Mountaineering Methodology - Part 1 - The Basics

Mountaineering Methodology is a multimedia textbook intended for beginners and advanced climbers who wish to devote themselves to mountaineering in its various forms, whether rock climbing, artificial climbing walls, ascents in the mountains up rock, snow, and ice, or protected routes (klettersteig, via ferrata).

Mountaineering Methodology is composed of several sections; each section is one book. That way the series follows an ideal path for the growing awareness of the beginning student of mountaineering. If you are just getting started with mountaineering, we would definitely recommend that you start with the first section, and then continue gradually from there. The level where you will complete your education is entirely up to you.

There are, of course, a vast number of pictures, photographs, as well as videos and various interactive images and quizzes. This textbook is not superficial. At key points it is very detailed, and doesn’t simply tell you what you should do but also explains why you should do it. It has been written from the conviction that a thorough and clear understanding of the subject is the most basic element of safely practicing mountaineering.

In the first section, which you can download right here, the following topics are covered: mountaineering and its forms, a description of the mountaineering discipline, the history of mountaineering techniques, the classification of mountaineering performance, a description of climbing movements used during rock climbing, a description of rock and mountain terrain, mountaineering knots, methods of tying in to rope, prusik hitches, and a general examination of safety during mountaineering.