TRAAAAAAAIN!

Basically, if you want to climb mountains, you need to be fit. A weak person with the best gear and training money can buy is rolling the dice. A strong person with minimal gear and training is rolling loaded dice. A well trained person can move faster to avoid weather, is more resilient to heat and cold, can exert themselves for longer on minimal food, and can help their partner when their partner can't help themselves. Remember: fatigue makes cowards of us all.

Of course, you generally want to be strong and smart and well equipped. But the first thing to do is train. It's pretty simple right now - what you really need to do is build up your cardiovascular and slow-twitch muscle base - which means you need to go hiking a lot. Go backpacking or peakbagging on the weekends - or day hikes if you have constraints. During your day-to-day, walk and stand as much as possible. Go for a long run at least once a week, but keep a relatively low heart rate (if you have to open your mouth to breathe, you are going too fast). Do some core work, too - weightlifting or yoga are both quite good for this. For a far more complete description of how to train for hiking and mountaineering, I suggest picking up a copy of Training for the New Alpinism.

As for technical skills and knowledge - well, you can bag easy peaks with a minimal amount, but here's a list of skills that will get you started, in approximate order from least to most advanced:

Backpacking
You said you'd done day hikes before - have you been backpacking? If not, this is a crucial first step. There is a ton of information online, and it isn't terribly difficult or dangerous, so you should be able to learn on your own. Here is a pretty good gear list to get you started. Also, make sure you learn and abide by LNT.

Wilderness First Aid
This is obviously good to know if you plan on tackling difficult or remote peaks. While there are many resources online (and you could get a decent overview simply by going through the requirements for the Boy Scouts' First Aid Merit Badge, this is one of the few things where I recommend paying for professional instruction. Getting a wilderness first aid certification can be very informative if you don't already have the knowledge.

Light/Ultralight Backpacking
Lighter packs move faster. Moving faster is safer. Learn to pare down the weight of your backpack to the bare minimum. This can be accomplished mostly by improvising gear out of common lightweight items, or simply going without - though it is possible to spend quite a bit of money to shave those last few ounces. /r/ultralight is a good source, as is backpackinglight.

Sport Climbing
If you want to tackle mountains with technical climbing, you need to know how to climb. While you might find yourself under the wing of a crusty old mountaineer who will be having none of those sissy-ass bolts, the fact is that the easiest and most common path to learning technical climbing these days starts in the climbing gym and at the sport crag. Unfortunately, this is where things can start getting expensive. In order to start learning how to climb, you'll need a pair of rock shoes at the very least to boulder. In order to start roped climbing, you'll need a harness and a belay device. In order to be a fully fledged sport climber, you'll need a rope (70m is the new standard, get that) and around 12 quickdraws; I also recommend a helmet.

As far as actually learning, there are a number of routes you can take. The most common is to get a rock gym membership. This is probably the best way, since it will expose you to the greatest number of potential climbing partners and increase your movements skills as fast as possible. Just hanging around the gym is usually enough to make a few friends to get outside with, and then they can teach you how to set anchors and lead sport. Unfortunately, gym memberships are expensive and there aren't too many rock gyms in Wyoming. Another option is to find some sort of social club for climbing in your area - I'm sure there are quite a few in your area if you poke around a bit. You'll be able to make friends and learn skills, but you'll be limited since the only practice you'll get will be on sporadic weekends. A third option is to try to teach yourself - the others are easier, but this is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. I suggest picking up a copy of Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills if you choose to go this route. Just remember to double-check everything, because if you mess up, you could die. A final option, and the one I suggest least, is to hire someone to teach you. This is very expensive, and although most guides provide excellent instruction, I feel that most people are taught better by learning from peers and making their own judgements on what to and not to do, based on reason and evidence.

Skiing, Snowshoeing, and Avalanche Certification
Mountains have snow. You need to navigate that snow. Learning to ski and snowshoe is fairly straightforward, but learning how not to die in an avalanche is rather difficult. Again, pay for a course.

Trad Climbing
Sport climbing familiarizes you with the fundamentals of movement on rock, belaying, and climbing above your protection. Traditional, or "trad" climbing, teaches you to place your own protection. You'll need a set of nuts (DMM makes some good ones), about 10 alpine draws, and a set of cams (cha-ching!). Once again, you can try to find some friends to teach you, teach yourself (pick up either Long's or Luebben's book), or hire someone to teach you.

Finally, don't fall into the "couple trap". I assume you're going to want your boyfriend to join you when you go out - that's great! But don't let your boyfriend be your one and only partner. For one thing, you'll severely limit the amount of knowledge you'll be able to absorb. For another, you'll be limited in when you'll be able to get out to when you are both able to - while backpacking and bagging easy peaks on your own is fine, pushing yourself solo is not suggested. And finally, it just won't be as fun - joining a community of people who you literally trust with your life is truly fantastic, and the relationships you build climbing mountains are really as important as the climbs themselves.

As far as improving your headgame goes, leading easy but long runouts is super helpful, as well as falling onto (well-placed) gear. Alpine multipitch is an admirable goal, but it is a far cry from what most people think of as trad climbing. You should be confident on long runouts, with potential no-fall zones. There are a lot of skills that are important for alpine climbing that often are not learned in a typical trad climbing mentor relationship, such as self-rescue, alpine route finding, and depending on your goals, snow climbing skills. There are several ways to learn these skills such as books or hiring a guide. Ultimately, your safety is much more dependent on yourself when alpine climbing. I say this not to scare you away from alpine climbing, as it has been responsible for some of the most amazing memories I have, but it has also been responsible for some of the scariest.

Some books that you might find beneficial:

Climbing Self-Rescue - Just what it says in the title.

Vertical Mind - I found this book useful for improving my head space.

Training for the New Alpinism - Probably the best book to help a climber transition into the backcountry.

[Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills] (https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers/dp/1680510045/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=freedom+of+the+hills&qid=1562736585&s=gateway&sr=8-1) - This book is excellent, but probably isn't extremely helpful until you are climbing more serious alpine routes.

As far as advice, just get as much mileage on lead outdoors as you can, with 1-2 indoor bouldering sessions per week. If it doesn't impact your bouldering, you could add a couple strength sessions as well. If you want to get into alpine climbing, or even just multipitch climbing, practice your systems at the top of single pitch routes. Belay your partner from the top, practice building an anchor at the top off of the bolts, set up simple pulley systems. Just spending 15 minutes per session will help you get muscle memory down for when it really matters.

Edit: As you get into more alpine climbing, you should increase the strength training and cardio. Climbing efficiently after four hours walking with a pack full of gear and food is harder than it sounds. Increasing your physical strength will reduce the mental load a lot, allowing you to think more clearly and be more confident.

Some suggestions for things you can do in Toronto to prepare:

• Buy the book Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills which will give you a basic understanding of the skills, gear, and systems used in the mountains, including a lot of the lingo you'll hear.
  
  
• Buy the book Training for the Uphill Athlete which will give you a good understanding of how to train for the mountains. They also have an older book Training for the New Alpinism, but it has a slight bias towards technical climbing. Both are very similar and both would teach you what you need to know. The stick figure version is do a LOT of very easy trail running (slow enough to converse in full sentences) and work on general strength (lots of core work). Gradually increase the amount you are doing and then start to mix in things like carrying a heavy pack up a steep hike or stairs in the months leading up to your climb. Their website uphillathlete.com has a lot of good info, and premade training plans if you just want to drop $50 and be told what to do.
  
  
• Train lots based on the above.
  
  
• Get really good at backpacking. You'll want to be very comfortable doing an overnight trip with minimal gear. This isn't strictly necessary since some routes can be done car-to-car, but many mountains will involve at least one night camping on the mountain so being good at overnight backpacking trips will really open up a lot more options.
  
  Once you are "mountain fit" and have the basic book learning done, there are a couple of ways to actually get on to a mountain. One way is to take a multi-day course offered by a guiding company that includes an ascent of a mountain. This will cost in the ball park of $1000 for the course itself, plus travel to get to the mountain. This teaches you many of the skills you need and gets you onto big routes quickly, but costs more.
  
  The other way to is learn the basic skills of crampon usage, self belay, self arrest, camping in the snow, etc. by finding people willing to show you. A common source of those people are climbing clubs (the Mountaineers in Seattle, Mountain Ascent Association in California, I'm sure there are plenty in Canada). This also gives you a way to meet people to climb mountains with in the future. You could also take a 1-2 day skills course from a guide company, these will generally be cheaper (~$200-400) but probably won't involve a summit climb and you'll still have to figure out how to find people to climb mountains with in the future. Then once you have those basic skills you start small and easy and build up your skillset yourself over multiple trips to the mountains. This takes way longer to get to big impressive mountains, but many people get more satisfaction out of climbing a mountain if they aren't relying on a guide to get them there safely. You could probably do a lot of this early learning in the Whites as mentioned elsewhere in this thread before moving on to the ranges with bigger routes.
  
  One thing I like to do is pick a goal mountain that you really want to do. I personally love climbing climbing the Cascade volcanos so my first goal mountain was Mt. Rainier. Lots of stuff in the Rockies, both in the US and Canada, the Sierra in California, Coastal range in Canada. Just find a mountain that inspires you. Hard to give recommendations since there are just so many options if you include all of the US and Canada and its largely personal preference of what you are looking for.
  
  If going with the first option of taking a mountaineering course, often you can find one that includes your goal mountain and you are done, move on to a bigger goal mountain. :)
  
  If going the second route, research the common/easiest route up that mountain and see what skills you need to climb it. Then find some routes that teach you the skills you need but don't have but are still within your comfort level and go climb them. Rinse and repeat. I think the hardest part here is finding people that are just a little more advanced than you are to do these routes with and learn from them. As you do more climbs your network of people to climb with will grow.

Here are the best resources I've found. I will say this though: Find a solid climbing mentor to teach you all the safety basics (belaying, knots, anchors, etc.). I've only been climbing a little over a year, and I've seen some of the dumbest/craziest stuff outside already. It's good to read books and watch videos, but always have someone who knows that they're doing to check and double check that you're safe. Ask lots of questions--you only have one life and you don't want to die (or kill/hurt someone) from a dumb mistake that could be prevented.

• The Self-Coached Climber - This is a great book on movement. It comes with a DVD that shows you drills to improve your footwork and technique. (Here's a link to some of the drills.)
  
• 9 Out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes - This book I read and re-read constantly in the bathroom. There are no pictures, but he has little advice and thoughts about training and climbing that really help. I've found it more helpful the longer I've climbed.
  
• How to Climb 5.12 - Excellent training advice for climbing. How can you argue when this guy's ten year old son put up a first ascent of a 5.14a in Maple Canyon?
  
• Rock Warrior's Way - This is a great book for mental training for climbing. It will help more if you ever get into lead climbing/trad.
  
• Freedom of the Hills - This is the Bible of climbing/mountaineering.
  
• Climbing Anchors - John Long's book is one of the best. Make sure you have a good mentor though to help you and check your systems.
  
• Improve Your Climbing with Neil Gresham - Great video for technique on overhangs. The full version is worth watching too if you can find it online.
  
• Mountain Project's School of Rock - Lots of general info and videos.
  
  Stay safe, find a mentor, and ask lots of questions.

Sounds like you did a very strenuous move at one point. Do you ever throw for a move with your arm completely extended and jerk at the shoulder/upper arm as you catch it? Do you climb with bent arms often? Either of those may be to culprit.

First and foremost - focus on your footwork. Think of relaxing your grip and climbing with relaxed, straight arms whenever possible. You should constantly be engaging, and pushing with your feet first (to take pressure off your arms); then rotating, and pulling with your lats diagonally across your chest to maximize reach while using a larger muscle group.

Work on as many easy problems as possible in your next training session while making sure every movement you do is static and based on technique, rather than power. No jerking; just relaxed, comfortable movements. Every movement you do should be as efficient as possible. To get a sense of what I'm talking about, watch strong female climbers - they typically have far better technique than most men.

Work on Antagonistic muscle exercises, specifically the extensor muscles in you arms; this will help prevent injury.

Do Reverse Wrist curls religiously before each workout and Wrist Pronators after - these work the forearm and elbow to help prevent tendinitis in the elbow.

Alternatively, you can do rice bucket exercises. These are excellent exercises to prevent injury and increase overall stability in the wrists, elbows, and forearms. Some gyms use large buckets of sand - same deal.

You're working a lot of pull muscles in climbing -always be sure to work the opposing muscles to round-out this increased volume. Try to do 2 sets of dips or push ups every other day to even this out.

Also, if you REALLY want to get better then watch some climbing videos. You'll start to subconsciously soak up the techniques top-level climbers use and then you'll say to yourself, "Hey, this move's kinda like that one I saw in the video!" Watch the great movers and shakers. Also, consider getting the book 9 out of 0 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes

To get inspired, watch this.

Hope some of this helped

EDIT: Also, this is Lynn Hill - the first PERSON to ever free climb The Nose on El Cap. She's truly incredible. Listen to what she has to say - it's something climbers will go for years before realizing.

EDIT2: You likely shouldn't be Hang-boarding if you're a beginner - you're going to get injured. Climbing on the holds themselves are the best training for finger strength right now. As you progress, hang boarding will have more of a return on your time spent.

Also, you shouldn't be doing multiple sessions in a row. Your body needs time to rest, and if you're constantly stressing it, it'll never improve.

Again - training does not make you stronger, it only initiates the growth process. REST is where that growth is made. You'll come back stronger after a periodic rest between sessions.

I would first follow several trad climbs and inspect your leader's placements. Then practice placing a ton of gear on the ground and practice making anchors on the ground. Get somewhat comfortable with placing cams and nuts, have your trad friends inspect them, and pull really hard on them while you're on the ground. Then do several mock trad leads where you're on top rope, but pretend you are leading. Connect yourself to your gear and jump on them while on top rope to test your placements. Then go lead a very easy single pitch route. Always have your more experienced friends give you critiques on your placements. When you feel comfortable leading pitches, building anchors, and belaying from the top, go lead a multipitch. Congrats, you're a multipitch trad leader!

These are basically the steps I followed, with my more experienced wife helping me all the way through, and it worked well for me. Now I'm leading 5.7/5.8 multipitch trad routes. I followed about 5 trad routes, mock lead about 5 routes, and placed a couple hundred pieces of gear on the ground before my first lead. Later on, I read through this book, and practiced the self rescue techniques, which was really helpful and made me more confident that I would be able to deal when the shit hits the fan someday.

I don't think you're looking for XC. I think you're looking for backcountry touring in mild terrain.

A lot of the answers you're looking for now or will be looking for in the near future will have to do you with your local area and terrain.

To me, XC is more akin to road biking lonely country roads. It's about fitness, endurance...

backcountry touring is more exploring and discovering, but still requires a high level of fitness, if that's what you're after. Trust me, you will be able to get your heart rate up skinning up a mountain!

I'm a casual but very regular distance and trail runner and hiker. Once the snow falls, it's all about the the AT set-up on non-resort days. For me, backcountry isn't about finding the steepest because that involves more risks than I like to take, although it is often about finding the freshest. As you progress as a skier, you might find yourself appreciating that aspect of it more.

Sizable community - again, depends on your area. BUT, backcountry touring is best done with a partner, for many reasons. Get out find some people. They're looking too.

Lastly: you may find some people who say 'don't do backcountry until you're a better resort skier...' ... and it's not without reason that they say that. However, the basic skills of skinning are easy to pick up. You can walk? You can skin. If you choose your terrain wisely and carefully, it is not totally unreasonable to start touring as an intermediate skier. I'm very serious about that though – in the mountains, a wrong turn can put you in a bad place, and skills on skis is that will get you out there.

I haven't read it but maybe take a look at this book in the sidebar?

Anyways, the kind of thing you're asking about doing - 'hut routes' - often require more diverse and technical terrain than standard XC skis are made for.

TL;DR - ski touring is awesome, good luck, don't be stupid.

EDIT: Accidentally a word

Given that you've been climbing for less than a year, my suggestion would be that the biggest thing that will boost your climbing is technique work, and endurance work, but especially technique work. If you haven't already, buy The Self Coached Climber, read it, and do all of the exercises contained therein to jump start your technique improvement.

As far as gaining muscle versus losing weight, since climbing is all about functional strength, I'd suggest that losing weight is going to have a much more rapid and prominent effect. In the long run though, both leaning out and gaining muscle (that helps with your climbing, not that doesn't help with your climbing) will probably help a little bit. Plus, losing weight helps with the endurance bit of things.

Of course, I'm sure you've noticed someone at the crag or gym who climbs much harder than you do, but isn't nearly as strong as you are, is about as heavy or heavier than you are, and might even be a bit shorter than you are. If not, really look around the next few times you're climbing. The difference is all in technique. This is pretty much why the best women climbers have climbed 5.14d (has anyone done a 5.15a yet?), and the best male climbers, despite obviously having more strength and height as well as a MUCH lower body fat percentage, have only ever climbed three letter grades harder than that.

I got into it through rock climbing, as many others have. The skills and tools of the rock climber are foundations for mountaineering. (Ironic, since I see much of rock climbing as a weekend sport created out of mountaineerss training.) Climbing is a very broad discipline that combines rock climbing technique, rope work, risk management, hiking and general athleticism to reach physical goals. (Mountain tops!)
As such, it can be transitioned into from a number of angles. I know a group from a yoga school that quickly excelled at rock climbing and eventually added two more mountaineers to the community. I also know several people from college hiking and outing clubs that have expanded into winter hiking and then mountaineering.
At some point, if you choose to pursue mountaineering and the more technical climbs to be found, you WILL find yourself in a gym or out on a crag rock climbing. Mountaineering is essentially rock climbing + winter hiking + OINK.

The fundamentals are learned from a lot of reading and studying the technical literature, and patient progression through practice. Other mountaineers (especially experienced ones) are invaluable, and a very important resource for learning and safety. I highly recommend getting involved with a community like MountainProject and looking for outdoor groups and climbing groups in your area.
The question is - what can you climb near where you live? If you're in Kansas, you're going to have a hard time of it. Seattle, Boston, Denver, Geneva, you're all set.
I live near the White Mountains of New Hampshire and am up there every other weekend pushing some new limit. A few years ago i did my first winter backpacking trip. Then, shortly after, my first winter hike on exposed summits with crampons and an ax. Last winter I bought ice tools and moved into multi-pitch technical climbing of ice, snow gullies and mixed routes. If you have mountains nearby to explore and practice on, there are years of fun to be had in them. Find local guidebooks. You'd be amazed how many cliffs and trails and gullies have been graded and compiled.
Lastly - buy a a couple books on mountaineering and start at home. The books are essential knowledge, you'll get an idea of what's involved, and they should whet your appetite and inspire you to seek out places to go and get your climb on.
Good climbing partners can be friends or people you get to know from the local climbing gym or forums. Having someone to learn and progress with and share the adventure is awesome. Finding like-minded people is surprisingly easy when all you need is passion and dedication. (And balls)

If I could recommend one resource it would be "Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills." Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594851387/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_a1fVzbRK7WTZR. Although honestly nothing can replace going out and getting outdoors in the mountains, either with a guide or a friend who knows what they are doing. Baker is a good starter mountain, but if you want to stay clear of crevasses, Mt. Adams is a really good option to learn crampons, ice axe and rope skills without the big risks. I'm on my phone or else I could go into much more detail, but feel free to PM me and I'd be more than happy to recommend guide groups, climbs, gear, etc. Welcome to the world of mountaineering, its beautiful!

I appreciate that you want to get into it and you're asking how to start taking the first steps. But the backcountry community often reacts quite prickly to people who might seem a bit cavalier. Ultimately it's to persuade you to really start figuring out how much you don't know about whats involved, so you can start gaining the knowledge and skills that you need. Everybody has to start somewhere, but if your baseline is one defined by respect for the mountains and backcountry, and how much you can knowingly control out there, then you're going to be much more ready to learn what you need to stay safe and alive.

Buy Tremper's Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrian. Learn about the specifics of the equipment people use in the backcountry - What is a tech binding? What is an AT Frame binding? What is special about touring specific boots? Are yo going to need ski crampons? This is stuff you can figure out as you gain experience, but start building that base of knowledge so when you get the chance to apply it you're ready to gain from it.

If you are truly curious and you want to expand your knowledge such that you can more safely operate within a wider variety of top access scenarios, consider investing in some of these books:

• Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills
  
• Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual
  
• Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide Book
  
  Sure, you may certainly get by in life perfectly fine with substantially less knowledge, but if you are posting here with a question as thoroughly written out as the one you have here, you are likely interested in having a larger "toolkit" to feel more confident when approaching these types of situations. These books (among others) will, without a doubt, greatly enhance your anchor building and risk management "toolkit".
  
  Consider, for instance, that if you are carrying a static "setup rope" for top rope anchors, there are numerous ways to leverage it to establish both a high master point (away from the edge) and an instructor tether to allow yourself to control your movement around, near, and over the edge without exposing yourself to the risk of falling while you establish a low master point over the edge for a top rope anchor. Sometimes this may be overkill and sometimes it may be precisely what you need to feel confident in this type of situation. Having this knowledge on tap allows you to make more informed decisions.
  
  Two examples of these types of systems are
  
  
• the backside system
  
• and perhaps more awesomely the three in one.
  
  If you want to learn more about those systems, the SPI manual has a reasonable primer on each of them. Personally, I like the Donahue/Luebben Mastering Basic Skills book a little bit more if I had to pick one of the two, but you cannot go wrong with either one.
  
  Best of luck.

There's other much more experienced than me here in this subreddit, but I'll post the two books that are always recommended for training tips and for learning more about mountaineering:

Training for the New Alpinism

Freedom of the Hills

Besides gaining experience from the bigger mountains, it's also a good idea to do some rock climbing, to gain experience with handling rope, knots, anchors, secure climbing etc.

Going to an indoor climbing center or heading out with some local rock climbing club if you have that nearby would be a great way to gain experience with those skills.

For gear, here's one interesting site I've found useful, Weigh my Rack: http://blog.weighmyrack.com/how-to-pick-the-best-carabiner-shape-for-rock-climbing/

A few pointers:

• Buy once, cry once. This is gear that your life literally depends upon. Do NOT cheap out here.
  
  
• Do some light reading followed by some heavier reading followed by some heaviest reading. FOTH in particular has a lot of good supplemental information on camp, clothing systems, reading terrain, etc.
  
  
• Read a little more if you end up getting more serious than toprope/bouldering/sport climbing. No one makes you go out there, and no one is required to risk themselves to bring you home. Personal responsibility is big here.
  
  
• Last but not least: Find out what YOU like. Do not buy cam brand X or rope brand Y or shoe brand Z because they look cool or your friend loves them. Try them yourself. There are pieces of gear I treasure that my partners hate and vice versa. Your gear needs will also vary by region. I use a completely different rack in the South West compared to the East Coast.
  
  
  Feel free to PM me with specific questions...I have over a decade of climbing/mountaineering and outdoor experience on everything outside of the Himalaya. Snowfields, Rock, Ice, Bouldering, Backpacking, summer, winter, poor weather, perfect weather...I've been there.
  
  As for costs:
  REI credit card may actually be worth looking into, and an REI membership is a one-time $20 fee that will pay literal dividends for life. Other than that, the standard online comparison shopping methods are your best friend.
  
  DO NOT purchase used life-critical equipment. Let me repeat that DO NOT purchase used life-critical equipment. You do not know how it has been stored, cared for, maintained and thus do not know if it will do it's job when you really really need it to.

I echo the trekking poles suggestion (they're a lifesaver for me), and I'd say that practice will help you build confidence. I'm not sure where you are, but if scrambling is what you're interested, there might be courses that give you instruction and techniques to better move over rock and snow. I took my alpine scrambling course through the Mountaineers in Washington state, and it did wonders for my confidence on snow (I already felt pretty good on rock). A lot of the material covered is in the Freedom of the Hills book, which might be an interesting read, though it goes into alpine climbing and more advanced subjects as well.

You may want to check out the "Dummies" or "Idiot's" books. Not to say you are either, just that they really are good books... it's unfortunate that there's a stigma attached to them. You might want to go to B&N or your local library and just read through them rather than ask someone to buy them.

Camping for Dummies

https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dummies-Michael-Hodgson/dp/076455221X

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Backpacking and Hiking

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Backpacking-Lifestyle-Paperback/dp/1592579604

The Backpacker's Handbook has been recommended, but I haven't read it myself.

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/007175489X

The Complete Walker; I read this 30 years ago(?) A great reference.

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Walker-IV-Colin-Fletcher/dp/0375703233

And of course Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills

https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers/dp/1680510045

M:FotH is a comprehensive tome, which may be a bit advanced for someone who is starting out with some car camping. As the name implies, it's aimed towards mountaineers, with sections on rock climbing, belaying, first aid, mountain safety... as a beginner you might pick up some invaluable information, but most of it may be far beyond what you need, it might be a bit overwhelming. Though you may be the type that just loves to soak up everything you, in which case it's a great reference.

If you want to check it out, the Kindle version of the 8th edition has a "Look Inside" which lists the sections and chapters, and has a bit of the first chapter. The latest 9th ed doesn't have the "Look Inside" yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-Mountaineers-ebook/dp/B0049P1ZTC

Thorough this is not but it does go over the basics. Pleas don't use it solely as your means of learning to climb. Some of their videos showed improper technique. Climbing on lead is dangerous and subtle. a simple mistake can cost you your life.

For climbing rescue you should get the book from the mountaineers. It's very good and pretty damn cheap.

I personally don't care for the freedom of the hills as much as everyone loves it. It's good but not as deep as a specialized book is. For instance Long's book on anchors is excellent and the freedom of the hills only goes over some basic stuff regarding that.

It really depends on what type of climbing you enjoy: adventure, sport, mountaineering, etc.

Here are some of my favourites:

If you like alpinism and want to learn how pathetic and weak willed you are compared to Steve House, check out Beyond the Mountain. Great book. Dude has insane ethics that make me feel bad for clipping bolts.

If you're more into big wall climbing and how it fits in with life lessons, The Push by Tommy Caldwell is phenomenal. He really throws it all out there and gives you an insight as to just how hard he worked to free the Dawn Wall and all the lessons that came with it.

If you want a really well written account of one of climbing's most bizarre controversies, The Tower by Kelly Cordes was one of my favourites this year. It gives a back-and-forth history and insight into climbing Cerro Torre and really gives a glimpse into life in Patagonia and the history of climbing Torre.

If you're a big dreamer and history nut, The Bold and The Cold gives first hand stories of the first ascents of some of the biggest routes in Canada. From the Bugaboos to Robson, it's a fantastic read and really gets you longing to get out out there.

Eiger Dreams was a fantastic collection of unrelated short stories centering around climbing and mountaineer. Some big characters and bigger adventures that are well told by the same author (and climber!) that gave us Into the Wild.

And finally, I recommend The Calling by Barry Blanchard for no other reason than it's a really well written account of the life of a fading alpinist in the Canadian Rockies.

Hope this helps!



Bonus recommendation: not climbing related, but a really great read for anyone who loves the outdoors: The Names of the Stars is a fantastic book that follows the personal account of a retired Park Ranger who spents 5 months alone in the wilderness of Montana watching fish eggs. It's a boring premise but the author is so vivid with his descriptions and shows the connection between us and the wild. I read it in a day, it was that good.

Read Freedom of the Hills, it's your textbook for everything mountaineering. Just start hiking and camping a lot and start climbing easy peaks and progress to bigger, higher, and more difficult ones. You might want to move somewhere with bigger mountains, like the western US to have better local training ground for the big mountains. Learning to ski or snowboard is a good way to get used to winter in the mountains and from there it's easier (and more fun) to progress to climbing steep snow and doing some actual mountaineering and dealing with things like avalanche danger. Also learn to rock climb and how to use ropes, and ice climbing is good too if you really want to get into hardcore mountaineering. Really you just have to progress little by little starting with hiking easy peaks picking up all of the skills along the way. It doesn't take as long as you would think if you dedicate a lot of time to it and love getting out there and learning. I was just doing very easy hikes 3 years ago and I already have plans to climb a few of the biggest peaks in the lower 48 next year, granted I've been skiing and hiking and camping for a long time.

Not specifically climbing but definitely a great resource for mountaineering is Freedom of the Hills
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594851387

Love my copy, teaches you about self rescue, navigation, all the different techniques etc.
Defs worth having on your shelf!

Hmm, not sure how to describe all the techniques that you could be using, I would actually recommend reading a book or watching some videos on climbing techniques. Going from V0 to V1 is where things like turning your hips in and engaging your core really start mattering. It's actually harder to learn proper technique on V0 because a lot of the times you can get through them without proper technique. Try to work harder problems with someone who has good form, and try to get at least 2 or 3 moves at a time. If you can't do a pull-up yet, I would work on getting in at least 1 pull-up with proper form as well. One trick I found useful to get the "feel" of a move is hovering over the next hold with my hand before grabbing on to it. If you can reach for the next hold and hover over it for 2~3 seconds, it means you have established a proper base with your feet. Not always possible, but generally you want to be in balance so you conserve energy. Hope that helped, I mostly just climbed with other better climbers and wasn't shy about asking for technique tips, most were very willing to share beta and give me feedback. Good Luck!

Best bet would probably be some kind of Wilderness First Aid course along with learning some rope rescue skills.

If you're in an area with lots of backcountry activities close by, finding a Wilderness First Aid course shouldn't be an issue. There's also tons of information online and in books to read up about, though book smarts are no substitute for putting those skills to the test in mock scenarios (which is hopefully the extent you'd end up using those skills in).

For rope rescue, depending on where you are, local guide companies, outdoor centres, etc. likely have rope rescue courses you could take.

In regards to rope rescue books, I can't personally recommend a specific one, but a bunch of books on the topic exist such as this one. Though I'm sure someone else here can recommend a book they've personally read.

Also based on your Canada flair, joining the Alpine Club of Canada would be a great idea. Your local chapter would likely offer tons of opportunities not only for courses such as first aid and rope rescue, but also organized climbing days along with various other activities.

Just bought this today:

How to Climb Harder.

Seems like it has a pretty nice package of information.

I also checked out Dave MacLeod's book and Self-Coached Climber at the store, but I found this one most interesting, because it seems to have clear instructions on a lot of lead climbing stuff too (should be starting course soon).

Might get the Self-Coached Climber later (it has a DVD too), but it looked a bit text heavy. Dave McLeod's book is about fixing mistakes, but I don't feel that I have gotten to a level yet where this might be of interest (still progressing decently, imo).

Also, see if there are technique lessons available at your gym or see if you can start climbing with someone you feel is (much) better than you. Advice from some one analyzing your climbing specifically might net you faster results. I did a course to get to 5.10 level and it was a lot of fun and very helpful. It also helps me a lot in explaining new climbers what they should be looking for or trying in a structured manner.

I ordered a set of cams and met up with my friend who taught me what a good placement vs bad placement is. Then I lead 3 short routes and he asked which of my placements I thought was best and worst. We agreed on them and then climbed a 5 pitch spire the next day. I drove home (we live in different cities ~2 hours away) and taught my newb friend. my newb friend and I have had a sketchy situation or two but nothing serious.
****
Best thing I can recommend is two books

1. Climbing anchors by John Long

2. Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills.

The biggest thing you'll learn from them is that Rock quality is the thing that will get you killed. As in don't place gear in a flake or anything that is going to move.
**
Place gear around ground level and hang on it. Learn what works. Find a super easy climb and lead it, You're going to fumble with sizes for awhile. Don't get discouraged. Soon you'll fall in love. Trad climbing is sweet.

I strongly suggest to pretty much anyone interested in climbing outdoors to read up on climbing rescue and self-rescue. Once you have a solid grasp on the techniques, test them out in a gym setting. Knowing how to properly lock off a belay device, take the tension off of it using a friction hitch above it, then escaping the belay to ascend the rope can literally save a life. I've heard that if a climber is unconscious and upside down, in general he has about 15 minutes to live. This means that a good grasp of these techniques is critical to ensuring the survival of the climber is such situations.

Suggested reading:

• Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills
  
• Climbing Self Rescue: Improvising Solutions for Serious Situations
  
  Be safe out there!

I'm a rehab based Chiropractor and treating climbers is a large part of my practice. A few years ago I was looking for something similar as I know there are seminars/certifications for golf, running, lifting etc - but couldn't find anything solid for climbers. My best advice is pick up some climbing injury books and start there. I listed the books I own below in order of my preference. I second u/wristrule's recommendation of make it or break it and checking out Training Beta. They have PTs/Chiros/Trainers/Coaches talk about injuries and prevention. Follow those people and their professional work as they all have blogs, books, videos etc.

As far as research goes, there is actually a decent body of evidence but sample sizes of the studies tend to be small. The best collection of climbing research in one place is probably The Beta Angel Project https://beta-angel.com/research/research-inventory It is sorted into categories which is a nice touch. Also you can pubmed search 'rock climbing' and there are a bunch of studies there.

Here are the books I own and recommend:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Break-Climbing-Injuries-Dictate/dp/0956428134

https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Injuries-Solved-Lisa-Erikson/dp/0692296646/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535818900&sr=1-5&keywords=rock+climbing+injuries

https://www.amazon.com/Climb-Injury-Free-Dr-Jared-Vagy/dp/0692831894/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1535818900&sr=1-2&keywords=rock+climbing+injuries

​

Theres a few more books out but I haven't checked them out just yet.

Hope this helps you help other climbers!

​

This is an excellent read that will get you started on improving your technique. And if, like me, you benefit more from seeing stuff in action as opposed to text and diagrams, this is something you will find very helpful. There are some excerpts from those DVD's on YouTube if you want to check it out before buying. Those are both excellent resources, but you really will need to climb more if you want to get better. Knowing the technique, and knowing when to apply it aren't quite the same. It gets said a lot, but the best way to get better at climbing is to climb.

Prusiking is tiring, and it takes a little practice to get the rhythm down. I'd imagine that the skill could be life-saving, someday.

I've found the ascending videos by the Cornell Tree Climbers to be really informative: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2FED1B889E749C21

The "Texas Kick" video illustrates the most common ascending technique.

As for self-rescue, I have this book. It has a lot of information, but I found it really difficult to read or learn from. I think the best way to learn the complicated self rescue stuff is hands on with a trainer. Black and white pictures of knots didn't really work for me, but you might find the book
helpful!

Strangely, I really liked the climbing anchors book from the same series. I thought that its layout was more textbook-like and easier to understand that the frequently recommended Climbing Anchors by John Long. They're both good if you want resources on anchor-building.

Rock Warrior's Way (https://warriorsway.com/the-rock-warriors-way-mental-training-for-climbers-2/)

If you're interested in trad climbing: Climbing Anchors by John Long (https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Anchors-Climb-John-Long/dp/0762782072)

Training for the New Alpinism (http://www.patagonia.com/product/training-for-the-new-alpinism/BK695.html)

Freedom of the Hills is rad, but I've found a little broad and hard to read continuously. For climbing technique, I've found YouTube videos a little more useful, I mostly use books for safety and mental techniques, though I've heard good things about the Crack Climber's Technique Manual (https://www.fixedpin.com/products/the-crack-climbers-technique-manual)

And if you're looking for something that's more of a fun read, I'd really recommend Valley Walls (https://www.amazon.com/Valley-Walls-Memoir-Climbing-Yosemite/dp/1930238630)

Much (belated) thanks for this informative response. It sounds like my best bet is to go with a whole new setup for touring, with lighter skis, touring bindings and new boots. I'm only dimly aware of the specialized Dynafit/tech setups... is this something I should be looking into now, since I'm getting a dedicated setup for touring anyway (and keeping my existing ones for resort skiing)? Or is there a good reason to stay away from these until I'm more experienced out back?

Is there any particular model or type of ski you would recommend, or even just a suggested waist width? Do I want a really wide powder ski, something more rounded in the 98mm area, or something else entirely? (Unrelated to touring per se, I had been considering getting something like a Katana or even Shiro for a while. Should I consider something like that for touring specifically?)

If you know any shops in the US you'd particularly recommend for touring skis and boots, please let me know! I'm keenly aware of the importance of a bootfitter in general, but not so sure where to find one that specializes in touring.

Also appreciate the safety tip. While I have yet to take even the basic avalanche course (looking to take the level 1 first thing next season and go from there), I've been reading enough to get some idea of just how much I have to learn about this (e.g., this). Given that, I intend to go out only with pro guides for the time being.

If you look at many of the best climbers in the world (Daniel Woods, Chris Sharma, Paul Robinson, etc) they are all pretty skinny with powerful hands, arms, shoulders and abs. Being a good climber is all about reducing your body weight while strengthening specific muscle groups that help your climbing.

Weightlifting for climbing should focus on the benefit you want to get. You should go buy a book like this one to learn what you need to do to condition yourself for climbing.

I'll check that out. Thanks!

I found this book to be useful. Specifically the chapter on rehabilitation after tendon injuries. It's not all that accessible to the community though, both financially and in terms of practical knowledge. I think there is definitely needing to be written if you can stomach another one.

This book is geared towards climbing injuries but it is well written and decently digestible. If there was something more complete in terms of a gymnastic perspective, I would buy it in a heart beat.

Edit: Didn't realize you were a climber too Steve. Sorry if you were already aware of those books. Just trying to pass along the little I've learned. Thanks again for all the great info in your book(s), website, and on here!

The Self-Coached Climber book shows lots of great drills for improving footwork precision and introducing twisting and flagging (counter balancing with your legs). The popular opinion is that you should dedicate some time to these drills as part of a warm-up. I believe you can check out the text in some detail on Google Books. Buying it also gets you the DVD, which shows the drills in real time.

As for the steep/roof climbing, it's a matter of pressing as much of your weight through your feet as possible by using - primarily - your core and hamstring muscles. Try this: Get yourself hanging on a couple of sizeable roof jugs with your toes in some equally huge footholds. Keeping your arms straight, pull your (mostly lower) body as close to the roof as you can. With your arms straight, you're engaging your legs/lower trunk rather than back/biceps - It transfers some weight to your feet and improves friction with the footholds. The more stable your foot positioning, the easier it is to initiate movement from your legs - even on a roof.

Building anchors isn't rocket science, but it does hold a couple of important considerations (and why watching a video isn't going to be sufficient):

• There are a multitude of ways you can build a strong anchor and many more ways to mess it up. Messing it up obviously carries a high consequence. A video can't teach you all the right and wrong ways to build an anchor.
  
• Building anchors is not a strictly procedural process like cleaning a sport route where you can watch a video and follow steps 1 to 10 and it'll be 99% the same everywhere you go. Building anchors requires an understanding of concepts, not procedures (because what you encounter for an anchor placement will vary) - such as what qualifies as a bomber anchor, how to ensure you have redundancy throughout the entire anchor, limitations of gear, etc.
  
  Should you take a class? Maybe if you want some hands-on experience. I would suggest that you do your share of the reading first, you might not need the class, or if do take one you'll have a better understanding of what is being taught and be able to ask thoughtful questions.
  
  Some reading:
  
  
• Anchors in Earnest (PDF)
  
• Trad Anchors (4 parts) and Top Rope Anchors
  
• Climbing Anchors (book: John Long, Bob Gaines)
  
• For fun you can check out Jive-Ass Anchors for what not to do (sadly no new updates).

Climb more. I don't mean to be snippy but nothing improves your climbing like climbing.

A hang board is definitely worth it if you have somewhere to put it up.

It is very important that you build your "pull" muscles but you need to keep your muscles antagonist "push" counterparts well conditioned as well. These sorts of complications are how people get injured. Really, there are entire books on this stuff. This is a pretty good one.

Oh, one more thing that popped to the top of my head -- weight. Weight is everything in climbing. Months of strength training can amount to gains which are rivaled by only weeks of weight loss, if you have excess weight.

If you haven't completed your Avy 1 course, that's your number one priority right now. Get the safety gear and learn how to use all the pieces before you attempt to venture out in the backcountry. Make friends, never go out alone.




Wasatch Backcountry Map <-- Buy the paper version and keep it in your pack.

Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain <-- This is your bible. Read it often. The man who wrote it is our state avalanche forecaster.

Utah Avalanche Center <-- Read every single page on this site.

Daily Advisory <-- Read the local advisory every. single. day.

Weather Forecast <-- Check the weather forecast every day, or very often. Watch what the winds are doing.

Snotel Stations <-- Check the Snotel stations during and after storms.


And please don't bootpack in the skin track. Nobody likes that guy.

Just be safe, use common sense, and take it slow at first. Don't jump in and try to bag Superior's south face until you're ready. Lastly, praise Ullr and do your snow dances.

Please don't get so defensive. I'm trying to help you be safer. If this is how you accept advice related to your safety, I honestly hope you don't do much more backcountry riding.

I also suggest you read this book, it's a great reference: http://www.amazon.com/Staying-Alive-Avalanche-Terrain-Tremper/dp/1594850844

First things first, go out and buy a copy of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills.

That book will be a fantastic primer on all things mountaineering and alpinism, it's widely considered the bible of mountaineering and has been updated several times by top alpinists and guides. It should get you comfortable with climbing some less technical peaks near you. To find some peaks to climb and route information look at Summitpost.
And lastly for training for mountaineering buy a copy of Training for the new Alpinism. The book was written by Steve House, world renowned alpinist, and Scott Johnston, his training coach. The book only covers how to train your body to prepare for climbing and covers everything from diet, to mental training, to sports science.

Lastly, see if you can join your local mountaineering club and find a mentor.

Be safe. Have fun. Don't die.

Get a buddy and go indoor rock climbing first, second and third. I love PRG. There you will learn several important things like the basic tie in knot, how to trust the rope and how to belay with a grigri. You will learn to use your whole body without trying to do pull ups. Its really pretty easy to get people to go indoor climbing vs outdoor, and then you can find the people who like climbing and you trust with your life.


If you are the kind of person who likes to read about things before going out and trying them, try this and if you want to do trad (not pre anchored sport routes) this.


When I first started climbing, I almost took a class here. If you don't have a bunch of indoor climbing experience, some experienced friend, or just a mind for detail and a crap load of overconfidence - take the class. I learned as I went with a few good friends, but there were a few lessons that we almost learned the hard way. Have fun up there!

there's a training program in Training for climbing by Horst,

the self coached climber

and The rock climber's training manual

I like the 2nd and 3rd the best, the 2nd I'd recommend for newer climbers (the footwork drills are very thorough), and the 3rd I'd recommend because it has a chapter that focuses on bouldering.

I don't really think you absolutely need a book, there are plenty of resources online to put together a solid plan, but a book is nice too :)

The best plan for fontainebleau is to throw yourself at slopers. Just watch your wrists.

"I just need to get stronger" literally every new climber ever.

EDIT: Since this is a popular comment, I feel like I should elaborate. 1) Yes, strength to weight ratio matters. But the point of this video - and the fundamental point that beginning climbers should emphasize technique - is that you can make instant gains with the right technique. Getting stronger/lighter takes time. Technique is something you can focus on right then and there. 2) The techniques in this video will improve your functional strength and efficiency at every level of climbing, forever. You can get out of shape, but you will never lose these techniques. Training technique is never lost time! 3) Properly applying these techniques will make the difference at EVERY level of climbing. They will let you do harder moves and climb longer, whether you're trying to break into V2 or 5.12. 4) Beginners blame this on strength because they feel weak. We all feel weak climbing at our limit! But they have not yet discovered how technical skills allow you to do more with less strength.

These are not my ideas. They are stolen mostly from 2 great books, How to Climb 5.12 and The Self-Coached Climber.

Thanks OP for an awesome video!

I stared climbing because I wanted to be outside, and I don't buy it that people have to start in the gym and move outside when they are ready. As such, I climb outside every weekend and treat the gym like a gym.

That being said, I haven't taken the REI class, but, I suspect if you take that class, and read a book like this, you will be fine to start top-rope climbing outside (edit: take a class before you bother buying this book). Just make sure you feel comfortable. Most of outdoor climbing is being careful, thinking things though, not getting in over your head, and not overestimating your abilities (climbing and knowledge).

Meetup groups could also be a good idea, just be honest about your prior experience (for example, here is my local meetup group).

Also, some gyms offer indoor->outdoor transition classes.

Lots and more literature, but it basically breaks down to:

1. climbing (often trad)
   
   
2. anchor building (sometimes with bolts, sometime not)
   
   
3. belaying from either above or below
   
   
4. gear management (much more complex than single pitch)
   
   Seconded on Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills as a great overview of all of this (and much more).
   
   My favorite anchor management book is Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide
   
   EDIT: and of course the usual caution. Don't try this without proper instruction.

• Deeper/Further/(Eventually)Higher - If I can't be out riding, might as well watch people riding things I never could.
  
• Anything by Jon Krakauer. Into the Wild is an obvious choice, but Eiger Dreams and Under the Banner of Heaven are great as well.
  
• Ride the Divide is a good flick as well, and available on Netflix last I checked.
  
• 3point5. Pro-deal pricing can be addicting.Plus being in the top 5% for snowboarding, camping, and running have to count for something, right?!

Consider supplementing your classes with some books. Bob Gaines new AMGA Manual, the classic Luebben climbing book, and Luebben's anchor book are all excellent. John Long has a new Trad Climbers Bible, haven't read it though. I find him wordy and often not as clear as others.

Note that Luebben suggests to spend a day every year climbing with an expert guide to make sure you're solid.

If you want a specific recommendation: BEFORE YOUR CLASS: Pick up the three books above and read them. Take notes on what you don't understand. Look to online forums and videos for answers. Buy some gear and practice placing the gear outside. Have a piece of rope you keep on your couch. Practice knots while watching TV. FOR YOUR CLASS: Once you've done this, then take a class with an expert. Bring all the questions you've come up with. Take notes and get your guides contact info so you can stay in touch after. AFTER YOUR CLASS, continue reviewing the books (which will make more sense), start climbing easy single pitch stuff outside, email new questions to your guide. Take an anchors course if it's available, particularly before getting into multi-pitch.

Have fun & good luck!

EDIT: Check out r/tradclimbing and their excellent FAQ.

Here's a couple of books that i found useful when learning. For the cost of your class, you could buy some gear. I bought my rack and went out and started leading the easiest things i could find. I asked my partners to look at my placements and didn't climb anything where i wasn't at ease fiddling with my placements. After a season of this, i spent a day with a small group climbing with a guide and a pro climber. It was really useful then to have someone evaluate my placements and look at my technique. In short, spend the money on a rack. Get out and play with it.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Rock-Climb-5th-Series/dp/0762755342/ref=pd_sim_b_2/191-6286848-7768056

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762782072/ref=pd_sim_b_1

These two will get you started. Once you're comfortable with your gear and are starting to think about multi-pitch climbing, it's a really good idea to read this one as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Rescue-Improvising-Mountaineers/dp/089886772X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395103810&sr=1-3&keywords=self+rescue+for+climbers

There are many books out there on these topics. I've read the three above and can vouch for their quality. When looking for the Jon Long books, be sure to get the latest edition.

Eva Lopez's blog has a lot of good resources. But she does caution the use of her methods and products to those with "2 years of systematic training" and some proven level of finger strength.

Given your minimal experience, common wisdom suggests just climbing routes as the best means to develop both strength and technique. On that front, the Self Coached Climber spells out climbing movement.

When your ready, check out Mike and Mark Anderson's new site. These are the "rockprodigy" guys.

I'm pretty sure most people will be reticent to give advice over t'internet about setting up anchors because when you teach someone you want to be sure that they've got the hang of it before they try it in the wild. Try and go out with an experienced friend and set up some dummy anchors and then go through your first proper anchor with experienced friend(much cheaper than paying instruction)

In the mean time this is a cheap good book full of diagrams. Good luck with your outside climbing, totally different experience from the(slightly sterile) indoor climbing world

I generally buy a 5 pack at Climb Nashville, rather than the membership - since I have a hard time committing to regularity. I don't have my grip endurance built up, so normally I can't hold onto the wall after more than half an hour. I'll generally try to tie in some cardio, a class, or some lower body stuff so I feel like I get my time and money's worth.

What I love most about climbing is the strategic part to it. Sure you can power up a wall, but it takes strategy and finesse to be able to stretch your endurance.

Performance Rock Climbing is a great book I read in high-school when I started climbing. It really helped me work on technique.

Both East and West have great routes from 'just more challenging than a ladder', to 'I don't think a nickel counts as a foothold'. They're all marked, so its easy to realistically challenge yourself.

Nols offers a whole line of books on outdoors skills, most of which are pretty decent.

Also, it's probably a bit advanced for someone who is just getting into hiking, but at some point you're going to want to invest in Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, published by Mountaineers Books. It's more or less the mountaineer's bible...

And finally, since you live in the Northeast, I highly recommend Forest and Crag, which is a history of hiking and recreation management NY and New England. Very informative and interesting read.

Maybe this is too practical - but I expect all my partners to at least know the basics of self rescue. This is a great supplement to taking a multi day rescue class. They can be expensive but worth EVERY dollar.

http://amzn.com/089886772X

I've never done a course inside, but I've done a couple of winter climbing courses outside (notes: course 1, course 2), and they were totally worth it. I had a great time and have used lots of the stuff I learned. A friend of mine did an "advanced movement" course at her local gym and claims it helped her technique a lot, particularly on steep terrain.

You might find the books The Self-Coached Climber and 9 out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes helpful. The first covers the nuts and bolts of technique and training; the second is more about how best to make use of the limited climbing time you have, and how to avoid getting stuck in a rut.

While I'm sure someone will jump in with their favorite, I've read through this one:

https://smile.amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Rescue-Improvising-Mountaineers/dp/089886772X?sa-no-redirect=1

Your library might even have a copy. Also, look for a copy of Freedom of the Hills. 8th is the latest, but 6th & 7th are not all that old.

For navigation, eventually you'll want to be able to pinpoint & track yourself along a bare hillside, no trail.

Simple comfort & awareness, especially, I have found consists of a lot of trial and error. Learning when to switch layers to stay warm but not sweaty. How to pack a heavy pack. Where to find water. Knowing when you're getting dehydrated. Plenty of this can be learned on ordinary hilly trails, no massive peaks required.

I know some of these skills will be quite difficult to work on living in the city, but they're a super important place to start, and you don't need to hire a fancy guide to teach you. Plus, if you do take a class like you linked, you'll get a lot more out of it if you've already learned a lot of the fundamentals yourself. Be the guy who already knows how to tie every knot, knows exactly where he is on the map, and is comfortable in the environment. Don't be that guy who is too busy learning how to tie munters and clove hitches to pay attention to crevasse rescue practice.

I haven't gotten all the way through it, but the Self Coached Climber is pretty good. Was free on Kindle a while back, but the physical book might be a bit better for the illustrations.

Glad to hear your making the transition to the outdoors. It's an amazing and well worth while endeavor.

Honestly, i would take a class or go with someone well experienced. I know this is what a lot of people say and i might seem redundant, but it really is true.

The reason I stand behind my opinion is that it's not very hard to learn how to set up a top rope on bolted anchors and master that skill. The hard part is knowing how to keep your self out of danger during the process and if you get into danger, how to bail yourself out.

The gym is a very controlled and regulated environment. The outdoors isn't. When climbing outside, there are always unexpected issues and problems that you need to make a judgement call on. I would just recommend that you have a solid foundation of knowledge and at least some first hand experience from someone that you trust, before you potentially get into a situation over your head.

When i first started, this book helped me a lot to fill in any small gaps of knowledge. It is not a supplement for first hand experience though.

http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Anchors-Comprehensive-Mountaineers/dp/1594850062

Look into it. I do know some people that learned to lead trad from friends. If so, make sure you do the following:

1. Follow a friend and inspect his placements as you clean them.
   
2. Practice placing pieces while standing on solid ground, and have an experienced friend check out and critique your placements.
   
3. If you can get two other people, try a "mock lead" on TR, with one person on TR belay and another person on lead belay. Make sure the TR belay is nice and loose and try hanging on a piece on your lead rope. Maybe even try a bit of a fall. If you can only get one other person, still do the mock lead, but trail the rope with no belay. You won't get the experience of weighting or falling on gear, but placing a piece while on the rock is still way, way different from placing a piece on solid ground.
   
4. Read Traditional Lead Climbing by Heidi Pesterfield. Cover to cover. http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Lead-Climbing-Climbers-Taking/dp/0899974422/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1309779139&sr=8-2
   
5. Only after you have done all of the above, try a lead climb on something stupid easy. Have an experienced friend inspect your placement. Ask him if any cams walked or tipped out; if cams were undercammed; if nuts or hexes were too close to the edge and liable to blow; etc.
   
6. Read Climbing Anchors, by John Long. http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Anchors-2nd-How-Climb/dp/0762723262/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309779148&sr=8-1 This is must-know stuff; without a bolt line to follow, you could go off-route and need to build an anchor to bail off.
   
7. Read up on rock rescue; this is a good book: http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Rescue-Improvising-Mountaineers/dp/089886772X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1309779184&sr=8-5
   
   Good luck, and climb on.

Freedom of the hill is very complete but mostly for mountaineering, less useful for general rock climbing. It can also be a bit dated in places. Still very useful to own, read and eventually assimilate if you ever head into the mountains.

For general rock climbing, I think your best option by far is The self coached climber. Very complete and it covers a lot more than the basics.

This book is absolutely fantastic. Don't buy the ebook, you need the pictures. It's filled with exercises that help you train both technique and fitness.

Some good exercises:

• Play "silent feet". In this game, once you place a foot, you aren't allowed to adjust or shift it, until you're ready to move to the next rock. You'll find yourself stuck in impossible situations, at which point you'll need to backtrack to find where you made your mistake. This game helps immensely, since for beginners like 50% of their time on the wall is spent adjusting.
  
• Do easy bouldering problems with your arms totally straight the whole time. Exaggerate your flagging and cross stepping.
  
• Find a slab and climb is as far as you can with no hands (except for leaning against the wall). This will work your balance like nothing else.
  
  And honestly, don't dyno at all. Way too easy to hurt yourself as a beginner.

I have to agree with this. There are plenty of other websites that are dedicated to climbing instruction and FAQs. Frankly, I would just point everyone to read Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. Keeping a running 'best of' or FAQ is a ton of work and people should just use the search if they care to see if something already exists. Hell, most of these questions have already been answered 100 times over on other climbing forums.

Every hobby subreddit has this same issue and I've yet to see a good solution for it. The only thing that has come close is a "New to climbing" section that has links to instructional websites, books, videos, manufactures, and other climbing related stuff.

Eiger Dreams is an excellent book.
http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/1599216108

Maybe look around the area and see what gyms there are and get her some day passes to them.

Honestly though, the best support you could probably give her would be to climb with her. Then you too could become addicted!

I've used different methods: (1) find a patient belayer willing to belay you on top rope while you climb and set gear. I have one good buddy who had done a lot of trad back in the day but wasn't interested in leading any more so this approach was great because he was experienced enough to check my gear and give advice. (2) set a bunch of gear and build anchors while on the ground. (3) bring along some trad pro while sport climbing and try to find somewhere to place it even if it's unnecessary. (4) while seconding and cleaning look closely at the gear you're taking out and understand why it was placed however it was. (5) a lot of reading - the books on anchor building by John Long and Craig Luebben are great. I prefer Luebben's because he tends to be more descriptive of why certain placements are better/worse.

If you have your own gear (harness, shoes, belay device, chalk) you can start climbing on rock immediately if you find people who are willing to take you, and some of the gear I mentioned isn't strictly necessary (just suggested). I am sure there is a group of local climbers who will be willing to help you get climbing outdoors.

As for books, I personally like Rock Climbing: Mastering the Basics. Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills is also really good and comprehensive (though it covers much more than just rock climbing).

You should read Climbing Anchors by Luebben. It goes over sport and TR anchors very well.

As far as a PAS goes, sure you can use 2 PAS's but I will tell you that the PAS isn't what you need to be worried about when it comes to redundancy, it's the anchor. As long as you're not using your PAS beyond it being a rap tether and are continuing to monitor its wear, just as you would with a harness it has the exact same strength rating as your belay loop which you trust without backup when you rappel.

I'm still a little concerned about your rope as it looks short for most crags.

Lastly I'm not sure where you'll be climbing but if you're going to be setup TRs on bolted routes just make sure you have a safe way of accessing the anchors from above. A lot of times the bolts are over the edge of a route and the last thing you want to do is factor-two on your PAS.

Awesome- you are a quick reader, though. which one are you reading? If you are reading No Picnic on Mt. Kenya, be sure to read the forward by the author (or if you didn't get a version with the forward, try to find it in the library or online) because his life is fascinating.

If you like Krakauer's writing style, I recommend his other mountaineering book Eiger Dreams

some other good mountaineering writers to check out: Joe Simpson, Maurice Herzog , Ed Viesturs, Anatoli Boukreev, Nick Heil, Beck Weathers, and Dave Breashears

Sweet, so running laps will be a great tool as other people have pointed out.

I was going to spit some workout ideas to you... but ultimately, everything I would be saying is from this book: Training for Climbing. It is the shit. It gives clear workout plans, exercises, etc depending on your experience level and area of focus. It also goes into the science and history of climbing. It's 100% worth buying- it's an incredible reference tool for training.

I've done this exact class. There is a lot of practical anchor building esp. with natural anchors (all feet on the ground).

I found it to be okay. Afterwords, I needed to go find other information that was not covered for the type of climbing I want to do.

The course covers: Top Rope Anchors and the basics of knots. Using natural anchors.
The cover does not cover: TRAD anchors (well at least). Gear placement.

Its good to hear this information from an experienced guide. But alot is their preference on building anchors. So much of it you need to reteach yourself for what you will actually use regularly. I found self teaching to be a more worthwhile investment for my time.

TL;DR I found this John Long book to be more helpful than the REI course. (but thats just one man's opinion)

Pick up a copy of Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills read through it.

Sign up for a mountaineering course. Start climbing and hiking and make friends. Use said friends to help you learn progressively more. Join a local Alpine/climbing/mountaineering club/organization.

Make an effort to get to know the people in your class, find people that have the same interests as you in the backcountry. Get their emails or whatever before the class is over so you can ski with them!

Do the reading and the homework they want you to, participate when they ask questions - normal classroom stuff. Make sure you're wearing warm and comfortable clothes when you're outdoors so you can focus on what they're teaching rather than staying warm.

Then, just supplement the material they provide. Get some books like Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain and Snow Sense, go through some youtube channels [1] [2], there's even an avalanche podcast (Slide) now.

>Find a mentor.

A mentor will be the single best resource for you to grow as a climber and learn new skills. You can probably meet people at the local climbing areas. There are many skills that are very difficult to learn unless someone is there with you in person teaching you.

I recommend posting on partner finder and writing your name down at the closest gym even if its far, there might be someone there who also travels from your town every now and again.

Best of luck and until then enjoy bouldering and read The Single Pitch Manual and How to Rock Climb. Oh and listen to The Enormocast.

Others have mentioned key points. Getting comfortable with such things like multi-pitch sport (to get into the mental headspace), single pitch trad (need that gear knowledge), multi-pitch trad with bolted anchors (last step before going for completely trad).

What I'll add, and this is good for all climbing disciplines, is knowing some self-rescue techniques. Its just good stuff to know.
This book and this one are both good options. It will in general up your confidence in the mountains.

I think the reason people are surprised is that this movement is largely natural. Your body should seek the most balanced (easiest to maintain) position for any given set of holds. You'll find yourself climbing much more efficiently if you just focus on finding the most stable position.

Also, if you can't hold your hand over the next hold before touching it (lock off), you're probably not climbing statically. However, some moves either require or are more efficiently executed with dynamic movement (deadpoint or dyno).

Consider reading this book called the Self Coached Climber. It talks a lot about this stuff as well.

http://smile.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465002952&sr=8-1&keywords=self+coached+climber

I forgot to add, there are some great books out there that are super inspiring and useful.

Climbing Anchors, 2nd Edition, by John Long

Self-Rescue, by David Fasulo, Mike Clelland

Big Walls, Paul Piana

In terms of getting the gear to actually make the anchor, go to Sports Basement, REI or basically any outdoors shop and ask them for like 30 feet of 8-10mm cordilette and 30 feet of 1" tubular webbing. It's super cheap having that much material to work with will help keep you from making ridiculous anchors like the one you posted above.

It also seems like buying How to Rock Climb and reading the anchor section would be extremely helpful for you.

The easiest way to find a friend who knows what's up and who is willing to take you out a bunch of times and teach you. Then you can start to purchase gear and do it on your own a bit.

You can ask around on Mountain Project forums or at the gym for people who would be interested in taking you out if you don't know anyone. If you go that route then a positive, open to new experiences attitude, an understanding of LNT and respecting the outdoors, and a six pack of beer generally go a long way.

Reading a book like John Long's Anchors is a good way to begin to learn, but probably not sufficient on its own.

If you can't find someone to teach you then many gyms offer classes on various topics. Start with a leading and lead belay class. Then move on to an anchors course. There's lots to learn and it's your life and safety at stake so take it slow.

See a doctor, yes!

I could give you more advice but it is not going to do any good now that you have a injury. Climbers should try to avoid injury as a number one rule, especially tendon injuries. Tendon injuries take a long time to heal and even longer before they return to full strength.

3-4 evenings a week? How long have you been climbing. How are those days broken up. Most training guides I have read say that three days in a row is the absolute most you should climb if you are an elite level climber. Less if you are not. Make sure you getting rest.

If you feel a twinge in your tendons your best bet is to stop. For some reason if you can not make yourself stop then tape is a good option. Seek resources that show you how to sport tape your tendons. The information is readily out there if you look.

Repeatedly I tell people to find this book Training for Climbing . He has done the hard work for you and breaks it down in a concise manner.

I would stress the fact to seek medical professional if possible. Especially if you have insurance. The type of shooting pain, while typing nonetheless, is not something you want to wait around on to get better. In the mean time I would buddy tape the hell out of those fingers (immobilizing them).

This is where the heated debate starts as many people will tell you many many many different things. I love ice. Lots of ice. In addition I love ibuprofen. Many people will tell you that neither of those items are effective after the initial injury and will even slow down healing. If you have swelling in your fingers I find those two items to be a matter of do not forget. ever. I would ask your doctor and do your own research to find out what works for you.

As far as future prevention. I would try not to hang off holds by two fingers! lol. Climbing on plastic is also very hard on the tendons. Put those two things together and you have trouble. Try to save your massive efforts for outdoor climbing if possible, if you are into that type of thing.

Otherwise I would say warming up is extremely important. EXTERMELY. Warm tendons are more lastic than cold ones. Also make sure you are exercising antagonistic muscles in your forearm (hammer curls, reverse wrist curls). You have no muscles in your hand (well, you do have some below your thumb) so when you are holding on it is the mainly the forearm muscle that is supplying the muscle. An unbalanced muscle structure will put stress unevenly on the rest of your body (tendons for example). Also remember your tape.

A lot of great advices. Few more. Tie knots at the end of the rope. Too many people are dying because of this. And use autoblock. Extra 15-30 seconds to tie it. But adds a lot of safety.

Read Climbing Self Rescue: Improvising Solutions for Serious Situation. Try to practice some of the scenarios in safe conditions.

Lots of people will say 'climb more'', which is good.

I'd recommend helping yourself out by learning the techniques which typically come along with 'climb more' - especially if you don't have a load of more experienced climbers to copy regularly.

You'll want learn how and when to backstep, flag, drop knee etc. in order to climb more efficiently and effectively.

Go to some intermediate classes of you can afford it, or buy a book like 'Self-Coached Climber: The Guide to Movement, Training, Performance'

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004BJ1MPS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

I've never read this book, but my friend references it all the time. It's pretty thick and may seem overwhelming, but it's a good reference type book. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594851387/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Hiya Michnation.

Assuming you have the usual shoes, harness, belay device, etc...

You will need a rope, quickdraws, some cord/slings/webbing, and a handful of carabiners.

More importantly you should probably check out Freedom and Anchors.

These two books have taught generations of climbers how to climb. A huge part of climbing outside is being comfortable and confident in your own skills. My personal opinion is that you will become a better climber through a lot of time spent learning techniques and practicing them, than if you spend money on a couple guided days. But thats IMO.

come join us over in /r/climbharder. We get deep into details just like this, and many other things you'll encounter as you start training.

I'd recommend getting a book or two on climbing training and injury rehab before starting any hangboarding. Look at it as educating yourself before beginning something that has potential to cause injury.

The Rock Climber's Training Manual is great, as is Dave MacLeoud's Make or Break

Best of luck to you!

This book is a good start.

But figure out first if you want to turn your fun hobby into something you have to work for.

I try to break up the training and the just have fun aspect of climbing.

I use 2-3 months before season to train. After that I go to the gym to hang out and just have fun.

I break my training up into three phases

1. Endurance (3-4 weeks):
   
   Up-down-ups, Laps
   
   
2. Power (3-4 weeks):
   
   Bouldering
   
   
3. Power endurance (2-3 weeks):
   
   4x4's
   

This book is crucial: https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Anchors-Comprehensive-Mountaineers/dp/1594850062

I’ve heard the John Long one is great as well.

Also, definitely get a copy of Freedom of the Hills.

The outdoor walls at Sandpoint and Marymoor are good starting places to practice lead. The style of climbing in Northbend is good for beginners as well. This book covers everything pretty well, it's worth reading through the rock sections at least once when learning.

Rather than claiming to know the answers to your personal problems, I'll point you to two resources that have helped me greatly:

• The Rock Warriors Way: This book deems it self as "Mental training for climbers", but it is so much more than that. As you mention, "climbing forces these sorts of lessons upon us all" and this book acknowledges that, walking you through the borderline spiritual journey of the author and providing great lessons for the reader
  
• 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes: This is a training book that avoids quantitive goals (like, 3 sets of X followed by a 4 minute break) and talks instead of a number of the physical/technique/psychological problems we all commonly face in improving as climbers. It opened my mind to new approaches to escaping self-carved ruts in my training.
  
  Hope these help.

How to top rope by Bob Gains is good if you are starting out.
http://www.amazon.com/Toproping-How-To-Climb-Series/dp/0762770325

He also has a book on anchors and setting other pro if you are interested in working on leading.
http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Anchors-How-Climb-Series/dp/0762782072/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

John long is also a great author as u/jdevver suggested.

Freedom of the Hills is a good resource. Also r/Mountaineering. I'm not familiar with your area, I could point you to some good first peaks in Washington. But I'd recommend seeing if there is a mountaineering club around you that hosts classes and group climbs, and then use it to make some friends to hike with, and figure out where some good beginner snowfields and glaciers are. Get an ice axe and crampons and learn how to use them, and practice self arrests on a safe snowfield.

yeah those books have good info.

I like (also relevant due to where I live) this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-8th-Edition/dp/1594851387
Lot of good info for one side of the equation.

Add in primitive skills, and you're building up a strong repertoire.

You are talking about two different types of endurance here. Aerobic and Anaerobic endurance. 4x4's are targeted more towards Anaerobic endurance, while laps are more like aerobic endurance. While 4x4's are good, if you are wanting overall endurance I think you want to do laps.

Not sure of your climbing experience but the self-coached climber has a lot of good information in it. When I read it, the technique info did not teach me very much but it the mechanics and training suggestions were perfect. I highly suggest it.

Are you referring to lead climbing? Just because you are not on a toprope does not mean you are not on belay. The belayer is at the bottom, and feeds rope out as the climber goes higher instead of pulling slack in like a toprope belayer would. The climber places removable protection (called trad climbing) and clips the rope into that to arrest the fall. Or just clips directly into bolts (sport).
Meru (and El cap also) uses a technique called aid climbing, where removable gear is used to make progress instead of hands and feet. There is a belayer here also.
A good resource for this stuff is freedom of the hills. https://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-8th-Mountaineers/dp/1594851387. If you Intend to keep climbing, I would suggest picking g up a copy, it's like the textbook for climbing 101.

Grab this book Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide, its a great resource for learning how to build anchors.


Rope drag is generally a bad thing, even smooth surfaces will cause your rope to pick up grit and accelerate wear on your gear. Everyone should know how to properly set up an anchor, its easy once you know some things to avoid and get an idea of what you're looking to accomplish. It gets really interesting in the alpine when you're having to improvise points of protection and your general station set up! Like /u/cardina16 said, make sure you are ERNEST.

Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. I do have a high degree of trust in the book as it is often refereed to as the bible of Mountaineering; however, as you pointed out testing it would yield better insights/improvements.
Here is a link to the book on amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594851387

Great book: "Performance Rock Climbing" by Dale Goddard & Udo Neumann

"Handbook for experienced climbers covers all the physical and psychological aspects of climbing training."

Bonus: Udo Neumann Interview Excerpt. A really nice guy.

You might want to try this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4rVY3sLQqA for a quick intro on lead climbing.

A double rope system uses two full length ropes, and you alternate clipping them into protection. This helps eliminate rope drag.

A twin rope system uses two full length ropes as well, but you clip both ropes into each piece of protection.

See here for info on rope systems: http://www.abc-of-rockclimbing.com/howto/ropesystems.asp

You will almost always be using a double rope rappel on any of your local crags. Single rope rappels are more dangerous and are usually used to rap down from the top of a crag to clean a route, photograph, ascend, etc. With the single rope rappel method, you will not be able to retrieve your rope from the anchors unless you use a smaller cord as a pull cord, although that is not a reccomended technique.

As for climbing rescue, check out this book: http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Rescue-Improvising-Mountaineers/dp/089886772X

hope my answers helped.

DEFINITELY practice crossing. Also, try keeping your hands on holds while moving your feet. Ex: Standing with all limbs on holds/chips/what have you. Move your left foot, and then your right. (crossing if an option). Only then can you move your hands. (i hope this makes some sense)

Also, try keeping a hip to the wall. This forces you to cross and do unfamiliar things.

edit: buy the self coached climber it has many tips that can help with questions like this.

Roughly 25% of skier deaths are in tree wells.
Great book on avalanche terrain and safety.


Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain Brand: Mountaineers Books
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594850844/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdo_t1_JJaBCbG4EKVXR

I am just browsing this thread a little late but you sound like the perfect candidate to read Dave Macleod's Make or Break book. I had sporadic injuries (climbers elbow, shoulder impingement, the usual A2 pulley strains) and picked up this book after a recommendation from someone on /r/climbing and it had everything you need to know about training to prevent all sorts of climbing injuries (as well as rehab training too). Can't recommend this book enough.

link

If you're new, work on technique as opposed to fitness (yeah, fitness helps, but technique is more important initially).


Check this book out.


If you want to get into some next-level stuff, pick up Training for the New Alpinism by Steve House. It's alpinism-focused, but has good workouts. Or perhaps Conditioning for Climbers

Recommend: http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Self-Rescue-Improvising-Mountaineers/dp/089886772X as a good book for this stuff.

• Escaping belay - useful for fallen leader.
  
• Passing a knot on rappel - useful if you get a core shot and have to isolate it to get off a climb.
  
• Ascending a rope with friction hitches - Useful if you get a rope stuck on rappel and need to free it, or if you find that your ropes aren't long enough etc. Important to learn how to do this with friction hitches since you probably don't normally carry ascenders.
  
• Tandem Rappel - Fallen climber partner, dropped device
  
• How to rig a haul system - Fallen second, second can't pull a move
  
• Munter knot - useful as a belay knot if you drop a device.
  
• Butterfly knot - useful to isolate a core shot
  

I should have mentioned the book Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills. About a third of it is useful for winter camping and navigation and the rest is for climbing, alpine skills, glacier travel and some avalanche basics. It's the bible of mountaineers and will be extremely useful if you decide to go all out in the Sierras during winter.

My recommendation: 9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes

While not a book on technique, it will act as a great roadmap to improvement. It's short but full of tons of great info.

I know this isn't online, but Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain is regarded as one of the best books that really gets into the nitty gritty of avalanches, but remains understandable.

I've been reading this one recently. It's pretty helpful with a lot of techniques.

This one is great, too for just learning everything about the sport in general.

Check out this video

Then check out this and this articles

Then check out this book

I've dealt with it for about three years now. The good news is you can keep pushing yourself and it wont limit you if you are proactive towards it. The not so good news is it's close to impossible to 100% get rid of it. I hope it goes well for you!

Guidebooks to the climber's local crags would be a great gift if they don't already have them.

If they already have those, then Climbing Anchors is definitely one every climber should read.

The Self-Coached Climber is one of those books that's often mentioned for that purpose. Definitely a great book with lots of good info.

I think taking the winter to prepare yourself is a great idea if you don't know of anyone who can take you, or don't want to spend the money on instruction (right now that is). For $30 and some shipping you can have almost all the book knowledge you need.

Read Climbing Anchors by John Long. This is a great way to start understanding climbing anchor theory and some of the broader details of materials and protection.

Read the AMGA's Single Pitch Instructor Manual. It has more info than you need to know, but the knots and anchor systems are extremely valuable.

The only workouts I do with my S.O. are rock climbing and hiking. That's primarily because he doesn't go to the gym if it's not to climb. I've been trying to get him to do yoga with me because he's inflexible and often in random pain, he tries to get me to go snowboarding/skiing with him, which I won't because strapping a slippery board to your feet and then sliding down an avalanche-prone mountain is crazy-sauce.

I asked for this book for Christmas, you might be interested as well! I'm not sure what the exercise routines are like, but will help develop an training routine to make you a better climber: http://www.amazon.com/Conditioning-Climbers-Complete-Exercise-Series/dp/0762742283

seconding /u/traddad's comment/recommendations. Another good resource is John Long's anchor book -- the last chapter has some good examples for rigging top belays (and it's a good anchor resource in general)

Look mate, there's no arguing that lowering directly off fixed gear is just lazy and inconsiderate. Set up an anchor and play right.

I'm not sure if you have ever been out of the gym, but when you climb outside there is more at stake than just your own safety. You should try going outside, but please keep in mind etiquette as it is what will keep our routes sustained for years to come.

I would recommend reading this book. It will give you a good understanding as to how to properly set up anchors.

It even gets into placing your own pro, but you can skip over that if that's a little much for you.

I'm not an expert by any means, but if you have any inclination to do mountaineering activities as well you should check out Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. It has a section on types of water purification/filtration. Link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-50th-Anniversary/dp/1594851387

http://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-8th-Edition/dp/1594851387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415152306&sr=8-1&keywords=mountaineering

Yes, it's a mountaineering book, but it covers all of the basics you'll need to get started camping, and then some. A friend got it for me when I started and I'd recommend it to anyone just beginning in hiking/camping.

TL;DR! Not reading before you jump into something may be one issue. Do you even read the disclaimers on your gear and the accompanying pamphlets? How about you try reading some books while you wait to reply and troll well-meaning people?

​

>" Like you can't take a beginner climbing until they've mastered 1000 random rigging techniques?"

​

Knowledge is what keeps people alive and vertical.

​

Reading is fundamental.

​

I think you should read all you can. Start reading here before you end up here.

​

Good day to you.

​

Definitely pick up a copy of Freedom of the Hills.

While this isn't a book I recommend you carry around on a backpacking trip, it is an amazing reference for anyone that backpacks, climbs, or mountaineers.

Cheers.

9 Out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes by Dave MacLeod gives a good overview of common bad habits/practices a lot of climbers make, and how to avoid them.

It's a good book for gaining a bit more overall awareness of how best to approach getting better at climbing, rather than just throwing yourself at harder and harder climbs until you can do them.

He also has a second book called Make or Break, which is centred around common climbing related injuries and how to avoid them (or recover from them).

To improve in climbing you need sport specific training and weight loss.

The loss of ten pounds even when I am out of shape can drastically improve my climbing.

I highly recommend:
Training for Climbing

How to Climb 5.12
The Rock Warriors Way

I have heard that Dave Macleod's book
and Self Coached Climber
are also really good.

Start hiking in the mountains in NJ, NY, MD and further in NE or down in the Apps. Find a rock climbing gym and get in as much time as you can there. Colorado rules, I live in Denver and don't ever want to leave. Moving here just because you want to climb mountains without experience, not a good idea. Start reading and training. Once you feel ready then decide where to move. Best book you will ever find for helping you in your quest for mountaineering is here. http://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-8th-Edition/dp/1594851387

2008 isnt dated. The sport hasnt changed much but I personally just got this book and love what I have read so far. And I have seen it recommended multiple times on here
http://www.amazon.com/Self-Coached-Climber-Movement-Training-Performance/dp/0811733394

The first thing you should buy is 'Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills'. It is an excellent resource that will guide you through every step of the way.

If you're going on a week long vacation with family, unless you're hiring a guide or have a friend/family member who really wants to get into backcountry -- you'd be better off finding a mountain with tons of great terrain and snow. Snowbird, Alta, Telluride, Jackson (if you're flying from TX), or Taos would top the list.

If you have a partner or are willing to hire a guide ($$$) then the first step should be buying this book, reading it cover to cover, and deciding if backcountry skiing is right for you.

Nothing beats taking a class from a professional, and getting days of experience under your belt (ideally with someone who knows what they're doing to guide you)

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But I found this book to be incredibly helpful - it starts from the true beginning and runs the gamut in terms of core knowledge. At the very least, it will give you a good understanding of the kinds of things you should focus on learning in class/when you're out there.

How to Rock Climb! by John Long
http://www.amazon.com/How-Rock-Climb/dp/0762755342/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420510588&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+rock+climb

He also has a good book on anchors.

While a book is cool to get you excited about climbing, theres no better way to learn than to go to your local gym and learn. If you live in an area where "climbing is atcually a thing" it shouldnt be too hard to find someone willing to teach you a thing or two.

No problem! I had a some great friends who had a lot of patience with me, who were just as adventurous as me, and I spent a lot of time reading John Long's [Climbing Anchors] (http://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Anchors-How-Climb-Series/dp/0762782072).

Just remember, good judgement is the result of having survived bad judgment.

I don't know of any training programs geared toward just women. If you're really into a detailed training program, the Rock Climber's Training Manual is about as detailed as it could be. I've also used training techniques from How to Climb 5.12 and Rock Warrior's Way, which is more mental training than physical.

Slopers also tend to be hard for me. The key is really to pull directionally, so use your core to get your body close to the wall, then pull on the sloper toward your center of gravity. Don't try to grab it or crimp it with your fingers--you want as much skin on the hold as you can get.

As far as the shoes go, if you have a good amount of rubber left on the toes, keep using them! New shoes can give you a real mental boost if you want to get a new pair--maybe don't go too aggressive--maybe something like 5.10 anasazis or la sportiva miura lace ups.

I bought mountaineering freedom of the hills as everyone recommends, it's very comprehensive, so much so I end up using it as a reference.

One of my favorites is [Luebben's Rock Climbing Anchors] (http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Anchors-Comprehensive-Mountaineers/dp/1594850062). I've used this one the most and to initially teach myself. Also have more experienced people look over your anchors.

People recommend John Long's Anchor book but I've never read it.

Remember to build and weight anchors ground level and place tons of gear on easy climbs when you're starting out.
I was always very redundant with gear and of course we practiced on low traffic climbs.

For me, I do see it as simple. But I see it because it's something you dedicate yourself to, aspire as a life goal. Yes it does cost money, and it takes a TON of sacrifice. But look at it this way, even if you never get to climb Everest, just by taking the alpine courses and learning the skills, you are opening yourself up to a whole new range of possibilities in your climbing. Learn everything you need to know first. If you ever get to that point where you are ready to tackle it than go for it. But have fun along the way.

Also, this is your bible: http://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-50th-Anniversary/dp/1594851387

For training purposes, Performance Rock Climbing. It's old but certainly not outdated. Really well-written and easy to understand.

edit: typos

The question of how warm is a bit of a variable depending on the individual and circumstances - weight, temperatures, fitness, duration and intensity of activity etc.

I'm guessing you mean the base layer items from Target or Costco? As long as you feel it suits you for the conditions, go for it. Although it should be noted that its always nice to have the option of taking off layers in the event its too warm rather then be stuck without additional layers if you're too cold.

Generally, as long as you keep moving, especially given that you're in snow and ascending, I find it much more challenging to avoid sweating then any issue with cold. Alternatively, if you're in a situation where you're belaying or taking an extended rest, the cold can pose a real danger.

If you're able to, check out this book - Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. Considered a fundamental of mountaineering, very comprehensively written with a section dealing specifically with optimal attire for different circumstances

The late great Craig Leubben also has a very good climbing anchors book published my the Mountaineers.

http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Anchors-Comprehensive-Mountaineers/dp/1594850062

Make friends at your gym and go out with them. Or hire a guide.

Also, read a lot of books. John Long's anchor book is a great start.

Look at The Complete Guide to Rope Techniques 2nd edition by Nigel Shepherd. 360 pages, 4.4 x 1 x 6.8 inches

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Rope-Techniques-Comprehensive/dp/0762746785/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449968363&sr=1-1&keywords=nigel+shepherd

The AMGA Single Pitch Manual is a bit larger
http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Single-Pitch-Manual/dp/0762790040/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449968433&sr=1-16&keywords=rock+climbing

Rescue techniques are a different story. Assuming you mean self-rescue and not part of a professional high angle rescue team, look at Dave Fasulo's book:
http://www.amazon.com/Self-Rescue-How-Climb-David-Fasulo/dp/0762755334/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449968800&sr=1-1&keywords=self+rescue

For mountaineering a good start would be to pick up a used copy of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills. Here's a link to the current 9th edition. I have the 7th edition from when I started climbing. Used copies of the 7th are going for under $2.

There are good answers already, mainly the use of climbing/rope skills and/or snow/ice skills is the difference.

The full range of mountaineering skills is covered in this book:
Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills

I broke my collarbone 2 years ago. It gave me new appreciation for being able-bodied. One of the first things I did with this new appreciation was try rock climbing. Life has a strange way of turning that frown upside down. Oh and "9 out of 10 climbers make the same mistakes" is a nice easy read to motivate you upon recovery.

get a safe and experienced friend to show you how and check your setup

he/she will show you all the gear youll need

and get "rock climbing anchors" by craig luebben ... it cost the same as a locking biner ...

http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Anchors-Comprehensive-Mountaineers/dp/1594850062

;)

The Self Coached Climber is another excellent resource for figuring out how to move efficiently on the wall. Don't worry about the training stuff yet, just focus on the beginner exercises and general movement concepts.

I would definitely suggest picking up a copy of freedom of the hills http://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering-Freedom-Hills-8th-Edition/dp/1594851387