Description:
* Shows you how to get started with sport climbing, or push your skills further than you thought they could go
* Sport climbing is a fun, accessible aspect of climbing that many people can participate in
* Foreword by Chris Sharma, the best known American sport climber
Sport climbers often project a route that tests their physical limits in hopes of an eventual completion, regardless of the number of attempts. Succeeding requires a solid understanding of belaying and other climbing techniques that are used in various climbing disciplines, but are detailed here specifically for sport climbing.
Targeting varying abilities, Sport Climbing teaches climbers how to rehearse moves and train for routes, how to get through the pump, how to fight until the end of a pitch, how to stay composed when tired, and how to best use their bodies to climb efficiently and expertly. Whether inspiring new climbers to learn the nuances of scaling vertical terrain, or delving into a deeper, more conceptual understanding of how to go about projecting a route, Andrew Bisharat brings confidence and a level of practicality to the sport. He demonstrates how skills specific to redpointing transfer over to traditional climbing, making this a must-have book for any climber. Featuring tips from famous climbers such as Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold, the author brings a modern voice to a fun and exciting sport.
Contributors
Reviews
Andrew Bisharat is a senior editor at Rock and Ice magazine and he couldn't be better suited to write about sport climbing. He is an accomplished, versatile climber and an equally accomplished author. Bisharat's clear descriptions along with plentiful and instructive photographs provide thorough coverage of the sport. It's all there and all nicely done: history, gear, climbing moves, falling, belaying, motivation, and more.
If you are new to the game, Andrew Bisharat’s Sport Climbing: From Top Rope to Redpoint ($21.95, mountaineersbooks.org) can save you a lot of the work of trial and error. Even if you’re an old hand, I can almost guarantee there are gems within its pages well worth the twenty bucks it costs.
So is the book good? Absolutely yes. There are far too many good things in the book to begin to list here. The chapters on falling and belaying well are very helpful for example. Even its price is reasonable. ... Bisharat's contribution is to lay out clearly the technical foundation for getting on harder sport routes, laying out in concrete form the knowledge that you could only obtain previously by hanging out in the Skull Cave or the Arsenal at Rifle (ugh!) along with the other spraylords. I haven't been to Rifle in years but thanks to Andrew, for way less than the cost of a tank of gas, now I can brush up on the beta I need to link up one of the many steep polished monsters that lurk in that dark canyon.