots are illustrated in a clear, easy-to-understand style. Climbing Anchors provides the knowledge you need to keep you -and your partner-safely attached to the vertical world.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 1st edition (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0934641374
• ISBN-13: 978-0934641371
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #172,414 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #21 in	Books > Sports > Mountaineering > Rock Climbing
  #32 in	Books > Sports > Mountaineering > Instructional

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful source, but far short of what it could be, January 10, 2000

By	Bryan O'Sullivan (CA, United States) - See all my reviews

The big problem with Chockstone/Falcon's "How to rock climb" series is that too many of their books, particularly those written by John Long, seem to contain huge sections cut-and-pasted from other titles in this series.

Alas, "Climbing Anchors" is no exception. If you have a copy of the book "How To Rock Climb", you already have about 50% of the matter covered in this book. What remains is useful, but hardly justifies the cost of a full book.

If this book contained a section on setting up pulley systems, it might be more worthwhile.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for trad climbers, January 4, 2001

By	Jennifer Louie (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

A bit out of date (for example, he talks about cordelettes like they're something really rare and new) and some of the black and white photos of anchor systems are difficult to see, but I still learned a lot from this book (in conjunction with hands-on learning, of course). It helps to have the companion book (More Climbing Anchors) because some of the techniques in there are a little more up to date. I liked how he talked about the pros/cons of each anchor setup and situation. I've heard that Bob Gaines and John Long are working on a new book on anchors, but not sure when that's supposed to be out.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for trad climbing/natural anchor setup, May 9, 2003

By	T. Takeuchi "ttoshi" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is extremely valuable for learning how to place protection or setting up anchors for trad climbing or top rope anchor setup. My friends and I carefully studied this book and went out and practiced placing gear and setting up anchors from the ground. When we went and took an anchor building class, we learned a lot of good tips, but the information we learned from this book helped us rapidly advance in our class. This book also is very helpful after you learn your basics because you can analyze various anchor setups and compare it to the analysis in the book. One drawback of this or any other book is that a picture is never as good as inspecting protection on your own at various angles close up. For this reason, you will want to go climbing with a more experienced partner or an instructor so they can give you more detailed feedback on your own protection placement skills.