Climbing Rock and Ice: Learning the Vertical Dance

In "Climbing Rock and Ice", Jerry Cinnamon offers introductory, how-to advice for beginners as well as technical information for sport climbers, seasoned veterans and programme leaders. The book includes up-to-date information on techniques, knots, equipment, belaying and leading, on anchor systems, steep ice, avalanches and climbing leadership. 25 years ago, rock and ice climbers were considered eccentrics, daredevils or lunatics. Now, climbing is a major growth area in outdoor sports, and the ever-increasing numbers of climbers have moved from fringe to mainstream. A recent survey of outdoor enthusiasts showed that over 4 million people in the US climbed rocks and mountains in 1991. Jerry Cinnamon is one of those "eccentrics" who began climbing in the early 1970s. He soon combined his enthusiasm for the sport and his skills as a teacher, developing courses in mountaineering, rock climbing and ice climbing that became part of a professional programme in Outdoor Recreation Leadership at Unity College, in Unity, Maine. Cinnamon's students practice the physical skills of climbing on rock and ice, learn to set up belaying and anchoring systems, and hone their ability to analyze new situations critically. Cinnamon breaks down skills into basic steps that match how people learn, and he passes along time-tested pointers gained from 20 years on cliffs and crags. He instructs newcomers as well as experienced climbers. This book contains the information he gives his students.