When Dorothy Pilley first set hand on the rope in the 1910s, women climbers were seen as a dangerous liability, their achievements ignored, unrecorded or disbelieved. Undeterred, Dorothy proved herself on the vertiginous slopes of Wales, Scotland and the Lake District before tackling the rock faces of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Rockies, Mount Fuji and the Himalayas. Her tireless championing of other women climbers as well as her own trailblazing example led to women being seen as serious mountaineers with impressive records on bravery, skill and endurance. First published in 1935, Climbing Days tells a daredevil tale of adventure, near-death slips and rapturous achievement in high places, interleaved with moments highlighting the particular challenges of being a woman in a sport seen as the province of men.

Fast-paced history-cum-memoir about rock climbing in the wild-and-wooly ’80s Highlights ground-breaking achievements from the era Hangdog Days vividly chronicles the era when rock climbing exploded in popularity, attracting a new generation of talented climbers eager to reach new heights via harder routes and faster ascents. This contentious, often entertaining period gave rise to sport climbing, climbing gyms, and competitive climbing--indelibly transforming the sport. Jeff Smoot was one of those brash young climbers, and here he traces the development of traditional climbing “rules,” enforced first through peer pressure, then later through intimidation and sabotage. In the late ’70s, several climbers began introducing new tactics including “hangdogging,” hanging on gear to practice moves, that the old guard considered cheating. As more climbers broke ranks with traditional style, the new gymnastic approach pushed the limits of climbing from 5.12 to 5.13. When French climber Jean-Baptiste Tribout ascended To Bolt or Not to Be, 5.14a, at Smith Rock in 1986, he cracked a barrier many people had considered impenetrable. In his lively, fast-paced history enriched with insightful firsthand experience, Smoot focuses on the climbing achievements of three of the era’s superstars: John Bachar, Todd Skinner, and Alan Watts, while not neglecting the likes of Ray Jardine, Lynn Hill, Mark Hudon, Tony Yaniro, and Peter Croft. He deftly brings to life the characters and events of this raucous, revolutionary time in rock climbing, exploring, as he says, “what happened and why it mattered, not only to me but to the people involved and those who have followed.”

A story about a boy who is afraid of climbing a rope in the gym.

Drawing on new research in sports medicine, nutrition, and fitness, this book offers a training program to help any climber achieve superior performance and better mental concentration on the rock, with less risk of injury.

This book was originally published in 2013 as an ebook on the Climb Strong site. I added it to the book Strength as an appendix, under the name of "Successful Sessions: 34 Training Tips for Successful Rock Climbing." I had originally written it as ten tips, then fixed on twenty five. By the time I'd finished, I stopped at the nice, round number of 34.Since that time, my learning and communicating with more accomplished coaches and climbers has increased substantially. In fact, there are many days that I do little at my normal job (running the gym), and instead spend hours communicating with climbers. This has been a hard transition, made easier by the efforts of my wife, Ellen, as well as Charlie Manganiello, Shelby Duncan, Kevin Wallingford, and Emily Tilden, who keep Elemental running and improving. I am pleased to admit that I am now the worst coach at the gym.When I looked at the updated list in the fall of 2015, I saw that we had collected well over a hundred tips, from one-line reminders to full-life plans. Over the winter of 2016/17, we whittled the tips down to exactly 100, and tried to keep them short and to the point. This is not so much a book to read in one sitting, but rather one to take in one or two tips at a time.This book is free to download with a paid membership to our site.

Presents training principles for the multisport mountain athlete who regularly participates in a mix of distance running, ski mountaineering, and other endurance sports that require optimum fitness and customized strength

In Vertical Mind, Don McGrath and Jeff Elison teach rock climbers how to improve their mental game so they can climb better and have more fun. They teach how the latest research in brain science and psychology can help you retrain your mind and body for higher levels of rock climbing performance, while also demonstrating how to train and overcome fears and anxiety that hold you back. Finally, they teach climbing partners how to engage in co-creative coaching and help each other improve as climbers.With numerous and practical step-by-step drills and exercises, in a simple to follow training framework, your path to harder climbing has never been clearer. If you are a climber who wants to climb harder and have more fun climbing, then Vertical Mind is required reading. Well, what's stopping you? Pick it up and get training today!

There are still wild places out there on our crowded planet. Through a series of personal journeys, Dan Richards explores the appeal of far-flung outposts in mountains, tundra, forests, oceans and deserts. Following a route from the Cairngorms of Scotland to the fire-watch lookouts of Washington State; from Iceland’s ‘Houses of Joy’ to the Utah desert; frozen ghost towns in Svalbard to shrines in Japan; Roald Dahl’s writing hut to a lighthouse in the North Atlantic, Richards explores landscapes which have inspired writers, artists and musicians, and asks: why are we drawn to wilderness? What can we do to protect them? And what does the future hold for outposts on the edge?

“The old way of climbing was systematic, methodical, and consistent. Now it’s anything goes, reacting to every situation differently.” —Tommy Caldwell • For skilled climbers who want to push to the next level • Tips and advice from Tommy Caldwell, Steph Davis, Lynn Hill, Alex Honnold and more of the world’s best climbers • 250 color photographs and 12 illustrations Advanced Rock Climbing: Expert Skills and Techniques is for good climbers who want to get even better—from training to gear, sport climbing to multi-pitch efficiency, and beyond. Each chapter has detailed advice from some of the world’s best climbers and guides—Tommy Caldwell, Angela Hawse, Justen Sjong, Steph Davis, Sonny Trotter, Alex Honnold, Lynn Hill, and more. Through clear, step-by-step instruction, detailed color photographs, and hard-earned wisdom, this new guide helps strong climbers increase their speed on multi-pitch climbs, conserve energy on big faces, train for tendon strength, improvise self-rescue, and more. Advanced Rock Climbing is for someone who has been climbing for several years and aspires to transition from intermediate to advanced levels, experienced climbers who are stuck in a rut, and naturally talented climbers who are climbing high grades but who may not have the experience to go further safely.

“A splendid chronicle of early climbing in the Sierra Nevada.” —Royal Robbins It’s 1873. Gore–Tex shells and aluminum climbing gear are a century away, but the high mountains still call to those with a spirit of adventure. Imagine the stone in your hands and thousands of feet of open air below you, with only a wool jacket to weather a storm and no rope to catch a fall. Daniel Arnold did more than imagine—he spent three years retracing the steps of his climbing forefathers, and in Early Days in the Range of Light, he tells their riveting stories. From 1864 to 1931, the Sierra Nevada witnessed some of the most audacious climbing of all time. In the spirit of his predecessors, Arnold carried only rudimentary equipment: no ropes, no harness, no specialized climbing shoes. Sometimes he left his backpack and sleeping bag behind as well, and, like John Muir, traveled for days with only a few pounds of food rolled into a sack slung over his shoulder. In an artful blend of history, biography, nature, and adventure writing, Arnold brings to life the journeys and the terrain traveled. In the process he uncovers the motivations that drove an extraordinary group of individuals to risk so much for airy summits and close contact with bare stone and snow. “Ever wish you could travel back to climbing’s early days and follow the earliest first–ascent visionaries? This fantasy comes to life . . . in this elegant narrative.” —Climbing Magazine