Book Review of Basic Rockcraft by Royal Robbins

Through the 1960s, Royal Robbins was one of the best rock climbers in the world and Yosemite Valley was his playground. Royal not only did many major first ascents in the Valley, like the Northwest Face of Half Dome and The Salathe Wall on El Capitan but he also helped developed the Yosemite style and techniques of rock climbing. In 1971, Royal published a slim instructional book called Basic Rockcraft that was the first one to explain the Yosemite way of rock climbing.

For me and lots of other climbers in the 1970s, Basic Rockcraft was more than just a how-to-climb book but it was our bible. Royal Robbins gave away a lot of the secrets of climbing big walls as well as gave the first explanations about how to place and use nuts, climbing equipment that came over from Britain, thus beginning a clean climbing revolution to preserve our cliffs and climbing areas from piton damage.

Read my review, forty years after the book first came out, of Basic Rockcraft by Royal Robbins and find out why, despite some sections being dated, much of the information, including that on climbing ethics, clean climbing, and climbing style are still important today.

Read More:
Basic Rockcraft by Royal Robbins: Review of Classic Climbing Book
Royal Robbins Quote -- Climbing Quote from Royal Robbins

Buy a how-to-climb book:
Basic Rockcraft by Royal Robbins
Advanced Rockcraft by Royal Robbins
How to Rock Climb by John Long
KNACK Rock Climbing by Stewart Green and Ian Spencer-Green