While there are many courses and tutorials online, learning from a book is still one of the best ways to greatly improve your skills. Below I have selected top Rock Climbing books.
- Rock Climbing Technique: The Practical Guide to Movement Mastery (2018)
- The Rock Climber’s Training Manual (2014)
- Vertical Mind: Psychological Approaches for Optimal Rock Climbing by Don McGrath and Jeff Elison (2014) Paperback (2014)
- Rock Climbing, 2nd Edition: Mastering Basic Skills (Mountaineers Outdoor Experts) (2014)
- Building Your Own Climbing Wall: Illustrated Instructions And Plans For Indoor And Outdoor Walls (How To Climb Series) (2012)
- How to Rock Climb! (How To Climb Series) (2010)
- Training for Climbing: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series) (2016)
- National Geographic Kids Chapters: Rock Stars! (NGK Chapters) (2018)
- Rock Climbing: Essential Skills & Techniques (2011)
- Self-Coached Climber: The Guide to Movement, Training, Performance (2006)
- Rock Climbing Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland (State Rock Climbing Series) (2013)
- Rock Climbing Anchors, 2nd Edition: A Comprehensive Guide (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) (2019)
- Carolina Rocks: The Piedmont (2015)
- Advanced Rock Climbing: Expert Skills and Techniques (Mountaineers Outdoor Experts) (2016)
- Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual (How To Climb Series) (2014)
Rock Climbing Technique: The Practical Guide to Movement Mastery (2018)
If you have ever wanted to move effortlessly and get the most from your hard-won climbing fitness, this is the guide you’ve been waiting for.Getting better at rock climbing doesn’t have to be about strength, endurance, flexibility or hours spent on repetitive training. It doesn’t need to be a balancing act between losing fitness and getting injured overtraining.
The Rock Climber’s Training Manual (2014)
Whether you climb 5.9 or 5.15, this book shows you how to immediately and continuously improve your climbing, providing a step-by-step, easy to follow action plan used by elite climbers. The Rock Climber’s Training Manual updates and expands on the renowned "Rock Prodigy" training method that has helped climbers around the globe advance through the grades.
Vertical Mind: Psychological Approaches for Optimal Rock Climbing by Don McGrath and Jeff Elison (2014) Paperback (2014)
In Vertical Mind, Don McGrath and Jeff Elison teach rock climbers how to improve their mental game so they can climb better and have more fun. They teach how the latest research in brain science and psychology can help you retrain your mind and body for higher levels of rock climbing performance, while also demonstrating how to train and overcome fears and anxiety that hold you back.
Rock Climbing, 2nd Edition: Mastering Basic Skills (Mountaineers Outdoor Experts) (2014)
Thousands of rock climbers have learned the sport using Craig Luebben’s seminal and bestselling text, Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills. Now Craig’s friend and fellow climber Topher Donahue brings the content up to current standards and includes technological advances, while preserving Craig’s comprehensive approach.
Building Your Own Climbing Wall: Illustrated Instructions And Plans For Indoor And Outdoor Walls (How To Climb Series) (2012)
If you want to get a total body work out, climbing is the way to do it, and building your own climbing wall allows you to train and have fun any time you want, rather than having to drive to a climbing gym during open hours. provides the essential information you need to plan and construct your own indoor or outdoor climbing wall, including step by step instructions, equipment lists, info…
How to Rock Climb! (How To Climb Series) (2010)
How to Rock Climb!, now in its fifth edition, is the most thorough instructional rock climbing book in the world. All the fundamentals—from ethics to getting up the rock—are presented in John Long's classic style. Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the modern standards of equipment, technique, and training methods, this guide includes sections on face climbing; crack climbing; ropes, anchors, and belays; getting off the rock; sport climbing; and much more.
Training for Climbing: The Definitive Guide to Improving Your Performance (How To Climb Series) (2016)
Increase your strength, power, skill, and focus to maximize your climbing performance. Praise for Training for Climbing“Training for Climbing is a great resource. Whether you’re just starting out or already ticking 5.13, you’ll find valuable information here to help you climb harder.
National Geographic Kids Chapters: Rock Stars! (NGK Chapters) (2018)
With gripping–and TRUE–stories of incredible adventures, Rock Stars! takes readers on three amazing journeys of ultimate survival. From New York’s Central Park to the towering Himalaya, no peak is too high for these extreme rock climbers! Perfect for all readers who love exciting, real-life, adrenaline-fueled tales that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Rock Climbing: Essential Skills & Techniques (2011)
This is the official handbook of ‘the Mountaineering Instructor, Single Pitch, Climbing Wall and Climbing Wall Leading Award Schemes’. Written by one of the best known rock climbing instructors in the UK this is the definitive and comprehensive ‘how to rock climb’ textbook, now in its revised and updated second edition.
Self-Coached Climber: The Guide to Movement, Training, Performance (2006)
“Still the best book on improving at climbing
Rock Climbing Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland (State Rock Climbing Series) (2013)
The Mid-Atlantic region abounds with superb rock climbing areas, including hidden gems far from the crowds. From the granite peaks of Old Rag Mountain to the miles of glowing Nuttall Sandstone in the New River Gorge, the states of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia offer exciting and diverse climbing opportunities.
Rock Climbing Anchors, 2nd Edition: A Comprehensive Guide (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) (2019)
For this new edition of Rock Climbing Anchors, climber and writer Topher Donahue carefully reviewed each technique and lesson, making them even easier to understand and learn. Key updates include:
Carolina Rocks: The Piedmont (2015)
A rock climbing guidebook to the Piedmont region of North Carolina. The book features the world class traditional climbing area of Moore's Wall, the fantastic slabs of Stone Mountain, the incredibly popular cliffs of Pilot Mountain, and the many walls of Crowder's Mountain. The book describes over 550 routes of all difficulties.
Advanced Rock Climbing: Expert Skills and Techniques (Mountaineers Outdoor Experts) (2016)
“The old way of climbing was systematic, methodical, and consistent.
Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual (How To Climb Series) (2014)
Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual is intended to serve as a textbook for past and furture participants of the AMGA SPI program. The book builds upon Bob Gaines’ book, Toproping, to more specifically address the needs of the professional cilmbing instructor and advanced recreational climbers. It presents the most current, internationally recognized standards for technical climbing systems used in single pitch rock terrain.
Best Rock Climbing Books That Will Hook You
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some rock climbing books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Grip Strength: No-Nonsense Methods To Forge Elite Grip & Hand Strength For Weightlifting, Martials Arts & Rock Climbing
Author(s): Sasso, Frank
ID: 2894501, Publisher: , Year: 2021, Size: 4 Mb, Format: pdf
Rock Climbing: The Art of Safe Ascent
Author(s): John Long; Bob Gaines
ID: 2975284, Publisher: Falcon Guides, Year: 2021, Size: 69 Mb, Format: epub
Toproping: Rock Climbing for the Outdoor Beginner
Author(s): Bob Gaines
ID: 3619178, Publisher: Falcon Guides, Year: 2020, Size: 48 Mb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not errorless. Some books are truly best-sellers according to Los Angeles Times, others are written by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.