Best mountaineering book out there (maybe)...

I was just in Barnes and Noble and once again encountered one of the best, if not THE best mountaineering/general climbing books around.

The book has been around since the late 1950's or early 1960's I think and many might know it well, but each edition just gets better. The book is:

Mountaineering...Freedom of the hills.

50th Anniversery Edition

Published by The Mountaineers...that great Seattle-based climbing organization.

I think the 50th Anniverery edition is their best yet.

As always, it is an exhaustive compendium of pretty much ANYTHING you might want to learn about mountaineering/ice climbing/rock climbing, etc. The thing that is great about the book is how they treat the subject. Climbing being what it is - a very technical sport with highly specialized equipment, they could go overboard with endless jargon...BUT THEY DON'T. The best thing about the book are its many, many extremely well-done illustrations and their thoughtful precise and not overly verbose writing. It is encyclopedic in form, yet an easy read.

For those that already know the book, great...you probably already have it. But those of you that don't and are looking for an excellent, all inclusive "be all and end all" climbing book, I can't recommend ANY book more than this one!!

Here's a link to the book on the Mountaineers website directly below. Check out many of their other books...they have one of the most complete libraries on technical climbing I've encountered, and there prices are totally do-able.

http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/pro...ls.cfm?PC=1563

Kill your TV...before it kills you.

^^^Yes, A-00-OK. Has anyone looked at "Free Skiing"? One of the ski rags said it was a good companion to Freedom of the Hills. But I haven't seen it up close and personal and don't feel like dropping $30+ on it without good reason. Thanks for feedback.

It's a fantastic book, and--as you said--most everybody prolly knows about it. But, still if you haven't got it, do so stat.

My lady friends father gifted me a copy 2 weeks ago. He said it was the bible when he started and it still is now. I started reading it last week, very informative so far.

1.50 on amazon plus 3.99 shipping.