Page 48 - 2020 AMA Winter

BOOKREVIEW
MY MOST USEFUL
MOUNTAINEERING READS
Al Mason, Vice Chair Mountaineering (AIT, WIT, RCI, AKL, ASL, WMT)
Training for the New Alpinism (House & Johnson, 2014) is arguably my most used book. To gain a feel for its contents, one must imagine a book written by the JSMTC PT Corps staff that combines both their intellectual might and comprehensive knowledge of the mountains. The book starts with the theories of physical training and the moves onto training programmes for big mountains. The contents reflect the authors: House is a mountain guide and world class alpinist, Johnson an elite athlete sports coach. Together, their combined skills produce a practical guide to alpine training based on the solid foundations of physiology and sports science. After explaining the physiology of endurance and strength training, the book goes on to illustrate training programmes such as ‘killer core routines’, weighted pull ups and, most important of all, training ideas for big mountains. My favourite and from experience, most useful, are the weighted hill climbs and tyre drags. It may not be fun, and you’ll get a few funny looks, but from my experience it works. If I am ever asked by an expedition that wishes to climb a 5500m plus mountain what training programme they should follow in order to be best prepared, this book is the one I always point them to. There is also a website for further details: https://www.uphillathlete.com/
It will come as no surprise to any alpinist that my next book is Alpine Mountain- eering by Bruce Goodlad. Goodlad, a sometime instructor on JSMTC alpine concentrations, has designed a book that is the go-to for all things alpine. Whether you are a first timer figuring out how to use crampons, or a crusty old veteran trying to recall for the first time that season, how to teach ecole de glace, Goodlad has the answers. His book also contains a useful section on via ferratas / klettersteig, which is great pre-reading for the AKL course. He also suggests some first-time alpine routes in the last few pages of the book. These routes are classics and he provides all the necessary details that a JSATFA requires.
If there’s one thing that will spoil your day in the mountains it’s falling into a crevasse. My next book, Glacier Mountaineer- ing (Tyson & Clelland, 2009) helps you avoid doing that through the unusual use of cartoons. Bear with me, that’s what I thought as well – cartoons don’t sound like the makings of a serious book – but I was wrong. Recommended to me by a veteran of military mountaineering, the book presents very clear illustrations of techniques for all types of glacier crossings, including when using pulks. It also provides very clear illustrations of pulley systems required to lift people out of crevasses –
far clearer than the Goodlad pictures in my opinion. The icing on the cake is the detailed guide to glacier camping and clear illustrations are given on how to construct show walls and delux loos – essential information for Denali and Antarctica, and not taught on any JSMTC course.
A quick mention must be made for
Avalanche Essentials (Tremper, 2013) and The Avalanche Handbook (McClung & Schaerer, 1998). Both books are first class in providing all you did want to know about terrain traps, the factors affecting snow stability and rescue techniques and all you didn’t want to know about the hundreds of types of snow crystals (in my opinion).
My next book is the one that I always pack into my rucksack. The cicerone press Pocket Guide to First Aid and Wilderness Medicine (Duff & Gormly, 2014) is, in my mind, a must have for any expedition that does not have integral medical support ie a medic or doctor. The authors have a background in mountain rescue, mountaineering and first aid and the book strives to provide practical advice for those who find themselves in austere circumstances and need to provide medical care for a number of
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