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I bought this book as a gift for my brother in law at his request. He is not a frequent climber but a skilled one. He is very happy with the book. The book arrived in perfect condition and very quickly also.
This is a great intstructional manual from the novice to the more experienced. Much better than Freedom of the Hills, which I also own. I also recommend Extreme Alpinism and The Mountaineering Handbook (these are arguably the 3 best books out for the alpinist).
I picked up a lot of very helpful information that covers everything from training, to equipment and boot selection, to alpine travel and avalanche knowledge. I bought this book because I had been out of alpine climbing for 10 years and I wanted to get back into it. The authors are professional mountain guides but more than that, alpine climbing seems to be an integral part of who they are. It is very suited to the Sierra Nevada range, where I do most of my climbing. This is the best book I have found on the subject.
When I'm alone in the mountains now, I actually pay attention and learn to retreat better. How to judge my limits far better than before.
In practice, all her mountain judgment seems so seamless. One minute we're just chatting away and the next we're on an exposed ridgeline for five miles, still calm and collected.
Well, I am completely biased having climbed several times with Kathy. Anyway, what I've learned from Kathy and this book.
It's amazing how much judgment is about the conditions (the mountains and ours), and knowing how to read them correctly. One memorable experience was just killing some time during a complete whiteout, and seeing what was possible with a new GPS gizmo.
It's easy to get overconfident and stop thinking. Those mountains will wait for another day -- although the glaciers may not.
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. 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. 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.
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