*WINNER, BEST GUIDEBOOK, 2016 BANFF MOUNTAIN BOOK FESTIVAL*

This is no regular instruction manual—it’s much more useful than that. This is a massive collection of all those little tips that make a real difference when at the crag, in the mountains, or when you’re planning your next big trip. Tips are organized by eight primary categories:

• BASICS (tips 1–240) – From how best to rope up and the importance of climbing partnerships, to racking your gear correctly and how to sleep in a harness. 
• SAFETY (tips 241–327) – The name of the game in climbing is staying alive and coming home in one piece. This section covers loose rock, rescue, dealing with heat and what to do if you get caught out.
• BIG WALL (tips 328–434) – Knowledge on tackling large multi-pitch climbs, with advanced topics such as pegging, jumaring, hauling and speed climbing. These tips will be an aid both to those new to multi-pitch climbing, as well as more experienced climbers.
• ICE (tips 435–481) – Tips on all aspects of ice climbing, including movement, protection, looking after your gear, mental strength and—of course—not falling off.
• MIXED (tips 482–503) – With a focus on alpine winter skills, these essential tips focus on leading, gear and footwork on mixed ground, and how to use your tools on snowed-up rock.
• MOUNTAIN (tips 504–802) – This section has almost 300 tips on living and staying alive in the mountains.
• TRAINING (tips 803–876) – A range of tips on how to overcome fear, improve strength and endurance, as well as diet and nutrition advice.
• STUFF (tips 877–1001) – A mix of esoterica, such as how to rap off a fifi hook, what books to read, how to make your own kit, how to get sponsored, how to take great photos and videos, and how to go to the toilet in tricky spots.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Andy Kirkpatrick has a reputation for seeking out routes where the danger is real and the return questionable, pushing himself on some of the hardest walls and faces in the Alps and beyond. He was born and raised on a council estate in Hull, one of the UK's flattest cities, and suffered from severe dyslexia which went undiagnosed until he was nineteen. Thriving on this apparent adversity, Andy transformed himself into one of the world's most driven and accomplished climbers and an award-winning writer. In 2001 he undertook an eleven-day solo ascent of the Reticent Wall on El Capitan, one of the hardest solo climbs in the world. This climb was the central theme of his first book Psychovertical, which won the 2008 Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. His second book, Cold Wars, won the 2012 Boardman Tasker Prize. In 2014 he partnered BBC One's The One Show presenter Alex Jones as she climbed Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park in aid of Sport Relief. Andy lives in Sheffield with his two children.