Recommended Rock Climbing Books

How to Rock Climb! Fourth Edition - by John Long
If forced to suggest only 1 single how-to book to read on rock climbing, this would not be it. This book would be our
second suggestion were we allowed to recommend only two books. Given the luxury of being able to recommend many
books, this one is at the top of our list for one reason only - Inspiration.

John's book, like any good how-to, is loaded with good information and is very approachable for a beginner. It does
everything it needs to and doesn't waste much time getting to the actual instruction. Its greatest asset, however, is the
mini-story interspersed through-out the book. As you read, you'll occasionally find instruction interrupted by a story
about a fictional pair of would-be climbers. The story isn't intrusive and you can opt to skip it entirely or read those
sections from beginning to end to see how it plays out first. We recommend reading as you go through the
instructional portion and tolerating the interruptions, however, as the story does a wonderful job of building to a
mellow crescendo that had me chomping at the bit to get out and climb some more. The story starts with Amos and
Coco, strangers at the time, both deciding to attend a beginning rock climbing seminar after seeing a flier at a local
outdoor shop and carries through their learning experience all the way up to... well, I won't spoil it for you. Suffice to
say this is a great read, has good information specific to what you likely want to do and does a great job of feeding
that seedling of an appetite for adventure growing in your heart. The book's only real drawback is the lack of color
pictures but this is really nit-picking as the illustrations are almost all crystal clear. We also recommend buying the
latest printing as earlier press runs (pre 2004) contained some dated information and incorrect page references.

GO BUY THIS BOOK TODAY even if you've never set foot in a climbing gym.

Mountaineering - The Feedom of the Hills - 7th Edition
If you want comprehensive information about virtually every aspect of climbing, how does nearly 600 pages crammed
full of climbing info grab you? This is the book that would have made our #1 list if we could only recommend one but,
given the freedom to list many books, its jack-of-all-trades content relegates it to #2 on our
suggested-reading-for-virgin-climbers list.

Often called FotH, Mountaineering goes over just about everything climbing... and that's its only real failing for the
beginning climber. While you might someday wish to brave the wilds of alpine terrain, you're probably not very
interested in alpine ice climbing at this stage. Nor do divergant plate margins or intraplate "hot spot" volcanoes
interest you (told you it was full of info). That said, this book is called the climber's bible by many for good reason and
if you have a question about something climbing related, it'll probably be mentioned in here. From rescue to resources,
knots to nuts, crampons, pitons and cloud types, there's at least a little bit about everything. It's a lot of book to own
and a bit intimidating if you haven't even set foot in the gym yet.

Another downside for a beginning climber is that no person or thing can be great at everything. Mountaineering
comes delightfully close but if you are interested in REALLY learning the ins and outs of a specific style of climbing,
want enough knot tying skill to earn your Eagle Scout badge or want to know how and what type of anchor to use to
cover yourself in every possible situation, you'll want to buy books specifically geared to that particular practice.

Never-the-less, this is #2 of only two books we consider absolutely required in any climber's library. The rest are all
optional based on your tastes and evolving climbing-related interests.

ROCK 'N' ROAD - An Atlas of North American Rock Climbing Areas - by Tim Toula
Like FotH, ROCK 'N' ROAD is a book that takes the shotgun approach and doesn't waste time on every little detail. As
noted in the sub-title, it is an atlas, not a local street guide. If you've got a traveling budget and want to know what
climbing destinations might be good in, say, Kansas (yes, there are a couple) then this is the book for you. If you want
to know what the routes look like at that location then this is not the book for you. At most it will list some of the top
routes at that destination and you'll want to pick up a guidebook specific to the spots you plan to visit.

Tim gives each destination a star rating, directions, some terrain and accommodations descriptions and has peppered
his book with maps and black & white photos. This book does what it intends to do very well but, as with any print
media covering broad territory, probably contained out-dated information the day it went to press. Nelson Rocks
Preserve in West Virginia, for example, is a three-star rated destination in my 2003 copy of this book. The preserve was
unfortunately closed to climbing when I visited there in 2006. Fortunately, right-next-door Seneca was open! Still, this
atlas is a good jumping off point (pardon the pun) for any climber planning a road trip to another state who wants to
know where the best destinations are to visit.

Any good guide to your planned climbing destination
No, that's not a title. Given the number of climbing destinations in the world, it would be impossible to review all the
books about all of them and provide you a useful list. You'll have to do some research yourself for this one. We
suggest going through internet sources such as Amazon.com that include reader feedback and finding a guidebook
for the location you want to climb. Not all spots have guidebooks, unfortunately, which leaves you to depend on
either the internet or word-of-mouth descriptions. Regardless, good info on your planned destination is something
you should have in your collection.