Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills

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7th edition cover
7th edition cover

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is often considered the standard textbook for mountaineering and climbing. The book was first published in 1960 by The Mountaineers of Seattle, Washington. The book is written by a team of over 40 experts in the field and is suitable reading from beginners to experts.

The book grew out of the annual climbing course run since 1935 by the Mountaineers, for which the reading material was originally a combination of European works and lecturers' mimeo outlines. These were assembled into the Climber's Notebook and published by the Mountaineers as the hardbound Mountaineers Handbook in 1948. By 1955 the rapid postwar evolution of climbing techniques and tools had made the Handbook out of date, and the effort was begun to produce Freedom of the Hills. Nearly 80 major contributors are credited in the first edition and were organized by a committee of 8 editors.

The first four editions were only available in hardcover.

Contents

[edit] 5th Edition

The 5th edition of the book is split into four parts over 17 chapters:

  • Part One: Approaching the Peaks
  • Part Two: Climbing Fundamentals
  • Part Three: Rock Climbing
  • Part Four: Snow and Ice Climbing

There are four appendices and an index. 447 pp.

Chapters

  1. First Steps
  2. Clothing and Equipment
  3. Camping and Food
  4. Routefinding and Navigation
  5. Wilderness Travel
  6. Ropes, Knots, and carabiners
  7. Belaying
  8. Rappeling
  9. Rock Climbing Techniques
  10. Leading and Placing Protection
  11. Aid Climbing and Pitoncraft
  12. Snow Travel and Climbing
  13. Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue
  14. Ice Climbing
  15. Winter and Expedition Climbing
  16. Safety and Leadership
  17. Alpine Rescue


[edit] 7th Edition

Chapters

  1. First Steps
  2. Clothing and Equipment
  3. Camping and Food
  4. Physical Conditioning
  5. Navigation
  6. Wilderness Travel
  7. Leave No Trace
  8. Basic Safety Systems
  9. Belaying
  10. Rappelling
  11. Alpine Rock Climbing Technique
  12. Rock Protection
  13. Leading on Rock
  14. Aid Climbing
  15. Snow Travel and Climbing
  16. Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue
  17. Alpine Ice Climbing
  18. Waterfall Ice and Mixed Climbing
  19. Expedition Climbing
  20. Leadership
  21. Safety
  22. First Aid
  23. Alpine Rescue
  24. Mountain Geology
  25. The Cycle of Snow
  26. Mountain Weather


[edit] Editions

[edit] External link