Having been involved with the development of some guidebook, I feel that there are a few key things that the selective genre should achieve to be classed a success, that is they should identify the best routes, get you to the crag, then direct up the right route and get you safely down. Beyond that a little history, first ascentionist information and some please images add to the whole product, however unless those key components are meet then the guide is as much use as a chocolate tea pot.
Red Rocks Guidebook
Red Rocks was a funny place, in that we only spent a day there, and I had been told the route to do by the sandbagging first ascentionist. We were set to do epinephrine, an uber classic chimney/wall. Most people only do the first five pitches, however there are 18 in total, although many now link together to become 60 metre epics. What we found was that the guide was a little out of date, and that we need new supplemental information that we downloaded off the SuperTopo website. Whilst the topo was adequate, perhaps a better selective guide based on the use of the free pages we downloaded off the would be the supertopos Red Rocks Guide.
Click here to buy Red Rocks Guide
Click here to buy Supertopos Red Rocks Guide
Tuolumne Meadows Guidebooks
Having been in the desert too long, Tuolumne Meadows was a great place to cool off. At a reasonable altitude, you can feel it in your legs if you over exert yourself. However the climbing is most roadside, we climbed four route given *** and everyone of them was amazing. What’s more the guide had just enough information for us to get to the climb and follow the various topos, although on the more complex Cry in Time Again, there were a few parts that seemed a little vague, but given a little mountain nouse we didn’t really get lost.
Again when we climbed fairview dome we used the free supertopos guidebook, and despite not seeing which routes are in there. I would imagine that this more visual book has both more to offer in terms of route finding, and a lot more to say about descents and history.
Click to buy SuperTopos Guidebook to Tuolumne Meadows
Click here to buy Falcon Guidebook to Tuolumne Meadows
Classic Desert Climbs
This was the best of the selective guide we took on our trip, it had everything that is worth climbing in the desert, however the only thing it didn’t provide was cool enough weather to climb, but that was our fault, as we had to go over the time frame we went. As such we managed to get some climbing done before it got too hot most mornings. What was really impressive was the detail about where you can camp which whilst not actually missing from the falcon guides, was presented in a far better way. Whats more this guidebook has a little history and some great pictures some of which threaten to give you a woody the size of standing rock, a la Naill Grimes Stylee!
Click here to buy Classic Desert Climbs
Colorado Guidebook
The Colorado Selective guide, was one of the best of the selective Falcon Guides, and was fall of classic routes and information on many crags and areas all over Colorado. This State alone would validate a road trip in itself, such is the number and variety of rock types and crags. Much of it is concentrated around Boulder and Estes Park a short drive north. However there where whole areas we just drove past in order to meet our deadline of finishing up in LA in three weeks.