Product Description

This intermediate guide addresses tools, skills, and techniques used in alpine terrain includng rock, snow, ice, and glaciers at moderate altitude approximately 5,000 metres and lower.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49116 in Books
• Size: Alpine Climbing: Tec
• Brand: Cosley and Houston
• Published on: 2004-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 325 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780898867497
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Every backcountry skier and ski mountaineer should have a copy of Alpine Climbing." -- Backcountry Magazine

"It's organized, step-by-step presentation of information on climbing techniques and strategies provides an effective learning experience." -- Rock & Ice

Outstanding technical guidance...concisely written, with little fluff to sidetrack the reader. -- Reno Gazette-Journal

[T]his book will help accelerate the learning process and good judgment learned through many days...spent in the mountains. -- Outside Bozeman

About the Author
Kathy Cosley and Mark Houston have been guides and climbing instructors for more than 20 years. In 1988, Kathy was the first American woman to climb the Eiger's North Face. Mark was among the first guides certified by the International Federation of Mountain Guides Association. Together, they made a lightweight and fast ascent of the South Face of Aconcagua.

Customer Reviews

Sweet spot between the basics and the extreme
This book hits the sweet spot between Freedom of the Hills and Mark Twight. Finally, a book for those of us who know the basics, maybe have done some guided mountaineering trips or novice routes, and already know how to rock climb, but need to know more in order to venture further on our own. The authors frame everything in terms of making decisions, which is very helpful when you are doing things for the first time. Good discussions of equipment, hazards, weather, navigation, and protective systems. The approach is very down to earth and practical.

Climb harder than Freedom of the Hills...
...but not to the extreme.

This book is the second chapter in an aspiring alpinists handbook. I found myself over the years amassing a pile of pooks on running, fittness*, nutrition*, supplements*, advanced rock climbing, ice climbing, crevasse rescue, orienteering*, navigation*, avalanche evaluation, etc. This book would have saved me a few bucks by putting alot of this in one place.

* = These are covered well in this book.

If you know Freedom of the Hills like the back ouf your hand, have Extreme Alpinism and a good book on slightly more advanced rock skills, don't bother. If not, get it.

Even with this book, you need a resource of some sort in avy eval and advanced rock/rope skills.

good book, well thought out
I agree with the reviewers above (below) that this book complements "Freedom of the Hills". In particular it focuses more on the decision making process than most books of these types. Although I've never traveled with either of the authors, they seem like lovely people and the stories they tell flesh them out for the reader. They also answered a question I had when I wrote them via email. In all, a solid book that it would do to put on your bookshelf.