The Mountaineering Handbook: Modern Tools and Techniques That Will Take You to the Top

For most mountaineering topics, I turn to Connally's book (The Mountaineering Handbook, the one I'm reviewing) first, then Alpine Climbing: Techniques to Take You Higher, and finally to Freedom of the Hills or Extreme Alpinism. A couple highlights and comparative advantages of Connally's book include: Specific gear recommendations. 10- or 12-point crampons? Aluminum or steel? Shaft length and head material of ice axe and why? Axe or self-arrest trekking poles? The other books often don't discuss the trade-offs of various gear options. None of them discuss trekking poles for snow & ice in a meaningful way. The nutrition chapter. Consuming maltodextrin on the go (and for recovery) works better than anything else I've tried, and homemade gel/goo is now the main source of my caloric intake for any type of longer climbing/hiking. You can approximate how much gel / energy drink / other food you need to consume and how often based on Connally's breakdown of how many calories and how much fluid. I found it hard to find this information elsewhere. Some rock climbing training books recommend high glycemic index drinks post-workout for recovery, but they don't specify what carbohydrates are best (and why) and don't discuss at all the topic of energy intake while exercising -- Connally does. Extreme Alpinism has a very short section that makes some recommendations about using G.U. gel (maltodextrin and fructose, not optimal according to Connally) on the go, but almost no explanation. Rope, gear, and technique recommendations. Connally's book is one of the few to recommend the bowline for tying in, flat overhand for joining rappel ropes, and beer knot for making home-made runners. There are various clever, minor tips like these sprinkled throughout the book -- everything from how to tie a leash for your ice axe or nut tool to using long runners/cord for hexes and nuts to why a gatorade bottle can be better than a nalgene. Sure, not all of his recommendations are useful (I would never back up a new rappel ring, and why do all these books keep mentioning the GiGi when the Reverso weights 4oz. more?), but 9 times out of 10 they are useful, and sometimes they are eye-opening. To compare Connally's book with a couple others, Extreme Alpinism seems to have more of a focus on high-altitude, and would probably be more useful to an experienced alpinist or someone looking to push their limits. Alpine Climbing covers a lot of the same material as Connally's book, but is ever so slightly better on navigation, moving on snow, and moving together, slightly worse on weather systems, and substantially worse on general gear recommendations and nutrition/diet. For anchor-building, self-rescue, and training for climbing, I usually turn to other books that specifically deal with these topics because I happen to own them. Overall, this is a great book, and I would recommend it for someone interested in alpine or general mountaineering. For an alpine snow / glacier focus,

I've been actively engaged in moderate mountaineering for 15 years, have read everything I can get my hands on relating to mountaineering skills and adventure, and I love Connally's book. I can't add much to what the other reviewers have written about this book; they all have valid assessments as far as I'm concerned. Experienced mountaineers will recognize that the techniques espoused for mountaineering are often as much personal preference as incontrovertible wisdom. Mountaineering also covers such a broad range of issues involving rock, snow, ice, altitude, human metabolism, style, and more. So it's unrealistic to expect that one single book could comprehensively meet everyone's needs and expectations. To be sure, Connally can come across as a pompous know-it-all, but his writing is engaging. I found the breadth and depth of his knowledge to be impressive and credible, even if mixed with his own opinions about what's best and what isn't. I'd recommend this book to someone who already has some experience and basic skills and wants to explore other perspectives and acquire new skills through the medium of a book written by a master at both mountain craft and word craft. After buying the book two years ago, I keep going back to it for both education and entertainment. It's well worth the price of admission.

I've been backpacking for many years and tried to get into climbing at various points in my life. I took rock climbing and snow travel courses and even the Sierra Club's "Basic Mountaineering Training Course". I never felt like I had enough information from these courses to "put it all together". However, when I read this book, I realized that moutaineering can make sense. If you like to know the "whys" as well as the "hows" in doing things, this book will deliver. Many of the author's ideas and techniques are still not widespread which turns the reader of this book into an evangelist of sorts trying to explain to gym climbers, for example, why the Yosemite bowline is a better tie-in than the figure 8 follow-through with a safety knot. Mr. Connally covers a lot of ground in this entertaining book and wisely places "advanced" topics and techniques at the end of the book so a beginner, like me, won't get bogged down (and possibly discouraged). I feel now that I can continue to take courses, go on guided trips and find a climbing partner with more confidence, and finally start a much-delayed climbing career. Now, if only I could find a climbing partner or guide like Craig...

If you're loking for a how-to book on mountaineering there are only a few to consider. Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is the classic, but it turns out to be too bloated and too non-committal--old school guidance, and not very good at that; sometimes it's just plain wrong. Extreme Alpinism is entertaining, but not a good textbook; it's too idiosyncratic, has little actual depth, and its information is not well organized. That leaves Alpine Climbing and The Mountaineering Handbook, both good choices. AC is certainly aimed at the more advanced climber, but TMH covers all the same territory and more; usually, they agree on details if not on emphasis. The difference is that TMH is more user-friendly, better organized, and covers a lot of basic details that will be new material for most mountaineers and backpackers, and that are missing from AC. TMH tends to offer the logical or technical basis for its advice, which I liked. AC takes a guide's viewpoint, with lots of lists of things to think about when making decisions but not as much of the justification that will help retain its wisdom. TMH is more like advice from you your best friend, and it covers many more subtle details. AC's photos are often hard to interpret while the illustrations in TMH are usually very clear. Some of the techniques found in TMH are too new to be found anywhere else; AC is much more up-to-date than FOH, but you wouldn't call it new-school. Here's just one example: using autoblock belay devices is a useful, modern technique. FOH, according to its index, doesn't even mention it. AC mentions two such devices but doesn't give enough information on how to actually use them, warning that when locked they are hard to release. EA is better, but TMH mentions or illustrates a half dozen devices and illustrates many uses, with plenty of coaching. It shows means of releasing them that are better and simpler than even the manufacturers offer. It shows how to use this technique as part of a fast climbing style and it even discusses using autoblock belay devices with modern, thin ropes. If I could pick only one it would be The Mountaineering Handbook, especially if I were getting started or were getting rusty. If I had more experience I might add Alpine Climbing. If I got another copy of Freedom of the Hills, I'd probably blow off most of what it says, just as other experienced climbers do. For entertainment, I'd pick either Extreme Alpinism or The Mountaineering Handbook--or both--depending on my mood.