Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills - Definition

7th edition cover

Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills is often considered the standard textbook for mountaineering and climbing. The book was first published in 1960 by The Mountaineers of Seattle, Washington. The book is written by a team of over 40 experts in the field and is suitable reading from beginners to experts.

The book grew out of the annual Climbing Course run since 1934 by the Mountaineers, for which the reading material was originally a combination of European works and lecturers' outlines. These were assembled into the Climber's Handbook and published by the Mountaineers in 1948. By 1955 the rapid postwar evolution of climbing techniques and tools had made the Handbook out of date, and the effort was begun to produce Freedom of the Hills.

The first four editions were only available in hardcover.

5th Edition

The 5th edition of the book is split into four parts over 17 chapters:

• Part One: Approaching the Peaks
• Part Two: Climbing Fundamentals
• Part Three: Rock Climbing
• Part Four: Snow and Ice Climbing

There are four appendices and an index. 447 pp.

Chapters

1. First Steps
2. Clothing and Equipment
3. Camping and Food
4. Routefinding and Navigation
5. Wilderness Travel
6. Ropes, Knots, and Carabiners
7. Belaying
8. Rappeling
9. Rock Climbing Techniques
10. Leading and Placing Protection
11. Aid Climbing and Pitoncraft
12. Snow Travel and Climbing
13. Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue
14. Ice Climbing
15. Winter and Expedition Climbing
16. Safety and Leadership
17. Alpine Rescue

Editions

• 1st edition, 1960, editor Harvey Manning
• 2nd edition, 1967, editor Harvey Manning
• 3rd edition, 1974, editor Peggy Ferber
• 4th edition, 1982, editor Ed Peters
• 5th edition, 1992, editor Don Graydon. 447 pp. ISBN 0-89886-201-9 or ISBN 0-89886-309-0.
• 6th edition, 1997, editors Don Graydon and Kurt Hanson. 544 pp.
• 7th edition, 2003, editor Don Graydon. 528 pp. ISBN 0-89886-827-0

External link

• The Mountaineers Books (http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/)