Rock climbing guide to the Vedauwoo Recreational Area in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming.

Fast-paced history-cum-memoir about rock climbing in the wild-and-wooly ’80s Highlights ground-breaking achievements from the era Hangdog Days vividly chronicles the era when rock climbing exploded in popularity, attracting a new generation of talented climbers eager to reach new heights via harder routes and faster ascents. This contentious, often entertaining period gave rise to sport climbing, climbing gyms, and competitive climbing--indelibly transforming the sport. Jeff Smoot was one of those brash young climbers, and here he traces the development of traditional climbing “rules,” enforced first through peer pressure, then later through intimidation and sabotage. In the late ’70s, several climbers began introducing new tactics including “hangdogging,” hanging on gear to practice moves, that the old guard considered cheating. As more climbers broke ranks with traditional style, the new gymnastic approach pushed the limits of climbing from 5.12 to 5.13. When French climber Jean-Baptiste Tribout ascended To Bolt or Not to Be, 5.14a, at Smith Rock in 1986, he cracked a barrier many people had considered impenetrable. In his lively, fast-paced history enriched with insightful firsthand experience, Smoot focuses on the climbing achievements of three of the era’s superstars: John Bachar, Todd Skinner, and Alan Watts, while not neglecting the likes of Ray Jardine, Lynn Hill, Mark Hudon, Tony Yaniro, and Peter Croft. He deftly brings to life the characters and events of this raucous, revolutionary time in rock climbing, exploring, as he says, “what happened and why it mattered, not only to me but to the people involved and those who have followed.”

Rock climbers have an inherent interest in geology. For some, it’s about knowing what gear to use or how to avoid rotten bands of rock. For others, it’s about finding the next hot-spot boulder field, or understanding why their local crag exists. For most of them, curiosity about rocks comes as naturally as their desire to climb them. Geology is the fundamental control on the sport, and yet there are no practical guides for the climber interested in rocks. Flakes, Jugs, and Splitters fills the niche. With an informal Q&A format and fun, informative language, it brings the often esoteric science of geology into the hands of rock climbers. Covering topics from how to use a geologic map to finding new crags, from why Europe has the best limestone to how El Capitan’s North America Wall got its name, this book has a fact for every climber’s ponderings. Top-quality photographs of worldwide destinations and easy-to-read artist’s renderings of geologic concepts make it as visually engaging as it is entertaining and edifying.

“Get your head into the clouds with Aerial Geology.” —The New York Times Book Review Aerial Geology is an up-in-the-sky exploration of North America’s 100 most spectacular geological formations. Crisscrossing the continent from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Great Salt Lake in Utah and to the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, Mary Caperton Morton brings you on a fantastic tour, sharing aerial and satellite photography, explanations on how each site was formed, and details on what makes each landform noteworthy. Maps and diagrams help illustrate the geological processes and clarify scientific concepts. Fact-filled, curious, and way more fun than the geology you remember from grade school, Aerial Geology is a must-have for the insatiably curious, armchair geologists, million-mile travelers, and anyone who has stared out the window of a plane and wondered what was below.

A memoir of love and reckoning. A story of love, family, and the fight to keep the great plains from running dry. Julene Bair has inherited part of a farming empire and fallen in love with a rancher from Kansas's beautiful Smoky Valley. She means to create a family, provide her son with the father he longs for, and preserve the Bair farm for the next generation, honoring her own father's wish and commandment, 'Hang on to your land!' But part of her legacy is a share of the ecological harm the Bair Farm has done: each growing season her family--like other irrigators--pumps over two hundred million gallons out of the Ogallala aquifer. The rapidly disappearing aquifer is the sole source of water on the vast western plains, and her family's role in its depletion haunts her. As traditional ways of life collide with industrial realities, Bair must dramatically change course.

Rock climbing guidebook for the Lander, Wyoming area.

THE STORY BEHIND THE HARDEST CLIMB IN HISTORY & ACCLAIMED DOCUMENTARY 'DAWN WALL' 'Heart-stopping, absorbing' Daily Mail 'The most daring free climber on the planet' The Times __________ In 2015, climber Tommy Caldwell took on the hardest challenge of his life, spending 19 days freeclimbing Yosemite's vertical, 3000-foot Dawn Wall - regarded as the most difficult climb in history and a route nobody had ever done before. This odds-defying feat was the culmination of seven years planning and a lifetime of determination. Here, he recounts how he got there, the falls and setbacks - being held hostage, losing his index finger, the break-up of his marriage - the summits conquered and the fears overcome. Fans of Free Solo and Dawn Wall, and climbers and non-climbers alike, will be gripped by this story of drive, focus and achieving the impossible. __________ 'The Push is not simply a book about rock climbing' Guardian 'Probably the greatest living athlete most people have never heard of' Telegraph 'Arguably the best all-round rock climber on the planet' National Geographic 'A real page-turner . . . captivating and deeply moving' Climb magazine 'Captivating and unfailingly honest' Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air