Aid climbing books

okay i really dont know smack about aid climbing and was wondering if there are any good books on it??

Bigwall Climbing Elite Technique, Jerad Ogden- This is my favorite, with lots of great tips and diagrams/illustrations.

Also, John Middindiddnidorf's Big walls book is good.

McNamara has a book. I haven't read it but it's probably good. There's also how-to youtube vids. The best way to learn is to go try it and see what works.

+1 for Chris How to big wall.

Chris Mac's book is pretty darn good. I never got the Elite Techniques book. Freedom of the Hills 8th edition was actually surprising good and up to date as well for getting started.

Chris Mac also posted a number of videos on YouTube that are worth a watch (he is a better author than actor, just to warn you).

Be aware that Aid Climbing setups vary quite a bit, and there is no one right answer. Expect to read and hear a lot of arguments about 2 vs. 3 vs. 4 aiders, adjustable vs. standard daisies, etc. In general you are best off reading lots, then going to a cliff and practice like mad. Do many laps on fixed gear or bolts (or on hangers bolted to a tree like Chris Mac did as a kid). Try different setups and see what works for you.

Buy as little as possible until you get a hang of things and decide if Aid is really for you. Tons of aid gear ends up in the back of closets once people realize how much work and misery is involved. Most people getting into aid never get up a big wall, and many of the ones who do never do a second.

P.S. Beware of a lot of the spew out there on the interwebs from Pass the Pitons Pete (aka the Canadian Assassin). He is on the fringes of things, and much of his advise is off the mark for both beginners or anyone who doesn't see the point of hauling firewood with them up the wall. His setups are needlessly complicated and overkill for the task at hand.

I own all three of the major how-to-bigwall books, Jared Ogdens, C-Macs, and Long/Middendorf. Here's my take on them. The JL/JM book is the least useful of them all. The other two are ok, but both leave out some pretty important details and it was kind of nice to have both to fill in eachother's gaps. IMO I have found just as much useful information on the web as in any of the books. You can find Cmac's videos online and that coupled with other internet info has easily been enough to get me started. Checkout Bigwalls.net and the Bigwalls forum and the tips on the Fish website. There's even some useful info on here (gasp) and Supertopo (double gasp). If you really want a book, either of those two would be good enough to get you going.

Alright cool thanks for the replies. I will just spend some time gathering info of the internet and if i feel the urge to read more i'll get chris macs book and then start experimenting outside. Thanks for the opinions!

McNamara's is a good place to start - remember to watch the videos. However, it is very much based on light-is-right and I think on McNamara being strong. His stuff about timing yourself in the gym or crag is spot on. However most people don't seem to have the patience, so get on the wall too soon. This means you need to have a lot more stuff with you as you will be up there for longer. This means it can make sense to know things like 3:1 hauls, cleaning with a grigri on steep stuff and sometimes having a steady as she goes approach, rather than a rush to the top step one.

The TR I just posted mountainproject.com/v/lurki…
shows that a no rush approach can work well with a partner who had never been on a wall before. In somewhere like Yosemite often the goal is to relax and spend a few days vertical camping, not rush to the top.

Another book is Andy Kirkpatrick's aid basics.

At the risk of being self-serving, you might like to look at mine and Andy's book amazon.com/High-Advanced-Mu…

as a way of thinking about longer routes - Andy regularly does El Cap in a day or two by aid climbing every pitch - even though the book is about free climbing, not aid.

Piton Pete...is that the guy who likes to post videos of himself taking showers on the wall? And sleeps on Wee wee the big wall crab (portaledge)... "the ever present partner?"

Moof wrote: P.S. Beware of a lot of the spew out there on the interwebs from Pass the Pitons Pete (aka the Canadian Assassin). He is on the fringes of things, and much of his advise is off the mark for both beginners or anyone who doesn't see the point of hauling firewood with them up the wall. His setups are needlessly complicated and overkill for the task at hand.