Timber Wolf, Lake Superior, Ontario


A lone timber wolf greets
paddlers along the north shore
of Lake Superior, Canada
(Photo by Michael Neiger)

 

Great things are done
when men
and mountains meet.
  -- William Blake
  1757-1827
  Great Things are Done,
  
cicra 1807

 

Now for our
mountain sport:
up to yon hill!
  -- William Shakespeare
  1564-1616
  

The Rucksack Masthead
By Michael A. Neiger, Marquette, Michigan
Wilderness tripper: backpacking, winter camping, swift-water canoeing
Web site URL: http://therucksack.tripod.com • E-mail: mneiger@hotmail.com
Contents copyright © 1984-2007 by Michael A. Neiger • All rights reserved.

                                                                 

Locking carabiner
(or 'biner') and
rescue pulley used
for caving, climbing,
and z-drag rescue rigs on
wild rivers
(Photo by Michael Neiger)

 

Bush skills

By Michael A. Neiger
Copyright 2001

Last updated on March 16, 2005


Contents of page

   Mountaineering: climbing & caving
      Links
      Books
         Climbing
         Caving
         Knots
      Equipment vendors


Looking for
wilderness tripping
equipment and
supplies?
For 100's of sources for wilderness tripping equipment and supplies, visit the sources for gear page on this Web site.

Need help
finding a book?
Trying to buy a new or used copy of a book, but can't locate one? Want to find a library somewhere in the country that will lend you the book at no cost? Then visit the handy book finder page on this Web site.

Recommend
a book, catalog,
or Web site
If you know of a useful outdoor-related book, catalog, or Web site not listed on this Web site, e-mail the book's title, subtitle, author, publisher, date of publication, and short description; or the catalog's address and phone number; or the Web site's URL to Michael Neiger at mneiger@hotmail.com.

** Recommended


Top

American Alpine Club
   1-303-384-0111
   http://www.americanaplineclub.org

Climbing Magazine
   
http://www.climbing.com

GORP--Adventure Travel
   http://www.gorp.com

   Select "activities"

The Mountaineers
   1-800-284-4977
   http://www.mountaineers.org

Rock Climbing and Equipment Techniques
   http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~sedwards/climbing/index.html

Rock 'N Road--Rock Climbing Areas of North America
   
http://www.rocknroad.com

Virtualinks Rock Climbing Information Site
   http://www.virtualinks.com/index.htm

Yahoo's Climbing Directory
   http://www.yahoo.com
   (select Recreation followed by Outdoors, then Climbing)


Top

***Highly Recommended

All About Mountains and Mountaineering, by Anne T. White (Random House, 1962)

All Action Climbing, Steve Ashton (Lerner, 1993)

Alpine Climbing, John Barry (Cloudcap Press, 1988)

Basic Essentials of Climbing Ice, by John McMullen (ICS Books, Inc., 1992)

Basic Essentials of Mountaineering, by John Moynier (ICS Books, Inc., 1991)

Basic Essentials of Rock Climbing, by Mike Strassman (ICS Books, Inc., 1989)

Basic Mountaineering, edited by Henry Mandolf (Sierra Club, 1956)

Basic Rock Climbing, by R.C. Aleth (Scribner, 1975)

Basic Rockcraft, by Royal Robbins (La Siesta, 1971)

Big Walls--How to Rock Climb, by John Long and John Middendorf (Chockstone Press, 1994)

Bouldering and Outcrop Climbing, by Tom Lyman (Greene, 1978)

Climber's Bible, by Robin Shaw (Doubleday, 1983)

Climber's Handbook--Rock, Ice, Alpine, Expeditions, by Ron Fawcett, Jeff Lowe, Paul Nunn, and Alan Rouse (Sierra Club, 1987)

Climber's Sourcebook, by Anne Schneider and Steve Schneider (Doubleday, 1976)

Climbing (Boy Scouts of America, 1999)

Climbing--A Guide to Mountaineering, by Raymond Bridge (Scribner, 1977)

Climbing Anchors--How to Rock Climb, by John Long (Chockstone Press, 1992)

Climbing Ice, by Yvon Chouinard (Sierra Club Books, 1978)

Climbing Rock and Ice--Learning the Vertical Dance, Jerry Cinnamon (Ragged Mountain Press, 1994)

Complete Beginner's Guide to Mountain Climbing, by Howard E. Smith (Doubleday, 1977)

Complete Cross-Country Skiing, Mountaineering, and Backpacking Guide, by Eastern Mountain Sports (Tobey Pub., Co., 1973)

Field Book of Mountaineering and Rock Climbing, by Tom Lyman and Bill Riviere (Winchester Press, 1978)

Fundamentals of Rock Climbing, by Advanced Rock Climbing Committee (MIT Outing Club, 1968)

Glaciers, by Michael Hambrey and Jurg Alean (Cambridge University Press, 1992)

Glaciers of North America, by Sue Ferguson (Fulcrum Publishing, 1992)

Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue, by Andy Selters (The Mountaineers, 1990)

Handbook of American Mountaineering, by Kenneth Henderson (Houghton Mifflin, 1942)

Handbook of Climbing, by Allen Fyffe and Iain Peter (Pelham books, 1990)

High Mountain Challenge--A Guide for Young Mountaineers, by Linda B. Allen (AMC Books, 1989)

Hiking and Climbing, Jeremy Evans (Crestwood House, 1992)

Hiking, Camping, and Mountaineering, by Roland C. Geist (Harper and Brothers)

How to Rock Climb, 3rd edition, by John Long (Chockstone Press, 1998)

Ice Experience, by Jeff Lowe (Contemporary Books, 1979)

Ice--Tools and Techniques, by Duane Raleigh (1995)

Ice World--Techniques and Experiences of Modern of Ice Climbing, by Jeff Lowe (The Mountaineers, 1996)

Learning to Rock Climb, by Michael Loughman (Sierra Club Books, 1981)

Manual of Ski Mountaineering, by David Brower (Sierra Club)

Military Mountaineering (TC 90-6-1), by U.S. Department of the Army (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976)

Manual of Ski Mountaineering, by the National Ski Patrol Association (Universtiy of California)

Modern Alpine Climbing, Equipment, and Techniques, by Pit Schubert (Cicerone Press, 1991)

Modern Rock Climbing--Beyond the Basics, by Todd Skinner and John McMullen (ICS Books, Inc., 1993)

Modern Rope Techniques for Mountaineering, by Bill March (Cicerone Press, 1976)

Modern Snow and Ice Techniques, by Bill March (Cicerone Press, 1984)

More Climbing Anchors--How to Rock Climb, by John Long and Bob Gaines (Chockstone Press, 1996)

Mountain Camping, by Michael Riley (Contemporary, 1979)

Mountain Climbing, by Jim Hargrove and S. A. Johnson (Lerner, 1983)

Mountain Rescue Techniques, by Wastl Mariner (Mountaineers, 1968)

Mountain Search and Rescue Techniques, by W. G. May (Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, 1973)

Mountaineering, by Alan Blackshaw (Penguin)

Mountaineering Handbook, by Curtis Casewit and Dick Pownall (Lippincott, 1968)

*** Mountaineering--The Freedom of the Hills, edited by Don Graydon and Kurt Hanson (Mountianeers Books, 1997). This text is considered by many to be the "climber's bible."

National Outdoor Leadership's School's Official Wilderness Guide, by Peter Simon and John Sullivan (Simon and Schuster, 1983)

New Wilderness Handbook, by Paul Petzoldt (Norton, 1984)

NOLS Wilderness Mountaineering, by Phil Powers (Stackpole Books, 1993)

NSPS Ski Mountaineering Manual (National Ski Patrol System, Inc., 1982)

Performance Rock Climbing, by D. Goodard and U. Neumann (Stackpole Books, 1993)

Rock Climb, 2nd edition, by John Long (Chockstone Press, 1992)

Rock Climbing, by Diana Gleasner (David McKay, 1981)

Rock Climbing, by Phil Watts (Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.)

Rock Climbing is for Me, Tom Hyden and Tim Anderson (Lerner, 1984)

Rock Gear--Everybody's Guide to Rock Climbing Equipment, by Layne Gerrard (Ten Speed Press, 1990)

Self Rescue--How to Rock Climb, by Jeff Fasulo (Chockstone Press, 1996)

Ski Mountaineering, by Peter Cliff (Seattle Press, 1987)

Snow and Ice Climbing, by John Barry (Cloudcap Press, 1987)

Sport and Face Climbing--How to Rock Climb, by John Long (Chockstone Press, 1991)

Wilderness Search and Rescue, by Tim Setnica (Appalachian Mountain Club, 1980)

Winter Mountaineering (Colorado Mountain Club, 1963)

 

 


Top

Adventure Caving--A Practical Guide for Advanced and Beginning Cavers, by David R. McClurg (D&J Press, 1998)

Amateur's Guide to Caves and Caving, by David McClurg (Stackpole, 1973)

American Caves and Caving--Techniques, Pleasures, and Safeguards of Modern Cave Exploration (Harper & Row, 1976)

Basic Cave Diving--A Blueprint for Survival, by Sheck Exley (National Speleological Society Cave Diving Section, 1980)

Cave Exploring, by Jennifer Anderson (Association Press, 1974)

Cave Research Personnel Manual, edited by John P. Freeman (Cave Research Foundation, 1975)

Caves and Caving, by Don Jacobson and Lee Stral (Harbor House Publishers, 1986)

Cavers, Caves, and Caving, edited by Bruce Sloane (Rutgers University Press, 1977)

Caving (Boy Scouts of America, 1985)

Caving, by Steven Boga (Stackpole Books, 1997)

Caving Basics, 3rd edition, by Jerry Hassemer (National Speleological Society, 1982)

Caving Practice and Equipment, edited by David Judson (Menasha Ridge Press, 1995)

**Caving--The Sierra Club Guide to Spelunking, by Lane Larson and Peggy Larson (Sierra Club Books, 1982)

Complete Book of Cave Exploration, by Roy Pinney (Coward-McCann, 1962)

Complete Caving Manual, by Andy Sparrow (Crowood Press, 1997)

Depths of the Earth--Caves and Cavers of the United States (Harper and Row, 1976)

Exploring American Caves, by Franklin Folsom (Collier Books, 1962)

Exploring Caves--A Guide to the Underground Wilderness, by David R. McClurg (Stackpole Books, 1980)

Karst, by Joe Jennings (Australian National University Press, 1971)

Manual of Caving Techniques, edited by Cecil Cullingford (Routledge, 1969)

Prusiking, by Robert Thrun (National Speleological Society, 1973)

Safe Cave Diving, by Tom Mount (National Association for Cave Diving, 1973)

Science of Speleology, edited by R.D. Ford and C. H. D. Cullingford (Academic Press, 1976)

Single Rope Techniques, by Neil R. Montgomery (The Sydney Speleological Society, 1977)

Speleology--The Study of Caves, by George W. Moore and G. Nicholas Sullivan (Zephyrus Press, 1978)

 


Top

Book of Climbing Knots, Peter Owen (Globe Pequot Press, 2000)

Climbing Knots for Lefties and Righties, by Michael S. Noonan (Globe Pequot Press, 1997) This is a very thorough and well-illustrated book.

CMC Rope Rescue, edited by James A. Frank (CMC Rescue, Inc., 1998) This oversized text addresses rope rescue in a number of different wilderness settings.

Confined Space and Structural Rope Rescue, by Michael Roop, Thomas Vines, and Richard Wright (Mosby Year Book, 1998) This oversized text addresses how to conduct rope rescues in challenging situations, particularly confined spaces.

Engineering Practical Rope Rescue Systems, by Michael G. Brown (Delmar, 2000) This oversized text covers all aspects of rope rescue.

How to Climb--Knots for Climbers, by Craig Luebben (Falcon Publishing, Inc., 2000)

Knots and Ropes for Climbers, by Duane Raleigh (Stackpole Books, 1998). An excellent guide to 19 fundamental, climbing-oriented knots. Also includes an excellent discussion of several unsafe knots as well as ways knots can be improperly tied.

Knots for Climbers, by Craig Luebben (Globe Pequot Press, 2001)

Knots for Mountaineering, by Phil D. Smith (1959)

On Rope--North American Vertical Rope Techniques, 2nd edition, by Bruce Smith and Allen Padgett (National Speleological Society, 1996). This very-detailed, oversize text covers the rope skills needed descending and ascending vertically in wilderness situations such as caving, rope rescue, climbing, river rescue, etc.

Ropes, Knots, and Slings for Climbers, revised edition, by Walt Wheelock (La Siesta Press, 1991)

 


Top

Altrec.com
   http://www.altrec.com/

Campmor
   1-800-226-7667
   http://www.campmor.com

Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)
   1-800-663-2667
   http://www.mec.ca

Mountain Gear
   1-800-829-2009
   http://www.mgear.com

Mountain Tools
   1-800-510-2514
   http://www.mtntools.com

Recreational Equipment, Inc., (REI)
   1-800-426-4840
   http://www.rei.com
   http://rei-outlet.com/index.html (bargain outlet)

Rescue Source
   1-800-457-3728
   http://www.rescuesource.com

Rock-n-Rescue
   1-800-346-7673
   http://www.rocknrescue.com

Search Gear
   1-800-474-2612
   http://www.searchgear.com

Urban H.A.R.T
   http://www.uhartrescue.com/

 

 

 


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In God's wilderness lies the hope of the world,
the great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness.
 
— John Muir 1838-1914, Alaska Wilderness, 1890

Content Copyright © by Michael A. Neiger
All rights reserved.
Comments? Suggestions? Dead links? Inaccurate info?
Contact the WebMaster at mneiger@hotmail.com