How to Rock Climb! (How to Rock Climb Series) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A complete rock climbing instructional book. All the fundamentals -- from ethics to getting up the climb -- are presented in John Long's classic, rib-splitting style. Totally updated to reflect new standards in equipment, technique & training methods (as of 1998), this book gives beginning & intermediate climbers an edge. It includes tips for improvement -- & staying alive! Plus a glossary of terms & quick-reference index. Extensive illustrations. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

How to Rock Climb!, this time in its third edition, has always been the most thorough rock climbing instructional book on the market. All the fundamentals--from ethics to getting up the climb--are presented in Long's classic, rib-splitting style. Totally updated to reflect today's standards in equipment, technique, and training methods, How to Rock Climb! gives beginning and intermediate climbers an edge. Inside are tips from improvement--and staying alive! Includes a glossary of terms and quick-refernence index.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Falcon; 3rd edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575401142
• ISBN-13: 978-1575401140
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,056,129 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Undeniably classic, yet strangely flawed, July 31, 2000

By A Customer

This is undeniably one of the major "textbooks" on rock climbing, and contains a great deal of useful information. Yet it has some rather disturbing flaws. Firstly, even though I read the 1998 edition, outdated information from earlier editions had not been updated. At times I felt like I was reading a book describing rock climbing in some parallel universe: Long refers to brands and items of gear not currently in existence (what's a Salewa Antz?) and some recommended techniques (tying into a trad anchor with the rope rather than with slings or a cordelette) are very rarely, in my experience, used. The text often makes references which will prove confusing for the beginner, and would benefit from a better glossary. The 1998 edition also has some sections so full of misspellings that they appear to have been written by a quasi-literate person. In summary, everything in this book is good information, but some of it is not entirely relevant to the way climbing is done today, and some of it is presented in an unclear manner.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How to Rock Climb!, July 2, 2002

By	Bill (midwest) - See all my reviews

I'm a beginner at rock climbing and reading this book for instructional purposes. While it does a good job of explaining fundamentals I have found certain sections difficult to follow - often times different moves will be referecned before the section that explains them (sometimes with a referencing page, sometimes without). I also found it poorly edited in some spots - mis-refenced pages, paragraphs seemingly in wrong order (ie. pg 62 claims there is a "taping" illustration on pg 60, it is clearly on pg 63; the last and second to last paragraphs on page 63 seem to be flip flopped).

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Covers the basics, April 13, 2000

By	Bayan Dakuginow (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

It does an outstanding job of covering the basics in easy to understand terms, it goes over both technique and equipment. The only thing I would like to see is a more comprehensive glossary, there are a few terms not covered.