Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual

by Bob Gaines, Jason D. Martin

Rock  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. Included are chapters on effective teaching in the outdoor environment, risk management, professionalism, environmental awareness, and rescue

Genres: Climbing, Reference, Collections, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Bob Gaines began his career as a professional rock climbing guide in 1983 and is the owner of Vertical Adventures Rock Climbing School. Bob is an American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Certified Rock Instructor and is the co-author of Rock Climbing: The AMGA Single Pitch Manual, which is the textbook for the AMGA's single pitch instructor program.

He has worked extensively training US military special forces, including the elite US Navy SEAL Team 6, and is known for his technical expertise in anchoring and small team rescue techniques.

Reviews

[Eli Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The AMGA Single Pitch Manual provides guidance on single pitch scenarios for instructors. Because I am not an instructor, I cannot speak to how useful this book is to instructors working on getting AMGA certification. What I can say though as a recreational climber, this book provides excellent insight into many categories for single pitch situations. The book covers everything from baseline equipment to basic rescue techniques in a single pitch environment. This book was also an interesting read in that it is tailored for climbing instructors, so it covers how to not only secure oneself, but also those whom they are instructing. For me this was valuable as it gave me ideas for how to ensure I make climbing safe for those I climb with.

I highly recommend this book to any climber who is looking to understand the fundamentals required to safely climb in single pitch environments, and for those looking to get the most out of classes they take with AMGA certified instructors.

[Jacob Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a whole bunch to learn that I never considered as an outdoor educator. While I’m not a serious climbing instructor, I still learned about systems I need to employ in my own work. Bob Gaines writes this easily for someone with basic knowledge of climbing systems to understand. The diagrams help immensely and the photos give a clear picture.

Before reading this, watch videos and practice all the knots, that’s the hardest part to grasp when envisioning this all done in person. Also watch the AMGA videos, they help visualizing it all.

[Clara Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The AMGA no longer uses this book as part of the SPI course curriculum - that said, I found it an incredibly useful read post-course! A few things are slightly outdated, and some of the knots are demonstrated incorrectly (lol) so make sure to have another resource (perhaps “Freedom of the Hills”?) to cross-reference.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread with Josh’s notes. More of an instructor viewpoint.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, easy to follow. An essential resource for climbing safety.

[Jax · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good. I am just a gym climber at the moment, but I know a lot about single and multi pitch face climbing from reading books. I plan to study to become a part time mountain guide when I graduate college.

About the book now. The main focus of this book is of course climbing instruction, so many of the techniques are focused around visibility of and accessibility of the students by the instructor. There are still lots of techniques in here that will benefit recreational climbers. The section on placing gear is adequate and is in my opinion on par with Craig Luebben's book on anchors.

This book's section on knots is terrible because many of the photos are overcomplicated. Many online resources exist though.

All in all, if you want to act as a climbing mentor to a friend, this book has some useful teaching tips. If you are recreational or an aspiring guide, this book will also serve you well. I paid 20 CAD for this book and would do it again in a heartbeat.

If you are only looking for an all-around anchor building best practice book, then buy the Luebben book. If you are looking for an all around mountain reference, then buy Freedom of The Hills. If you are looking for a book on training and climbing harder grades, then buy The Self Coached Climber by Dan Hague. Enjoy!