The Mountaineering Handbook

Book excerpt: ‘The Mountaineering Handbook’ will be useful for the trekker or novice climber wanting to go higher or the veteran climber wanting to brush up on the technicalities in the wilderness. A wide spectrum of issues has been covered on mountaineering, like building climbing anchors, key belaying steps, rappelling, jumaring, rock-climbing, snow craft, ice craft, avalanches, glaciers, mountain ranges of India, tent-pitching, river-crossing and the map as a navigation tool. The safety and risk factors have been covered in detail under high-altitude acclimatization, avalanche rescue, survival techniques, preventing accidents, cold injuries and first-aid. There is a conscious effort to spread awareness to the reader on maintaining the pristine beauty of the hills and forests in the wilderness through the principles of leaving no trace, the do’s and don’ts of mountaineering, selection of campsite, climate change, camp sanitation and hygiene. One of the salient features of the book is the emphasis on the physical training exercises required for mountaineering.