Product Description

Customer Reviews (9)

I'm ambivalent about this guide.
This may be the best rock climbing guide book on the area, but it has both some good qualities and some flaws.The pictures and the maps, both large scale and small scale are adequate. However, he leaves out too much in the narrative description of the climbs.Sometimes he doesn't even say if the route is trad or sport.I was certainly happy to have the book on a recent trip to the COR, but sometimes I felt I needed more beta on the climbs before starting out. I was able to find out some details on many routes on line, including a list of the best sport routes. I don't know who provides the ratings, perhaps not Bingham, but we thought they were pretty stiff.Climbs listed as 5.7 seemed more like 5.8 and so on. This review covers the 2006 edition.

Too bad it is the only guide for the area.
The author clearly has put a minimal amount of effort into this guide.The trail maps are good which makes it easy to find your way around, but info on specific climbs and descents is scant.I don't need it all spelled out for me but more info would make for a safer visit.Check out The Mountain Project online to supplement the guide, especially if you are new to climbing.

City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide
There is confusion here as to what book is being reviewed, viz., the 2006 version of"City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide" or some earlier edition. This is caused, in part, by Mr. David Bingham's listing all editions by the exact same name and not having an ISBN associated with the book. Further, the book being sold here is listed as "7th". Looking at the title page of the 2006 edition, there is no mention of what edition it is.

Being an occasional visitor to the City, 4 trips since 1988, I owned 2 earlier versions of the book. On the basis of the reviews here, I hesitated to buy the current (2006) edition until I was able to see it. Simply put, it is a vast improvement over the earlier versions. The challenging topographics have been replaced by photographs, which clarify the location of the crags and of the routes. The illustrations have been supplemented by useful verbal descriptions. Many new areas have been added, e.g., Tahitian Wall. The worst aspects of the index have been corrected. For example, "The Anteater" is now listed under "A" and not under "T". The book is sturdily bound although it would hold up better as a field guide if the corners had been rounded.

I recommend this book as a fine, useful guide to the area. The earlier guidebooks by Davis and by Calderone were quite decent and helpful when they were published but are outmoded by the 2006 edition of "City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide."

Since I'm a professional publisher and indexer, take the following nit-picking with a grain of salt. The index would be easier to use if different font styles were used for route names and for all other objects. This lack of difference contributes to omissions, e.g., "Private Idaho" refers to a route and to a crag, but the route gets omitted from the index. Also, the rating of the route should follow its name in the index. The author should either forgo using "5." before a rating or use it all the time. The confusion this causes is such that not even the author can follow his own usage, e.g., Delay of Game is listed as 5.8, whereas Skyline is listed as 8. Many routes have a generic name such as "Chimney." They should be given unique names, even something like "Chimney of the Spire" would be an improvement. Occasional inset photographs of the starts of routes on some of the larger crags, e.g., The Breadloaves, would make it easier to figure out where the climbs are on a crag. And some of the washed out photographs, e.g., Lost World, need reworking.

David, thanks for yours series of guidebooks to the City. They've provided me with a lot of pleasure (and some adventure now and then) over the years.

City of Rocks Idaho, 7th A climber's Guide
Updated version of a popular guide to a popular place

climbing is an adventure what did you expect
Dave's book is the most up to date info available next to phony
tony's recalled book. The pictures are great in tony's if you know where and what your looking for. Dave's book has mistakes like any guide book. There is a new Bingham book as of April 04 and most likely there are few mistakes, with black and white photos, new routes, and never before shown crags. Next thing you know people will want handicap ramps for every scramble and street signs on every route and trail. Until them swallow some form of adventure and climb whatever you can find. ... Read more

Product Description
150 color photos8 x 10Gear, ropes and knots, technique, training, destinationsStep-by-step photos and illustrations A colorful, clear, comprehensive reference for climbers of all skill levels. Here in one volume is a basic guide to the equipment and techniques for rock and wall climbing, training the mind and body, and the vitally important skills of safety and first aid. A chapter on where and when to climb highlights some of the best sites around the world, with detailed maps and locations of climbing gyms. Garth Hattingh, author of the popular The Climber's Handbook (see below) has 30 years experience as a climber. He attended the International School of Mountaineering in Switzerland and is a former chairman of the South African Guides Association. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Really Great Beginner's & Intermediate Rock Climbing Book!
I've been top roping for about 12 years now or since I was 14 yrs old. I've done a little bit of sport climbing and did a trad climb once (years ago and as a second). Lately, I've been interesting in lead climbing and ice climbing as well as Big wall climbing and I picked up this book and read the whole thing in about 2-3 hours.

What I liked is that it focuses specifically on climbing. Furthermore, the heart of that focus is "how" different types of climbing are not the same and why different techniques, equipment and safety protocals are used. The pictures are very detailed and the instructional style text is written in the big brother/buddy style so it's easy to remember what is said without having to earmark keypages or highlight sections. The author also links key ideas and facts together with reference markers, so you really grasp how things like knots and anchors are related.

One thing I didn't too like is that he gives the same amount of attention to everything. There is a whole page dedicated to buying climbing shoes, but only alittle more than half a page dedicated to top rope anchor set ups and about a page of info dedicated to ropes. Where a paragraph about buying climbing shoes would have been better and a few pageseach about more important things like anchors, knots and rope care would have been perfect.
Not that it is bad thing. I did assume that the author wrote this book for the beginner that will be climbing with someone more knowledgable and not buying ropes on their own or laying anchors their first time out.

The reason picked this book out of others is that it had the best organization. Whereas other books tend to lump stacks of info on one specific thing together. This book spreads everything out in an easy to read manner. It begins with a little history of the sport, then moves to the types of climbing, then introduces general ideas and saftey before moving on to specifics like knots, techniques and gear. I also picked it up because the pictures were very detailed and I expect to pass this book onto other friends that will climb with me this season and are new to climbing.

Basically it is a great quick teach book that answers most questions new climbers will ask (it will also help you know the best shoes for you the first time you buy climbing shoes). It also makes you want to try climbing, whereas other books make climbing seem too foreign and too technical. This book makes climbing seem very accessible, whereas other books mainly portray climbing as a primarily white male sport, this book has tons of pictures of minorities/non-white-males and females, and even children & families climbing.

There is also a bonus training program for beginner climbers and useful index in the back of the book.

I recommend this book!
A+++

... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Maps, Photos and Narratives.
With 500 pages, there isn't any doubt you can find not just some routes, but some great areas to fit you adrenalin junky needs in Washington.Another book to consider is "Weekend Rock Washington" by David Whitelaw.It covers many of the same routes, but concentrates on routes below 5.10a.Given the pictures and maps (both route maps and area maps) and narratives it seems to me well enough documented. The "Icicle Creek Canyon Mileage Chart" for example gives you the 23 mile posts to locate important climbing areas in the area there. Handy index, good introduction everyone should read and probably don't bother to.(Ratings, Safety, Courtesy, Access, and Preservation) Go for it. You'll be glad you did.6" x 9", 1.5 pounds.

Ok guide to climbing routes
I liked the variety of climbs that it listed all over Washington. I've only gone to one place so far. The down side of this book is that the climbing route wasn't well drawn and it was hard to find the climbing route. I did the 'Outer Space' in Leavenworth. The description is lengthy and not always the most concise but it was helpful in the end. ... Read more

Product Description
Utah, with its spectacular slickrock canyon country and towering Wasatch Front, boasts a diverse selection of rock climbing areas and routes. With this comprehensive guidebook, climbers can choose from more than 25 areas, including Zion's soaring sandstone big-walls, difficult limestone testpieces in American Fork and Logan canyons, and the fragile desert spires surrounding Moab. Provides detailed maps, cliff topos, route descriptions and beta, and travel and camping information.Amazon.com Review
Often considered the mecca of American rock climbing, Utah has almost as many routes as it has inhabitants. This is best reflected in Stewart Green's hefty guide, which weighs in at a whopping 537 pages. Green has indeed taken an admirable stab at rounding up descriptions, photos, and beta for every route worth mentioning. He takes the reader from the remote corners of Castle Valley and the Island in the sky to the oft-traveled crags of Salt Lake's Little and Big Cottonwood canyons. Route descriptions are thorough and easily understood. More importantly, most of the route maps are superimposed over actual photographs to insure that readers actually find the walls they are after.Green emphasizes the use of clean aid techniques and doesn't include routes that don't take clean aid.This is admirable and is aimed at protecting the soft rock of some of the desert climbs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great guide to a climbing paradise
The state of Utah offers an incredible amount of fabulous rock climbing routes on a diverse spectrum of rocks, and Stewart Greene has carefully documented a major portion of them. The descriptions, photos, and maps are excellent, and he also includes equipment recommendations and climbing history.Some of the very popular areas may have superior documentation, but this is a great general guide to the state, and will give the purchaser a long list of incredible projects. Dancing on the Edge of an Endangered Planet

Climb On! to the Wonders of Utah
Rock Climbing Utah offers the most comprehensive guide to climbing the best rock Utah has to offer. Utah boasts some of the most diverse, beautiful, and bizarre rock formations imaginable.From the granitecanyons of the Wasatch, to the lunar-like sandstone of Canyonlands RockClimbing Utah will introduce you to the most unbelievable experiences inyour climbing career.It is difficult to cover such a wide spectrum ofclimbing routes, ecosystem changes, and skill levels but this guide does awonderful job.For a broad overview of underrated climbing that oftenrivals Yosemite, this guide is difficult to match. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

5.11 mania
Just what was needed to get excited prior to going climbing in the Gunks. A book of fantastic photography and detail. A masterpiece as far as I am concerned in the climbing world. Unfortunatly all of skytop is now closed to public climbing and a large portion of this books climbs are based on the skytop area. Anyway this book is a must for your cocktail table if your a climber....

Fantastic collection of Gunks photographs and history!
This book is a must for anyone who has spent time climbing, hiking, or simply hanging out in the Gunks.It provides a wonderful history of the preserve, and the photgraphs are incredible.While the faces have changed, the rock has not.The book is mostly pictures, but I seemed to spend hours looking over the same pictures of what I have found to be one of the greatest places on earth.The author traces the steps of all the originalGunks pioneers, and I found that knowing more about the history made the climbing that much more enjoyable.If you found a copy of this book, latch onto it--it's amazing. ... Read more

Product Description

Noah is the top member of his rock climbing team, the Rock Dogs. Along with Lucas, Noah's best friend, and Eric, his biggest rival, the Rock Dogs win the annual in-house competition, and are rewarded with a three-day camping trip to Rattle Snake Point. There is only one catch: everyone must bring an adult. Luckily, Noah's dad, who has been preoccupied with his new business, finds the time togo along. But he is unable to leave his work at home, resulting in a survival lesson for both Noah and Eric.

Product Description
Globe Pequot Press Rock Climbing New England By Globe Pequot Press ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Book Seems Great
This book seems like a great book.We havnt used it yet (because it is stil winter) but have gone through and found some climbs we plan on trying as soon as it warms up.

We are both begginer climbers, currently top roping only, and this book seems to focus more on lead climbing attributes of routes.Reading it does give you a feel for the area though, and we think a lot of the routes should be easy to top rope (or maybe we will just have to learn to lead climb by summer!)

Stewart Green has big shoes to fill...
Let's get this straight, "Rock Climbing New England" is one of those select guidebooks. Author Stewart Green picks out 15 areas in all of New England and only describes certain climbs in each. That said, there are almost 750 climbs detailed, not at all an insignificant number, and from what I can tell most are done quite well.

In some cases Green repeats information already available in Webster or other guides. Still, it does have some of the new climbs on Cathedral and Whitehorse, like George Hurley's great 10c addition to the Cathedral Ledge North End, Bailsafe. The coolest thing is that Green includes information on areas that to my knowledge have never been included in any guidebook, like Rose Ledge in central Mass and Owl's Head in New Hampshire.

Sure there are those who will find fault, there always are. But in spite of having set a very lofty goal, "Rock Climbing New England" succeeds. If you can only afford one, or just want the only available info on one of those obscure places that you have only heard about through the grapevine, this guide will be well worth the investment. ... Read more

Product Description
Traditional Lead Climbing is the first and only guidebook intended to teach rock climbers how to lead with gear. Unlike other types of climbing such as sport and direct-aid climbing, "trad" climbing relies on placing your own gear as you climb from the ground. It's also one of the more dangerous climbing activities, where expert guidance is a must. This invaluable guide gives step-by-step descriptions of equipment, rope management, and techniques. Dozens of close-up photos and fun yet informative drawings show situations climbers might encounter and how to deal with them. In addition to covering the basics, the book showcases the experience and wisdom of a number of world-class climbers in self-revealing sidebars. The second edition includes a new chapter on transitioning from the climbing gym to the great outdoors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

OK but far from complete
This book is OK for a new trad climber but could use more detail on anchors, self rescue, and route finding. It does contain some useful advice on how to mentally prepare to take the sharp end, gear selection, etc and if the author could flesh this book out in a subsequent edition, it could earn five stars.

Basic information
Basic information for the beginner trad climber. Too little info on placing pro and belay set-up and too large a chapter about top roping. (Is top-roping trad as well ?)
I also found a few mistakes (and I'm not talking about the frequently wrong feet - meters conversions)
Interesting reading, though.

Not a very good training book
this book was interesting reading material but if you are looking for learning guide its terrible. there are only a few photos and all of them are sooooo dark you can't tell what is going on. I would NOT recommend this book if you wanna learn how to setup anchors or to learn rope techniques. I bought Climbing Anchors by john Long and Rock Climbing Anchors: A Comprehensive Guide by Craig Luebben those are much much much! better books.

Extraordinary book!
An exceptionally well-written how-to book filled with unusual subtlety and detail. Her female perspective really contributes to the importance and "newness" of this special and modern work.Highly recommended to any climber!

Very Informative
I think it's a great book with a lot of valuable information inside. The writing style is simple and clear. Illustrations are cheesy but good enough to get the point across most of the time. About half of the black and white photographs are clear enough to get the point across. Definitely a recommended read for a beginning lead climber or any climber interested in learning more about the sport. I checked the book out from a library at first but like it enough to be buying my own copy as a permanent reference. ... Read more

Product Description
For climbers who want to make the most of their time on Arizona rock—after work or on a weekend trip

· More than 230 trad and sport climbs from 5.0 to 5.10a
· Destination chart lists climbing season, climbing type, drive time, and approach times
· Topo maps or photos with route overlays for most routes
· Climbs indexed by star rating, difficulty, and more

Whether you are an Arizona climber who wants to get out for the weekend or a visiting climber seeking winter sun, this guide will help you make the most of your time on the rock. Most approaches are short, drive times from Flagstaff, Phoenix, and Tucson are noted, and climbs range from a few minutes to a full day. Even better, these routes have been selected for quality of experience, rated on a three-star system.

Ten major destinations are covered:
Dragoon Mountains Oak Creek Overlook
Granite Mountain Pinnacle Peak
Jacks CanyonQueen Creek
McDowell Mountains Sedona
Mount Lemmon Thumb Butte

Multi-pitch granite cracks and slabs, pocketed sport climbs on welded tuff and limestone, hand-friendly basalt cracks and corners, and soaring sandstone spires provide trad and sport climbers with all the variety the sport has to offer. Climbing destinations at elevations as low as 3000 feet and as high as 7000 feet provide escape from winter chill and sanctuary from summer heat. This fantastic climbing unfolds at locations easily accessible from urban areas, yet a world away from the rat race. And it’s all enjoyed in a landscape as diverse as it is beautiful: serene pine forests, flower-studded oak woodlands, and saguaro-strewn deserts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fantastic -- up to date beta for Cochise and Sedona
The approach beta in this book for What's My Line and for the Rockfellow formations is better than that found in any other book on the area, including Kerry's book (Backcountry Climbing in Southern Arizona, the acknowledged bible for Cochise).In addition, the updated approach to Warpath, and the inclusion of Sedona routes like the Mace and Four Flying Apaches (another item not found in any other guide) would probably make this a worthwhile purchase for most visitors.Its low price is a huge plus for out-of-state visitors like me who nonetheless don't like to waste time getting hopelessly lost.It covers a lot of routes in a lot of areas within Arizona, more of a sampler than anything else, yet it somehow also manages to pack in a lot of extremely useful and current beta.

My first trip to Cochise was this past week and it was amazing.I don't know if it would have been half as much fun without the guidance of Abbott's book here.The finest route we climbed on, 'Endgame', is a steep, 5 pitch bolted 5.10a that I knew only from magazine photos and scant Internet beta.It's not covered in Abbott's book -- but the approach to the End Pinnacle routes is, paradoxically, better covered in Abbott's book than any of the guides that do have topos for Endgame.(If you want a comprehensive guidebook to Cochise, you need to supplement Kerry's book with the updated approaches found in this book, anyways -- and Kerry's book covers many more obscure crags which will be of keen interest to repeat visitors.Alas, it is out of print -- but the Summit Hut people have a copy which you may be able to Xerox, if you ask nicely.)In any event, once you arrive at the West Stronghold (another handy suggestion from Abbott is to stick with the West Stronghold as your base camp), it is likely that other climbers will be about, so ask them.

If you are planning a road trip to Arizona, this $10 book is a no-brainer. ... Read more

Product Description
Written by a parent for parents, Climbing with Children shows how to have fun climbing with your kids while ensuring a safe outing. Not just another book on rock craft, this guide examines the special concerns present when children climb, from preparing their bodies and minds to managing them at the cliffs. You'll also learn about stretching techniques, pre-climbing exercises, climb selection and setting up top-ropes.

Whether you are a parent, guardian or counselor, if children and climbing are in your life, this book will get you started. With a few pieces of equipment and your favorite crag, you and the kids can be climbing in no time. ... Read more

Product Description
Globe Pequot Press Rock Climbing Oregon By Globe Pequot Press ... Read more

Product Description
Want to go vertical? Let Rock Climbing Connecticut point you to the best ascents in the state. Scale the rock at Ragged Mountain, jam your way up the cracks at Chatfield Hollow State Park, and get pumped on the bouldering circuit at 7 Falls State Park. What Connecticut climbs lack in vertical height, they more than make up for in steep and sustained adventure.Inside you'll find information on the best climbing routes and bouldering problems at many favorite areas, along with protection information and gear recommendations that will keep you heading to the top.You'll find: detailed topos for all the major crags; descriptions of hundreds of routes; background and historical information on many of the crags; easy-to-follow driving and approach directions to climbing and bouldering destinations. (6 x 9, 192 pages, b&w photos, maps) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

falcon rock climbing connecticut
great book with all the best sites ... Read more

Product Description
Revised and updated. This is a short topo guide to the mostpopular of the great routes and crags of Yosemite Valley. The intentis to give an overview of the major routes on El Capitan, Half Domeand the cragging areas of Cookie Area, Glacier Point Apron, and ArchRock. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Rock Climbing Yosemite's Select
A good overview of a lot that the valley has to offer.Not a whole lot of detail on anything in particular though.

keep shopping
This book is not good at all. I lived in the valley for 2 months this summer and have learned to hate it. Despite the previous rating, Don Reid is DEFINITELY no master at getting you to the climb itself. He often has only a sentence or two telling you how to get to hard to locate climbs. Furthermore, the so called stars by the "best climbs" often mark some of the worst cracks....

Disappointing...
I thought this book looked just great. And reading the introduction increased my enthusiasm. The discussion of common causes of disaster is both fascinating and educational.

Unfortunately, the brevity of this book has resulted in a lack of crucial information. The staggering magnitude of the rock faces at Yosemite means that a lot of pages of topos are needed, and this book seems to have over-economized. We set out to climb the North Buttress of Middle Cathedral (DNB), and wandered back and forth for hours trying to identify the route from the scanty description. Nor was this the only disaster: we then wandered up the valley and repeated the sorry experience looking for another route.

Verdict: very pretty, but if you are going to do any climbing, look for a more comprehensive guide instead.

All Guide Books Should Be This Good
The most important function of any climbing guide book (in my opinion) is getting you to your selected route. Great topos are vital, but if you can never find the route...what does it matter. Don Reid is a master at both getting you there and great topo beta. Even if it is your first time in the Valley, the book gives such great directions you would be hard pressed to get lost. And, as always, Don is a master topo "artist". Don't accept any cheap substitutes, this is the book to have. ... Read more

Product Description
Climbing in Acadia is fantastic.It´s one of the fewplaces that you can look out to sea as you climb and listen to foghorns and bell buoys while enjoying some of the nicest granite on theeast coast. In spring the bugs are always less ferocious than NorthConway´s.

The guide is small enough to fit in your pocket and describes almost all of the rock climbing in Acadia National Park.Areas covered include: South Wall of the Precipice, Otter Cliffs, Eagle Crag, Canada Cliffs, South Bubble, Beech Mountain and bouldering in the park.An overview map on page 7 shows the locations of the crags throughout the park and includes driving directions since there are no park signs to lead the way.

I published the first edition of Rock Climbing in Acadia National Park in May 1997. I hadn't planned on writing a book, but was frustrated by the fact that there was nothing in print about the great climbing in the park. In just a few weeks I had my first edition together and printed 300 copies. Those had sold out by July and I was off and running. I'm on my third edition now and the quality of the printing and photodiagrams are much better.

Having used many other authors climbing guidebooks prior to writing this one, I wanted to make it easy to read. On each page with route descriptions you will always find a diagram of the climbs on the facing page. This means that some of the diagrams are repeated in the book, but I thought it was well worth the effort. Climbers don't want to spend time reading the book - they want to climb! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Review of the pocket guide
Bought this pocket guide for a trip to Acadia National Park as a "first time outdoor climbing experience" the guide was a little difficult to understand. The symbols for anchors was undefined, so it was hard to determine if a BOLT or natural feature was used until actually getting to the routes. Now everything makes sense. If Peter added a glossary for the symbols used, it would be very beneficial to someone who has not used this guide nor familiar with climbing guides.

The approach descriptions were nearly spot on. It took a bit of guessing to figure out of the starting point was correct, but that was largely due to inexperienced climbers and those not familiar with Acadia National Park to head down the right trail ,but in the end, everything matched up.

The image of Otter Cliffs is a bit confusing until you actually see the cliffs from the road or from the top. Then again, everything ties in and clears up the confusion. Overall, I am becoming very confident with the information Peter provides.

If you are looking for a guide for sport/trad climbing, this is it. If you are looking for something for top roping, it is not spelled out where to find the tree or a place for a bomb proof anchor without using some nuts or cams with the exception of Otter Cliffs where the staples are.

Please keep in mind, this review is only from experience with Otter Cliffs and Beech Mountain.

Overall, I appreciate the detail of the approaches and the accuracy of the routes and where they are found at the walls.

Useful and good insider info to get the out of towner started!
I was in Acadia for a week and this little book was great. It's well priced and very informative, and compared to some other climbing guide books, its very easy to figure out where the routes are.

good job Pete! the author prints and ships the book himself, very cool ... Read more

Product Description
Written by a professional trainer and climber, this guide is intended for climbers of all skill levels who want to move up a notch. It provides tests for assessing personal strengths and weaknesses; exercises and programs for improving strength, flexibility, and technique; and strategies for overcoming psychological barriers. Developed from an extensive database of climber-fitness tests and with the premise that all climbers are different, this guide allows each climber to tailor a training program to his or her specific needs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

As a beginner, I really liked it.
I was a casual gym climber in Boulder when I was diagnosed with cancer. During my recovery, I picked up this book with high hopes of training myself properly once I was able to climb again. "Climbing Your Best" turned out to be all could hope for and more.

I've done some sports training, but have always been somewhat intimidated by climbing jargon. While quite technical, this book explained the terms and concepts in easy-to-use language (And I work as an editor, so I'm quite picky about this!). Lots of photographs illustrate the discussed training techniques, which went a long way to enhance my understanding of climbing.

My favorite parts were the exercises for the system board and campus board. I couldn't wait to get well again so I could try them out. As an athlete, I love learning new, repetitive exercises that will help me improve my performance. I can only liken it to being a ballerina at the barre. Up until I read this book, the only climbing-specific exercises I did were pilates to increase my core strength.

The whole book was very gym-heavy in its recommendations, but that worked well for me. My schedule (and budget) lends themselves much better to training in a gym a few times a week than attempting to go climbing outdoors that often.

This book isn't the end-all of climbing, and it's hardly a substitute for learning in person, but it does delivers what the title claims: Training to Maximize Your Performance.

I�m sure Ms. Sagar is an excellent and knowledgeable climber
...but it doesn't come through here.First, this is a pretty hefty book-164 pages with long sections of unbroken text, small print, and narrow margins.About half is repetition, then there's the twenty-odd pages of kind of pointless anecdotes about friends and climbing areas, and a total of about five pages of reasons why you might not want to do the things the author prescribes.So what's in the remaining fifty-seven pages?

It starts with a physiology discussion that is either so oversimplified as to be meaningless, or just plain wrong (my favorite:`VO2max [is] the maximum amount of air your lungs can hold') and which illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of muscular vs. respitory function on the part of the author.In her defense, though, some of these concepts are extremely complicated, poorly documented, and in some cases virtually unique to climbing.

The book then goes into a bunch of tests to determine your weaknesses based on the grade you climb.Interesting in an `I'll show you mine if you show me yours' kind of way, but it seems to me that anyone reading a book that uses the words `creatine phosphate system', would already know their weaknesses.Having said that, the advice `train your weaknesses, not your strengths' can't be stressed enough.

Then we get into specific movements on a campus board (a device you shouldn't get within ten feet of unless you consider .12a a warm-up grade) and a system board (something you probably won't ever run into unless you live in Boulder.)The prescribed workouts are kind of obvious-basically simple strategies to climb harder or longer or more (e.g.:climb a route until failure, then lower quickly to an easier section and get back on.)There's no discussion of how these individual workouts should be combined to create a coherent daily schedule.

The section on the extremely important concept of periodization is so convoluted that it confused even me-and I read the Journal of Applied Physiology for fun.The author finishes up with a discussion of individual moves (with photos,) a section on injury prevention that doesn't really go anywhere, extensive advice on motivating, a huge photo spread on stretching, bad advice on taping, a glossary that looks like it was copied out of an old textbook and doesn't seem to track back to what's been discussed (though I can't be sure because, inexplicably, there's no index), and so on.

As much as I hate to give a fellow climber a one star, I can't figure out why this book was written-it covers no new ground, and the ground it does cover is unclear, incomplete, and sometimes inaccurate.Maybe a lot of this results from the author trying to create a book that would speak equally to an unmotivated 5.9 climber and a .15a hopeful, I don't know.

My advice to you?If you're trying to go from 5.10 to 5.11:climb a lot and focus on your technique; you'll get there.5.11 to 5.12:Buy Eric Horst's much more straight-forward `How to Climb 5.12.'Beyond 5.12:Get Dale Goddard's `Performance Rock Climbing.'

Suitable Only for the Most Advanced Climber (and PhD)
I was very disappointed in Ms. Reynolds-Sagar's volume.If you're not already climbing at very high levels of performance this is not the book for you.That her advice targets a small elite audience is hardly the only short-coming of her work. She is obviously an academic at heart.This is clear from her unnecessarily obscure language and tortured style of communications.So, if you're a PhD in exercise something or other and are pushing to improve from 5.12 to 5.13 snap up this work.Otherwise, save your money.

A decent guide
This book is a fairly decent guide to training for harder climbing.The best part about this book is the tests for grip strength, flexibility, shoulder power etc.it gives guidelines for each and for where a climber should be at various skill levels.if you fall below the recomended number in a certain category it gives you things to do to improve in that one category.all in all i'd go with the much superior "how to climb 5.12" or "flash training" both of which are also cheaper.this book has few pictures and diagrams and is fairly redundant, but the tests and charts are useful. ... Read more

Product Description
Twelve stunning, full-color photographs typify the mental control, strength, endurance, technical knowledge and agility to climb sheer rock walls. The large format wall calendar features daily grids with ample room for jotting appointments, birthdays and reminders; four bonus months of September through December 2010; moon phases; U.S. and international holidays. ... Read more

Product Description
This book offers one hundred of the best routes in RedRocks from 15-pitch trad climbs to single pitch sport routes. Whilethis guidebook focuses on the most classic multi-pitch routes such asCrimson Chrysalis and Epinepherine, cragging routes are alsoincluded. Includes formerly obscure and unpublished climbs to providemore options for avoiding crowds. As in all SuperTopo books, theauthors personally climbed and documented each route with meticulouscare to create the most detailed and accurate topos ever published. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Better Fish in the Sea
Its a good book if you're trad climbing, it has the majority of the routes in it. If you really want to know all the routes and have a ton of information, there are better guide books out there for Red Rocks.

Great collection of Red Rocks climbs
I've got every Red Rocks guide ever published, which is about 10 books, including a really old one published in Rock and Ice around 1982.This guide is not comprehensive but contains a good selection of classic long routes.One thing I enjoyed was the historical information on each route.For example, Triassic Sands has a section on the history of this climb that can't be found anywhere else.

However, if you just want to get up these routes you may think all this history is unnecessary.Red Rocks is a difficult area for one guide book as there are such a wide variety of climbs, from single pitch sport routes to multi-pitch sport routes to full day trad affairs.This book does seem to emphasize the latter and if you are more into sport climbing you are probably better off buying one of the comprehensive guides.

The photos in this book are superb.The online version, in particular, has some really good shots.I guess they reproduce better on a monitor than on paper.

Very dissapinting Guidebook
This the most useless climbing guide I have ever seen.

There are 3 guidebooks available for Red Rocks. The best one one is the new eddition of Mountaineers guide edited by Roxanne Brock, which is a very comrehensive, and gives good route descriptions pitch by pitch. It is similar to 'Falcon' guide; in fact it is a copy of it with much improved topos and graphics. It is also somewhat better organized then 'Falcon' guide and provides stellar guide for each route; very helpful. I definitely recommend it.

The only good thing about supertopo guide are actually topos but unfortunately the number of routes described in this book is very limited. I can only guess that the author included only routes he has done, otherwise I cannot understandthe reason of producing the guidebook to a fenomenal climbing area including only 10% routes or so.

Second problem with the book is a lack of detailed route descriptions; instead the author decided to suggest strategy of doing the route consisting of a statement such as that the route is very popular and you should start early to be first in line to avoid waiting in the que; I guess this is really difficult to figure out yourself.

Third problem with the book is the lack of directions on how to get to the route. OK after few days and after talking to other climbers, who have climbed there for few days, you can get a good orientation but if you don't have anyone to ask for directions, you cannot work-out from this book.

The book looks impressive if you never climbed in Red Rocks, but if you did, it is absolutely useless, unless you really want to limit yourself to a small number of routes described in the book.

So do yourself a favor and don't waste your money for this particular book; go for Mountaineers guide, it is very good and useful. Besides it is cheaper. I bought this book because it was offered in the electronic form and I could print it out and reap easily pages with topos for the route.

And go climbing in Red Rocks, it is really a stellar climbing area.
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