Guidebooks - Wolverine Publishing

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Rock Warrior’s Way: Mental Training for Climbers
$18.95
About the book
The Rock Warrior's Way is the definitive mental training manual for climbers. Learn to focus attention, overcome fear, use effective strategies, and build powerful habits. Getting strong in the gym can help improve your climbing, but an effective mental game will help you learn to apply that strength. A strong mind is the key to becoming powerful on the rock. Drawing from "warrior" literature (as well as sports psychology), The Rock Warrior's Way is the ultimate tool to help improve your performance and gain more enjoyment from your climbing. Find the companion to The Rock Warrior's Way, known as Espresso Lessons, here.
About the author
Arno Ilgner (from his website warrior'sway.com): In 1995, after a thorough search of the literature and practice of mental training and the great warrior traditions, Ilgner formalized his methods, founded the Desiderata Institute, and began teaching his program full time. Since then, he has helped hundreds of students sharpen their awareness, focus attention, and understand their athletic (and life) challenges within a coherent, learning-based philosophy of intelligent risk-taking. Ilgner considers the joy and satisfaction in the effort – the “journey” – intimately linked to successful attainment of goals, the “destination.” Alumni of his courses now include some of the nation’s most prominent climbers. Ilgner has run clinics across the USA and Australia. He has worked with young competition climbers and written national magazine articles based on his methods. He holds a BA in geology, spent several years operating his own geological consulting firm in the Wyoming oil fields, acted as Chief Financial Officer for an industrial tool distribution company, attended the Army Ranger School, and served a non-combat tour of duty in Korea. He currently resides with his family near Nashville, Tennessee.
Details
The Rock Warrior's Way
2003 Desiderata Institute
by Arno Illgner
146 B&W pages
9780974011219
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Espresso Lessons
$19.95
About the book
Espresso Lessons is the companion to Rock Warrior's Way, with practical exercises. A good cup of espresso is big coffee in a small cup. Likewise, Espresso Lessons concentrates the essence of the Rock Warrior's Way method. You'll need the original Rock Warrior's Way for the bigger story behind the practice, but for no-nonsense exercises to help you improve your mental game on the rock, this book is a gem. Here is a blurb by Julie Ellison of Climbing Magazine about Espresso Lessons.
About the author
Arno Ilgner (from his website warrior’sway.com): In 1995, after a thorough search of the literature and practice of mental training and the great warrior traditions, Ilgner formalized his methods, founded the Desiderata Institute, and began teaching his program full time. Since then, he has helped hundreds of students sharpen their awareness, focus attention, and understand their athletic (and life) challenges within a coherent, learning-based philosophy of intelligent risk-taking. Ilgner considers the joy and satisfaction in the effort – the “journey” – intimately linked to successful attainment of goals, the “destination.” Alumni of his courses now include some of the nation’s most prominent climbers. Ilgner has run clinics across the USA and Australia. He has worked with young competition climbers and written national magazine articles based on his methods. He holds a BA in geology, spent several years operating his own geological consulting firm in the Wyoming oil fields, acted as Chief Financial Officer for an industrial tool distribution company, attended the Army Ranger School, and served a non-combat tour of duty in Korea. He currently resides with his family near Nashville, Tennessee.
Details:
Espresso Lessons
2009 Desdierata Institute
by Arno Ilgner
115 B&W pages
9780974011233
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A Feeling for Rock
$19.95
About the book
How does it feel to rock climb - the touch, ethics, companionship, landscape, and language? A Feeling for Rock explores such topics in a clever mix of poetry, cartoons, photographs, essays, and interviews with both lifelong climbers and total beginners. Fun for dipping into or a more immersive read, it will brighten your climbing experience. A Feeling for Rock won the Climbing Literature Award 2021 at Banff Mountain Book Competition. "I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It's thoroughly weird, which is GOOD." - Andrew Bisharat “One of the pleasures of reading this book is you rarely know what Dobner is going to come up with next… If…you too have been wondering where the joy of climbing has gone, I recommend you get yourself a copy of A Feeling for Rock.” - Ian Parnell Read the review by Andrew Bisharat over at Evening Sends here, and the one by Ian Parnell at UKClimbing here.
Author
Sarah-Jane Dobner is a devoted climber from Bristol, UK. “Rock climbing has shaped my body, my bookshelves, my home, my holidays, the clothes I wear, the vehicle I drive, how I spend my money and what happens when I die. I am a product of the rock. The dynamic is visceral, spiritual, intellectual and emotional – no area untouched by this curious hobby.” Follow her on Instagram and Facebook @afeelingforrock.
Details
A Feeling for Rock
2021 Dob Dob Dob UK
by Sarah Jane Dobner
268 B&W pages
9781838400415
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Big Chief Area Climbs
$20.00
About the book
If you like sport climbing on vertical to overhanging volcanic rock in the sun, you'll have big days of fun climbing at the Big Chief area near Lake Tahoe, California. Located at 7,000 feet in the mountains between Truckee and Tahoe, this is one of the best cool weather crags in the Tahoe region. Complemented with plentiful camping, the volcanic rock makes for a nice switch from the more typical granite found around Tahoe. Big Chief Area Climbs provides clear, concise beta that has been checked and rechecked. In fact, the author himself climbed almost every single route to verify the accuracy of all the info herein!
Areas included
Big Chief
Light Deprivation Buttress
Little Chief
Sawtooth Ridge
Fun circuit ideas are suggested.
Updates to the area can be found here (although there haven't been changes in a few years).
About the author
Marek Hajek grew up in the Czech Republic, and moved to Lake Tahoe in 1989. His friend Don Harder introduced him to climbing in 1992. Progress for Marek was slow, but he steadily worked up to having ticked all but three climbs in the Big Chief area. Marek married his wife Trang in 2001, and they live in Reno and climb in Tahoe as much as possible.
Details
Big Chief Area Climbs
2005 Maximus Press
by Marek Hajek
96 pages in black and white
9789067611679
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New River Gorge National Park Visitor’s Guide
$20.00
About the book
The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is the newest destination on the East Coast national park tour. It's also one of the worthiest, with dramatic scenery and so much for visitors to do. Local-born author Amanda Ashley knows the area intimately, and has put together an indispensable guidebook for anyone visiting the New River Gorge National Park. Robert Legg's colorful photography illustrates the beautiful, fun, and informative guide. Looking for a a relaxed day in town, or a thrilling whitewater raft trip? A hike to a beautiful overlook or a driving tour to a historic mining town? This guide has you covered no matter how much time you have or how much adventure you're looking for.
Features
Packed with color photos
17 color maps help you find your way
Info on each of the Visitor Centers
Recommended activities
Cultural history
Natural history
Festival and event information
Local businesses
Lodging and dining recommendations
About the authors
Amanda and Robert are siblings and lifelong residents of the New River Gorge. Adventure gypsies at heart, they’ve explored this area since before they could walk — and once they could, well, they went everywhere in the park. From driving up and down the gorge before the New River Gorge Bridge was built, to the early days of rafting, they’ve seen the area grow and change and blossom. They’ve camped on the river, climbed the cliffs, hiked and biked the trails, run the rapids of the New River, and know how to best experience all of it. Together and separately they’ve gone on adventures around the globe and both appreciate that it’s the intersection of people and place that makes traveling to a new destination so rewarding and fun.
Details
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve Visitor's Guide
2022 Wolverine Publishing
by Amanda Ashley and Robert Legg
116 full color pages
978-1-938393-433
For a quick list of ideas to do in a few hours at the New River Gorge National Park, check out this article. Looking for more in-depth guidebooks? Hiking and Biking in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve covers the excellent trails at the New River Gorge. If rock climbing is your thing, check out the two volume set, New River Rock Volume 1 and New River Rock Volume 2 for comprehensive coverage of climbing at the New.
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Joshua Tree Insider’s Guide
$21.00
About the book
Need a Joshua Tree hiking guidebook? Curious about the Park's history? Interested in exploring off the beaten path? Look no further. This is a colorful, adventurous, hiker's and visitor's guide to Joshua Tree National Park, from the same team who brought you the Joshua Tree Rock Climbing and Bouldering guides. The Park's other-worldly landscape is a true wonder. From the twisted architecture of the Joshua trees, to the rock labyrinths of the Wonderland, to the vast ocotillo-speckled Pinto Basin, you will be constantly delighted. Discover hikes of all categories, from wheelchair-accessible nature trails to highly unofficial belly-crawls through granite corridors. Sweat your way up a desert summit with 100-mile views, make an airy scramble to the top of a rock dome, or trek up a canyon to a palm oasis. Did you know the Park has a rich mining history? Visit off-the-radar mine sites and quirky desert homesteads. If you want to get away from the parking lots, whether for a full-day outing or a 30-minute scramble, this is your book. Sewn binding for abuse in your backpack, and postcard photography for when you're back home, planning your next trip.
Features:
photography tips
the skinny on the Park's 4WD roads
lots of frontier lore
helpful sidebars, including "If you only have a few hours," "Seeing the Park with kids," and more
a hit list for the excellent (funky) local art scene
a primer on the Park's rock climbing
The Author
Robert Miramontes first visited Joshua Tree National Park in the mid-1980s as a young and impressionable teenager. While there, he witnessed rock climbers scaling the sheer cliff walls and vowed never to engage in the sport. Well, several years later, Rob found himself back in the Park doing the unthinkable- rock climbing! This marked the beginning of a life-long obsession with Joshua Tree National Park. Initially, with rock climbing as the focus, he set out to explore every crag and rock pile, every cliff and summit. This culminated in the writing of four rock climbing guides to the area. During this time, Rob cultivated another passion, photography. Combining these two passions led to the creation of this book. Robert lives in nearby Desert Hot Springs with his wife Christina and their daughter Alexandra. Be sure to also check out his Joshua Tree Rock Climbing and Joshua Tree Bouldering guides.
Details
Joshua Tree National Park- The Insider's Guide
2016 Wolverine Publishing
by Robert Miramontes
240 full-color pages
9781938393235
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Hiking and Biking in the New River Gorge (Blemished)
$23.00
Blemished during transport. May include dents, scratches, or slight warping to the cover and/or interior pages. If you're looking to save a bit of money, blemished copies are a great value!
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Fundamentals of Routesetting
$23.95
About the book
Setting good climbing routes in the gym is about a lot more than just the shape and size of the holds. Inside Fundamentals of Routesetting you will learn important skills such as how to accommodate tall and short climbers, promote creative technique, control a route's tempo, and minimize risk of injury. Our sport has been lacking in a written reference to help teach and standardize routesetting activities. In 2004, The Art of Coursesetting was written to meet that need. Fundamentals of Routesetting is essentially a new edition that has been updated to reflect the changes in our industry since that time. A brief overview of all relevant topics is offered, with enough detail to educate and get setters started, but leaving plenty of room for individual creativity and implementation. Scott Rennak (founder of the popular American Bouldering Series - ABS) has put together an informative section on competition organization, management and formatting options. This wisdom is the culmination of hundreds of successful competitions and offers the insight necessary to make your event all that it can be. Also included are essays from several premier routesetters such as Chris Danielson, Molly Beard and Matt Bosley.
About the author
Written by nationally recognized master routesetter, Louie Anderson. Louie owns "The Factory Bouldering Gym" in Orange, CA, and currently resides in Tensleep, WY with his wife and climbing partner, Valarie, and their two daughters. He is also author of Riverside Quarry and Sport Climbing the Santa Monicas, as well as Ten Sleep Canyon Climbing. Here is an interesting interview in Climbing Business Journal if you'd like to read more about Louie's thoughts about the trends in routesetting and gyms in North America.
Details
Fundamentals of Routesetting
2014 Louie Anderson
by Louie Anderson
236 full-color pages
9780976663010
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Red River Gorge Rock Climbs South
$25.00
Special Sale Price!
About the book
The Red River Gorge of Kentucky is one of the most enjoyable places in the world to climb. The Red River and its many tributaries have carved dozens of secluded canyons into the hill country east and south of Lexington, creating a natural wonderland and exposing a ridiculous amount of rock. The cliffs of the Red feature over 3000 routes, from traditional cracks to modern sport climbs, ranging from 5.4 to 5.14. More than enough to go around! But what makes Red River Gorge climbing unique is the wildly featured Corbin sandstone. Simply put, it's made to climb. The walls tend to be super-steep, but the holds are large and plentiful. You don't have to climb 5.12 get on crazy-steep rock here! Of course, if harder sport climbs are your thing, there is a lifetime's worth here. It is the most popular place in the eastern US to work your way up the grades.
Volume 2: Red River Gorge South
This book, Volume 2 of a two-volume series, covers the crags located south of the Mountain Parkway. Fully revised, it describes over 1500 routes, 400 of them new for this edition. Entirely new zones include Flat Hollow, Bear’s Den, and New Zoo, with new routes at famed RRG favorites such as Muir Valley and the Motherlode.
Areas and features
Natural Bridge
Muir Valley
PMRP
Motherlode/Bald Rock
Handy infographics for each crag for quick reference
essays on Dave Hume, The Webers, Miguel Ventura, and others
Authors
Ray Ellington has been climbing in the Red for 30 years, has done four previous editions of this guidebook, and is tired of talking about himself on this page. He lives in Lexington, KY, with his wife and climbing partner Michelle, works as an IT Security Architect, and runs his website redriverclimbing.com. Blake Bowling lives and climbs in the Red River Gorge. He spends his time developing new routes, working for the AAC, maintaining his site badbolts.com, a nationwide bolt database where rock climbers can report bolts and anchors that need attention. He also is AMGA-certified, and works closely with the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition to promote safe climbing and protect access for all climbers. Over the past 25 years Blake has ticked over 2000 routes in the Red, holding the top position in the rankings on redriverclimbing.com. Epic 14-hour solo adventure races, high-angle swiftwater and cave rescues, and van life are not foreign to him, but writing in the third person is. You can find Blake in and around the Red River Gorge, adding to his massive tick list, dusting off boulders, and replacing crappy climbing anchors.
Details
Red River Gorge South
2017 Wolverine Publishing
by Ray Ellington and Blake Bowling
360 full-color pages
9781938393273
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Gunks Bouldering (Blemished)
$25.00
Blemished during transport. May include dents, scratches, or slight warping to the cover and/or interior pages. If you're looking to save a bit of money, blemished copies are a great value!
About the book
Gunks Bouldering! This is New York City climbers’ favorite place to play, and Andy Salo and Hillary Guzik have done a spectacular job of presenting it. Just outside the lively town of New Paltz, two hours from the City, lie the historic rocks of the Shawangunks, ground zero for countless dedicated climbers. There’s great (and famous) roped climbing at the Gunks, but the bouldering here also rocks. With easy access and a decades-long parade of climbing’s who’s-who passing thorugh, the bouldering here has deep roots, with classic blocs dating back 50 years. Many problems rise directly from carriage roads that provide casual approaches — and perfectly flat landings. This is the definitive bouldering guide to the region, brought to you by the core local team that created the well-known Gunks Apps.
Areas covered in Gunks Bouldering
Trapps - 22 areas
Near Trapps - 5 areas
Peter’s Kill - 9 areas
Over 600 problems in all
Consider picking up a copy of New England Bouldering for more great bouldering nearby! Or to round out the Gunks set, the classic trad climbs are covered in Gunks Climbing.
Featuring
Durable, sewn binding
Clear and detailed maps of the boulder fields
Photos of pretty much every boulder
Routes color-coded by difficulty
Full bouldering history complete with funky old photos
Sweet action shots from over 30 photographers
Full “climber’s pick” restaurant guide to New Paltz
Lodging and rest-day recommendations
About the authors
Andy Salo has bouldered in the Gunks since the late 1990s. In addition to opening many fine, hard problems, Andy’s proudest contribution to the guidebook is the unearthing of all the old history of Peter’s Kill and Trapps bouldering. After completing this book, he turned his attention to documenting Gunks roped routes - Gunks Climbing was released in spring of 2021. Hillary Guzik is a microscopist, entomologist, and photographer, and has been climbing around the Gunks since 2009. Her proudest contribution to the guidebook was making sure all of her favorite V0’s made it in. Her favorite Gunks climbs include Tweaky Crack (V3) and Baby Problem (V0) in the Trapps, and Won’t You? (V1) in Peter’s Kill.
Details
Gunks Bouldering
2018 Wolverine Publishing
by Andy Salo and Hillary Guzik
224 full-color pages
9781938393310
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Hiking and Biking in the New River Gorge
$28.00
About the book
The New River Gorge region of West Virginia is a hiker's and biker's paradise, and this book covers 119 of its best trails. The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and surrounding state parks encompass more than 80,000 acres of beautiful Appalachian forest and river environment. The area is an outdoor-lover's dream, full of enough adventure opportunities (including rock climbing, of course!) to keep a person busy for a lifetime. This guide is the bible of New River Gorge hiking and biking, and a perfect introduction to the area itself. It will get you on the trails as quickly as possible, and show you the wide range of opportunities, on and off trail.
Your play time is precious
We know how that is, and this book will help you maximize the time you have. Easy-to-read icons let you see details at a glance: trail type (hike, bike, run, cross-country ski, horseback, and/or handicap-accessible), mileage, elevation profile, and overall difficulty. The guide's detailed text, plentiful photos, topographic maps, and elevation charts will keep you on track. Helpful appendices include Lodging, Restaurants, Shops, Outfitters and Guides; Map Resources; and Recommended Reading. In short, you'll find everything you need to get out and experience the hidden wonders along each trail. There is even a bonus chapter featuring Camp Creek State Park with miles of additional trails!
About the author
R. Bryan Simon is a WV native and current Fayatteville resident. A graduate of West Point, he was an infantry officer before an injury forced him to leave the military for other goals. He currently serves on the board of directors for the New River Climbers' Alliance, and his writing can be found in magazines, journals, and textbooks. Keep an eye out for his upcoming guide, A Local's Guide to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
Details
2021 Ourea Publishing
by Bryan Simon
352 color pages
9781733623261
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Texas Canyon Climbing Guide
$28.00
About the book
Ever heard of Texas Canyon? Nestled in the hills of Santa Clarita, this hidden gem is rapidly becoming a popular sport-climbing destination for Southern California climbers. The rock is coarse-grained conglomerate, with many distinct features and pockets of all sizes. With over 160 routes on low-angle slabs to steep, overhanging walls and caves, there is something for everyone. Texas Canyon is conveniently located just north of Los Angeles, and has a quick, ten-minute approach. With a high desert climate, it's possible to climb year-round. Bring your mountain bike and camping gear, and make a weekend of it. With lots of colorful action photos, maps and overview photos, Texas Canyon Climbing Guide is fun and easy to use. Grab a copy and check it out!
About the authors
Pam Neal is a native of Los Angeles. She discovered climbing while staying at Camp 4 in Yosemite. Pam loves finding and establishing good new sport routes with co-author Ben Chapman. It's inspiring to think of this mother of two and 4th grade teacher with a drill and crowbar in hand. Ben Chapman is a veteran climber, initially finding his footing on mountain expeditions. He found his love of establishing new trad lines in the Southern Sierra, where he would hand drill his bolt placements. Things are a little more tame now for this Southern California teacher, as he spends his weekends with a battery assisting his drilling efforts.
Details
Texas Canyon Climbing Guide 1st edition
2019 Louie Anderson
by Pam Neal and Ben Chapman
Color. 176 pages.
9780976663065