Mountaineers (Society) - Mountaineering: the freedom of the hills

CLIMBERS ON FREEDOM:

It is fair to say that Freedom is the definitive guide to mountains and climbing.

Conrad Anker

Not long after I learned to read, I would grip the flashlight in my teeth and stay awake late into the night scouring my parents copy of the 3rd edition of Freedom ofthe Hills.... What this book captured, what it meant, what it hinted at that was so crucial to my fascination with mountaineering was this: Freedom, itself, was the most important thing. Freedom to explore who I am. Freedom afforded by learned skills to explore any mountain wilderness. Freedom to move, to climb. Its what still drives me today.

Steve House

Freedom is truly the Everest of mountaineering texts and a great preparation for a life wandering among high hills, including the big one itself.

Tom Hornbein

Growing up in Southern California in the 1960s, I couldnt find anyone who shared my passion to learn how to climb. So I bought an ice axe, crampons, and Freedom of the Hills and still remember being on a snow slope with axe in one hand, book in the other, trying to teach myself how to self-arrest. It worked: Im still around and still climbing.

Rick Ridgeway

For many generations of climbers, The Freedom of theHills is more than just a book. Its a passport to a rare and wild place.

Andrew Bisharat

I have never felt more alive than when adventuring in remote mountains, dependent on a rope, a rack, and the partner thats got my back.... Freedom of the Hills, risks best friend, is that partner.

Timmy ONeill

In my early years of heading into the mountains I used Freedom of the Hills to learn how to calculate fuel needs for the backcountry, to study crevasse rescue, and in general to just muse about the alpine craft. Everyone should have a copy of this standard tome.

Kit DesLauriers

There is no substitute for learning to climb from a skilled and tested mentor.... But sometimes its nice to learn key skills at your own pace from the comfort of your own kitchen table.... For those times, there is no better book than the Mountaineers Freedom of the Hills.

Bree Loewen

The lessons I learned in the Mountaineers climbing course in 1945 stood me on the summit of Mount Everest in 1963. To see that knowledge put into a book was wonderful. That it has evolved into the best book on climbing, updated by active climbers, is remarkable. I have told many people, including my sons, If you want to climb mountains, read Mountaineering: The Freedomof the Hills. Then read it again so you know, for sure, how to get down.

Jim Whittaker

As chief guide for Rainier Mountaineering for over 30 years, I have trained hundreds of new guides. And Freedomof the Hills is the required textbook for their basic training on Mount Rainier.

Lou Whittaker

The 2nd edition of Freedom of the Hills jump-started my climbing education. The manuals content has kept pace with the evolution of the sport and should be considered mandatory reading for every mountain climber. This truly remarkable resource has no equal in any language.

Mark Twight

A notorious reference for climbers and outdoor enthusiasts!

Lynn Hill

Freedom does a remarkable job of staying not just current, but on the cutting edge. Turning on new climbers to this resource is one of the best things I can do to prepare them for life in the big hills.

Dave Hahn

If the mountains are my church, then Freedom is my bible.... As a very young climber I read it cover to cover, then dug through it again and again for nuggets of wisdom. I still do.

Will Gadd

A must have for any aspiring mountaineers library.

Ed Viesturs

MOUNTAINEERING

The Freedom of the Hills

9TH EDITION

MOUNTAINEERING

The Freedom of the Hills

EDITED BY ERIC LINXWEILER
AND MIKE MAUDE

MOUNTAINEERS BOOKS is the publishing division of The Mountaineers, an organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.

1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134

800.553.4453, www.mountaineersbooks.org

Copyright 1960, 1967, 1974, 1982, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2010, and 2017 by The Mountaineers

The Ten Essentials list is a trademark (pending) of The Mountaineers, a 501(c)(3) corporation; all rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in Canada
Distributed in the United Kingdom by Cordee,
www.cordee.co.uk

First edition, 1960. Second edition, 1967. Third edition, 1974.
Fourth edition, 1982. Fifth edition, 1992. Sixth edition, 1997.
Seventh edition, 2003. Eighth edition, 2010. Ninth edition, 2017.

Project editor: Laura Shauger
Developmental editor: Kris Fulsaas
Copyeditor: Erin Moore
Design and layout: Jennifer Shontz
Illustrator: John McMullen
Cover design: Jen Grable
Chapter opener illustrations: Heidi Smets
Index: Rich Carlson

Cover photographs: front: Conrad Anker climbs across a ridgetop near Ama Dablam, Khumbu Valley, Nepal. (PhotoJimmy Chin); spine: A climber works her way up a route in Joshua Tree National Park. (Photo by Aurora Photos/KyleSparks); back: Climbers balance on a narrow moutain ridge in Switzerland. (Photo by iStock/dominikmichalek)

Interior photographs: : View from the summit of Mont Blanc (Photo by iStock/MaRabelo)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Mountaineers (Society)

Title: Mountaineering: the freedom of the hills / the Mountaineers.

Description: Ninth edition. | Seattle, Washington: Mountaineers Books, [2017] | Eighth edition, 2010==T.p. verso. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017018860 (print) | LCCN 2017022769 (ebook) | ISBN 9781680510058 () | ISBN 9781680510034 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781680510041 (paperback) | ISBN 9781680510058 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Mountaineering. | Rock climbing. | Snow and ice climbing.

Classification: LCC GV200 (ebook) | LCC GV200 .M688 2017 (print) | DDC 796.522dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017018860

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