Climbing Self Rescue by Ian Nicholson: a book review
While I truly believe nothing can beat the value of a qualified guide or instructor, they’re not always an option for folks, be it a financial strain, lack of guides in the area, or the inability to continually access information on their own schedule. The next best thing is a book published by a reputable author.
Who should buy this book?
Climbing Self Rescue: Essential Skills, Technical Tips & Improvised Solutions by Ian Nicholson, an IFMGA Mountain Guide, is a shining example of an educational text on the technical rope rescue systems found in climbing. While not comprehensive, this book covers a wide expanse of topics and situations that a recreational climber might find themselves in. It showcases the best modern techniques for accomplishing nearly any goal. The content found in Climbing Self Rescue is quite advanced. Beginner climbers might find the book gathering dust on the bookshelf for a while as it may be over their head. The reader is assumed to know basics like how to tie a variety of knots and construct anchors (only an overview is provided). The best folks for this book are people new to multipitch rock climbing, pushing their limits in that terrain, or those venturing off onto climbs that have a more adventurous feel to them.
Topics covered
In Climbing Self Rescue you’ll learn both the basic, sure-fire way to accomplish most tasks as well as a few slick ways that might be faster or use fewer materials. Each topic builds upon the next in a logical progression, with only a few bits of stray information tucked away in hard to find places (for example, stuck rope procedures are in the chapter on lowers). As you read, you’ll go from knots, to belay options, belay escapes, load transfers, lowering, passing knots, ascending, hauls, improvised systems, and even leader rescue and lead rope solo. At the end, the book offers a variety of probable scenarios then employs the reader to come up with a possible solution (the author’s solution is given as well).
Layout and photos
Each procedure is explained both in words and shown in photos, each broken down into individual steps. The photos are annotated and have labels to point out specific tools or actions. While this does help tremendously, I still found it challenging to see what was happening in some of the photographs; a yellow rope and yellow jacket provided poor contrast, or both the rescuer and victim wore a jacket with the same exact shade of orange. When examples of what not to do are pictured, they are accompanied by a small “BAD” in the corner of the frame, which could potentially be missed at a glance or accidently cropped out of a photo. I personally prefer illustrations (especially those by author and illustrator Mike Clelland) which enable you to highlight, exclude, or move parts of the system for additional clarity.
Occasionally the technical spray is broken up with some anecdotes by well-known climbers. This helps keep the reader engaged, but more importantly offers context and rational for the systems explained in the book. Additionally, there are quite a few bits of information I call sprinkles: those types of tips that provide a satisfying “huh” but don’t need more than a short paragraph to fully explain.
Overall impression
Climbing Self Rescue: Essential Skills, Technical Tips & Improvised Solutions by Ian Nicholson is now my go-to recommendation for climbers seeking to grow their rope skills on the rock. The savvy climber can even transfer some of the knowledge gained in this book to expedite their climbing in non-rescue situations. If you want a reference to keep on hand to answer all your self-rescue questions, this is the one.
