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johnhenry
Big Wall climber
Osaka, Japan
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 13, 2018 - 06:38pm PT
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After considerable delay, Andy Kirkpatrick's new big wall technique manual, Higher Education, is finally available (or at least the pre-orders have arrived).
Preliminary book review in a word: meticulous. 475 pages of detail about every aspect of wall climbing. I never got a hold of Chongo's wall manual, but surely in terms of available publications, this is the new gold standard on the topic. Likewise, the prose seems cleaner than some of Kirkpatrick's other worthy instructional books. It costs as much as an Alien, but there is virtually no topic neglected, and it should save you days and dollars in spades over the long haul.
Big wall aspirants and aces will go nuts for this... methinks.
Cheers from Osaka,
Japan-john
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j-tree
Big Wall climber
Typewriters and Ledges
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Jul 13, 2018 - 06:43pm PT
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I have mine and can confirm that it is beyond meticulous. So much information and modifications and technique exploration. I’ll be sitting with this one for a while. New bigwall portaledhe reading material for party wall ascents for sure
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Tom
Big Wall climber
San Luis Obispo CA
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Jul 13, 2018 - 07:08pm PT
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Nice.
Chongo's book was too deep, with too much extraneous information. Chongo, himself, was too deep, with too much extraneous information. But, he was a classic Valley Guy, and totally adorable in person. The Chongo Book was not as useful as it might have been.
A more reasonable comprehensive treatise on climbing is a welcome alternative.
Higher Education sounds like a perfect title.
Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge".
He'd already received tremendous knowledge, with a PhD in physics, when he said that. A sound basis in existing knowledge is the best way to effectively utilize a fertile imagination.
Learn where the boundaries are, and then you will be ready to push against them.
 A random statement that is supposed to sound sagacious
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NegativeK
climber
Chicago
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Jul 14, 2018 - 08:31pm PT
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I'm well over halfway into it and was thinking about a preliminary review today (from a gumby's perspective.)
It's not a book that will have the direct answer to your question. I'd go as far as to say it's not the best book for someone to start from scratch with. The organization isn't always clear, and it certainly isn't designed with obvious choices just to get you on the path.
All those nots being said: if I had to go back and buy it again, I'd be willing to pay three times the price. Of the four other comparable books on my shelf, this one is way more thorough and way more modern. I feel pretty happy and lucky to have started with the CMac book, gotten a touch of experience, and now have this book.
Two thumbs up, Andy.
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Jul 15, 2018 - 04:30pm PT
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Really looking forward to seeing this. Transferring intuitive knowledge based on direct experience into a comprehensible written form is truly a challenge. And Andy has demonstrated his ability in this regard in his blogs, pages, etc. Should be worth it’s big wall weight in water !
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johnhenry
Big Wall climber
Osaka, Japan
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 16, 2018 - 12:13am PT
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Hey Deuce!
Very thoughtful forward you have in the book. It sets the tone well and shows a cool continuum from your awesome original text with John Long. My copy of "Big Walls" is delightfully worn out from heavy use and drooling.
Cheers...
John
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skywalker1
Trad climber
co
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Jul 16, 2018 - 12:50am PT
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^^^^My Big Walls book is heavily thumbed and memorized to the point I was in the anecdotes. lol. Great to see another stab at this very challenging endeavor. Look forward to thumbing it.
Learn where the boundaries are, and then you will be ready to push against them.
I like that, its how I learned to raid the cookie jar. ;-)
S...
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Majid_S
Mountain climber
Karkoekstan, Former USSR
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Jul 17, 2018 - 07:21pm PT
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There is only one big wall bible written ever
it is by lord Chongo
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bingo07
Trad climber
Tahoe
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Jul 17, 2018 - 07:57pm PT
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Anyone know where you can order this? Amazon accepts pre-orders but says it won't be released til April 2019.
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gathan
climber
Ontario, Canada
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Jul 18, 2018 - 04:34am PT
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I ordered my copy from amazon UK - I live in Canada - it's on its way.
Andre
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Jul 18, 2018 - 06:46am PT
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My biggest fear is that I will buy this book, place it on the back of my toilet, pour over it for the next year or so, and by doing so will think to myself......."Dude this is so rad, you should attempt El Cap again....." and will start the inevitable return to wall climbing, which when looking at books looks soooooo easy and fun but in reality is so much freakin' work!
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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Jul 18, 2018 - 06:53am PT
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^that’s what I am hoping too. Otherwise, the memories of pain and suffering will prevail...
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Late Starter
Social climber
NA
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Jul 18, 2018 - 06:57am PT
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I ordered mine form Amazon-UK as well...says it's on it's way? I live in the US....
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 18, 2018 - 07:11am PT
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It would be neat to see more people take their big wall skills (honed in the Valley) to the myriad of unsent projects out there tucked away in remote parts of this planet. It just takes some imagination combined with planning (sometimes a visa) and...don’t forget the plane ticket.
Getting there will be a challenge but you won’t have to contend with crack of dawn lines at Camp 4, dodging debris from other climbers, speeding tickets from over zealous rangers and over priced pizza.
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Late Starter
Social climber
NA
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Jul 18, 2018 - 08:12am PT
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It would be neat to see more people take their big wall skills (honed in the Valley) to the myriad of unsent projects out there tucked away in remote parts of this planet.
...working on the honed part, right now my blade is extremely dull.
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WyoRockMan
climber
Grizzlyville, WY
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Sep 18, 2018 - 09:45am PT
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place it on the back of my toilet
Beware of that positioning.
My preliminary review:
//As an aspiring big wall theorist, I was excited when Higher Education showed up on my stoop.
Like all books of technical nature, my first instinct is to quickly peruse the work from cover to cover. What am I getting into? Is this really going to be an improvement over the relatively petite works that proceeded this one?
And with most printed material in this digital age, the most convenient place to do a quick perusal is on the throne while I complete my morning paperwork. Quickly it became apparent that this particular work by Andy is indeed the definition of comprehensive. The layout is well organized, the content current, and the writing good enough. But the depth is truly impressive, I can’t imagine what is missing here. Within minutes, I’d learned a thing or two. There is even a chapter on para issues.
IT IS THAT THOUROUGH!
At this point in my first pass, I realized that a significant time had passed. Standing turned into a desperate act. My feet, completely useless, legs numb as if I’d been hanging in a harness belaying a marathon pitch. The realization I was facing a factor 1 fall onto the bathroom floor due to unresponsive legs was terrifying. What would Andy do? (Besides not getting into this position to begin with.)
Inaction was not an option, I quickly closed the lid and positioned myself back on the throne to regain my composure. I read about getting the team to coordinate these activities as an efficiency tip as the blood flow returned to my lower extremities.
So, what was the point of all that? None really, other than find a comfy spot when you open the book. The book is destined to have the staying power of the Freedom of Hills. It will be THE reference manual for years to come. Well done Andy. And thanks for sharing this incredible amount of knowledge.//
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Dynoguy
climber
Yosemite CA
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Sep 18, 2018 - 12:25pm PT
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Definitely worth buying this. Very well written, good illustrations, cool tips and tricks. Plus Andy seems like a really awesome person, so I’d enjoy the chance to support his efforts in some way.
M@
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WBraun
climber
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Sep 18, 2018 - 12:35pm PT
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$55 for a st00pid book.
You can big climb without ever looking at this book and save $55.
You, modern people, are insane .....
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HeschMonster
Trad climber
Morro Bay
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Sep 18, 2018 - 11:37pm PT
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"and over priced pizza."
Jim, I must demur, as it's a damn good deal at the end of a long day...though the busboy did snake our beers last time we were there (brought our own, went to pick up our pizza, got back to table and Jim (my buddy) says "hey, what happened to our beers?" sh**, either that busboy snagged em, or some buggers stole em while we were up. Either way it was worth a chuckle as we pulled out two more from the cooler.
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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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Sep 19, 2018 - 05:21am PT
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Just ordered a copy. Should be interesting reading detailing all the things I was doing wrong.
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