Big Walls

How to climb series

by John Long, John Middendorf

A complete guide to climbing the largest, most sheer rock faces in the world, entertainingly written by two of the most experienced climbers in the history of the sport.

Genres: Climbing, Nonfiction

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Long is an American rock climber and author.

Reviews

[Gabriel Lando · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, the book is OK. Some parts of it, like hook and copperhead placements, are basically an intro to the main conclusion: you'll only learn it by doing it. Although that is true for all subjects in what regards aid climbing, I think many topics could be developed further. An important subject that the book lacks is a review of possible hauling/leading/cleaning strategies for both 2 and 3 member crews. Nothing is mentioned about 3-member crews, which is terrible, since this is possibly the most efficient way to progress on a big wall. Also, some parts of the book are plain wrong, in my opinion. For example: the suggested strategy for leading includes clipping the aiders to the piece before a daisy chain. This is absurd. You will not only lock an aider but also maximise your chances of dropping that next piece, which is clipped to nothing. Some parts of the book even include testing the piece without a daisy chain clipped - wow! Don't ever do that. Standard procedure is: clip the daisy first, then an aider to the daisy, and only then test the piece.

Overall, the book is OK. It's not a complete reference, but it's worth the read. It'll be best appreciated by someone who already knows some aid climbing cheats.

[Pierce Tickle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated but interesting nonetheless

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any crag climber setting their sights on a big wall should read this book.