• About The Pass

    The Pass - Independence Pass - offers the finest high-country cragging in the Colorado Rockies. Even though climbing has been documented here since the 1950s, this is the area’s first full-color guidebook. The highly featured granitic rock of the Pass offers almost 1000 routes, from bolted 5.4 slabs, to 5.14 roof cracks, to hundreds of fun-in-the-sun mid-grade climbs. Technical and vertical, overhanging and pumpy, sport, splitter cracks, multi-pitch — all styles are there for you, set in a beautiful subalpine forest below snow-covered peaks.
    The main concentration of climbing is near the popular Grottos area 10 miles east of Aspen, but all the nearby climbing is documented, too. The newly opened Gold Butte area just outside of town offers a fun cold-weather option on unique sandstone. On the other side of the Pass, Monitor Rock and the Twin Lakes crags get the full treatment, with lots of never-before-published climbs, including the new long, bolted, multi-pitch journeys that are getting rave reviews. When you’re not climbing there’s great camping and swimming, and mountains to climb. For a more urban experience, you can hit the glitzy bars or tour the art galleries of the legendary town of Aspen right down the road.

    Included

    • Up-to-date info on all the popular areas, with over 80 crags and nearly 1000 routes
    • Many never-before-published routes and crags
    • Gold Butte sandstone (winter rock climbing in Aspen?!)
    • Monitor Rock - MANY new routes, and now you can actually find them!
    • Full-color beta photos (of course), plus inspiring action photography
    • Essays by Lou Dawson, Henry Barber, Molly Bruce, Josh Wharton, Mark Anderson, and more
    • Climbing history - meet the star-studded cast that has touched rock here!
    • Camping beta, weather tips, and rest-day options to help you get the most out of your visit

    About the Authors

    Jason Brown is a Detroit native and longtime Roaring Fork Valley resident who has spent countless days climbing and new-routing on the Pass. His experience on the testpieces of all styles shines through in the route descriptions.
    Mike Schneiter, another Midwest native and longtime Roaring Fork Valley resident, has also tested himself on the steep Pass granite and established new climbs in the area. As founder of Glenwood Climbing Guides he also has guided extensively in the area, logging valuable hours on all the area’s moderate multi-pitch climbs. You’ll appreciate the firsthand descriptions and updated descent beta.
    Both authors have young kids, so if you’re visiting the Pass with family, they can relate!

    Details

    2023 Wolverine Publishing
    By Jason Brown and Mike Schneiter
    320 full color pages
    9781938393488
  • About the book

    Redwood Burl is a compact yet comprehensive guide to the extensive climbing in Northwest California. The college town of Arcata is the center of a universe of incredible but little-known cragging and bouldering. Sea cliffs, sea lions, river-polished boulders, towering redwoods, hidden limestone caves, and enough climbing to keep you busy for a lifetime. It’s a paradise. For years, road-tripping climbers in the know have visited the limestone of the Trinity Arêtes and the overhanging seaside pockets of Promontory, declaring them some of the best sport crags in CA. This book fully documents these gems, and introduces dozens of other excellent cliffs that have hidden under the radar ... until now! There's a lot packed into this guidebook. You'll find maps to keep you oriented, icons depicting sun and rain aspects, hiking approach times, geology and ecology info, gorgeous color photography, and enough beta on bouldering, sport, and trad climbing to keep you busy whether you're just visiting the area or a seasoned local. $1 of each book sale is donated to the Northwest California Climbers Coalition, whose mission is to preserve and expand local climbing opportunities. Please visit their website at nwca-climbers.org, and feel free to pitch in, any way you can!

    Areas included

    • Coastal areas from Arcata to Crescent City, including Moonstone Beach, Sue-meg (formerly Patricks Point) State Park, Lost Rocks, Promontory
    • More Highway 101 fun down south, Santa Rosa to Arcata
    • 80 pages of Highway 299 crags - Land of the Lost, Cold Springs, Trinity Arêtes, and many more
    • Sweet Highway 36 and Highway 3 crags including the Caverns, Hayfork Haven, Marble Caves
    • The adventurous Siskiyou County region including Cecilville Bluffs and Lovers Leap limestone
    • Many previously undocumented crags, and adventures galore!

    About the author

    Evan Wisheropp has an almost unreasonable love for climbing and insatiable desire to open new climbs. In his quest to explore everything that Northwest California has to offer, he has climbed over 1300 local routes (over 80% of the routes in this book), as well as cleaned, developed, bolted, or rebolted over 400 routes. This is truly a labor of love — he has invested over $20,000 into the climbing infrastructure described in this guide! Evan isn't always out getting dirty with his power drill. He also works his camera to create beautiful imagery, which brings the guidebook to life. You can see some of his professional work here. He and wife Amanda work and live in Arcata. If you see a guy with a drill, say hey! It might be Evan.

    Details

    Redwood Burl: A Climber’s Guide to Northwest California
    2022 Wolverine Publishing
    by Evan Wisheropp
    396 full color pages
    9781938393464
    Need more on Northern California? Check out California Roadtrip!
  • About the book

    Foot for foot, the gem-like rhyolite of the San Luis Valley offers some of the finest climbing in the state. This guide covers all the most popular areas and several never-before-published crags, plus bonus chapters on the local bouldering and mountain biking highlights. This is the only modern book to this popular area, providing the most up-to-date access info, many new climbs, and new areas such as the Promised Land and Pharcyde. This book delivers the info you need, with plenty of sweet action photos to get you motivated.

    Features

    • The area’s only up-to-date climbing guidebook — don’t settle for fuzzy B&W photos and 1990s beta!
    • Penitente, Rock Garden, Witches’ Canyon, Sidewinder, Rattler, Promised Land, Pharcyde, English Valley, and more
    • Over 250 routes, 50 of them are 5.9 and under
    • All-current acces info, including Witches’ Canyon shortcut trails
    • Helpful maps and accurate driving directions
    • Bouldering highlights from the Rock Garden, Stone Quarry, Rattler Cliff, and more
    • Newly established 5.14s — check ‘em out: they’re heinous!
    • Every book purchase supports the San Luis Valley Climbers Alliance

    About the Author

    Nate Liles originally hails from British Columbia, Canada, but has been spending time at crags across the American West since he was 15. A skilled photographer and videographer, he shares his vision of the world via the business he and his partner Bekka operate, Orographic Creative.
    Since 2020, Nate has been the Development Director for the American Safe Climbing Association (ASCA, safeclimbing.org), working to raise awareness of the most ambitious and effective hardware-replacement program in the country. An expert re-equipper, he teaches clinics on the fine art of climbing-bolt removal and replacement, and has brought these skills to the San Luis Valley, repairing and upgrading many of the classic routes here and helping others to do the same.
    Although he will be the last person to mention it, Nate is also a silent crusher on both the cliffs and the boulders, and has worked hard to repeat, evaluate, and standardize grades for the upper-end routes in this guide. When not climbing, shooting others climbing, repairing climbs, or opening new routes, Nate can be found sitting up late at a remote camp capturing time-lapse imagery of the night sky.

    Details

    Penitente: Rock Climbing in the San Luis Valley
    By Nate Liles
    ISBN: 978-1-938393-47-1
    204pp, color
  • About the book

    The Shawangunks — “the Gunks” to most of us — is one of the oldest climbing areas in the US, with a storied history dating back to the 1930s. Located 80 miles north of New York City, it has long been a focal point of rock-climbing culture, and remains a traditional climber’s paradise. There is no shortage of very difficult routes that will challenge the best climbers, but the Gunks is even more famous for its incredible easier climbs. You could spend several seasons exploring made-to-climb cracks, faces, overhangs, and dihedrals without ever venturing beyond the 5.7 grade! Multi-pitch outings abound, and the graded carriage road at the base of the cliffs allows easy strolls to even the most distant ends of the cliff.
    This full-color, ruthlessly researched guide represents the “next generation” of Gunks guidebooks. It covers over 600 routes at the two main cliffs: the Trapps and Near Trapps. Cliff-base photos get you quickly oriented on the ground, and high-resolution aerial images show key features on routes. Detailed area and route descriptions help you find just the right flavor of climb. You’ll spend less time searching, and more time pulling overhangs, plugging cams, and chasing your own piece of history.

    Areas and features

    • Trapps — Keyhole to Slime Wall (21 sectors)
    • Near Trapps — right end to Workout Wall (3 sectors)
    • Aerial cliff photos
    • Cliff-base photos
    • Trailhead-locator photos
    • Helpful sector summaries for choosing where to climb 
    • Action photography from past and present eras
    • Detailed regional and climbing history
    • Biographical essays of 10 famed Gunks climbers
    • Graded list of routes
    Looking for more? Gunks Bouldering describes over 600 boulder problems.

    Authors

    Andy Salo grew up outside Rochester, New York, and began climbing at age 14. He first visited the Gunks soon after, and moved there full time in 2004. Andy’s hard Gunks first ascents are local lore, including Brozone (5.14a), Over the Moon (5.13c), Fire Gild (5.13c R), Corkscrew Roof (V12), Chaotic Stability (V10), and Ideas Are Bulletproof (V10). Having recently relocated to Burlington, VT, he’s super proud of this project and is forever grateful to the Gunks. He is also author of Gunks Bouldering. Christian Fracchia grew up in Glens Falls, New York. A lifelong climber with 36 years of Gunks experience, he spent his formative years climbing rock and ice in the Gunks, Catskills, Adirondacks, and White Mountains before settling in New Paltz in 2000. A high-school physics teacher, Christian has also devoted his summers to climbing around the world, most recently spending his time in the Dolomites of Italy. He is the author and creator of Gunks Apps. His notable Gunks first ascents include The Zoomulator (5.12a), Word of Mouth (5.12b), Indiana Jones (5.12a X), Future Shock Direct (5.12c R/X) in the Trapps, and The Past Recaptured (5.12a), at Millbrook, his favorite Gunks cliff. An architect and designer by education, Eric Ratkowski grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and has climbed in the Gunks for 14 years, guiding professionally for 6 of those. His community contributions include editing for the AAC’s Accidents in North American Climbing and working as a ranger at the Mohonk Preserve. Eric has climbed in eight countries and four continents. He’s climbed and guided at a hundred different areas in the United States, and claims to have “never climbed anything of note.”

    Details

    • Gunks Climbing
    • 2021 Wolverine Publishing
    • by Andy Salo, Christian Fracchia, and Eric Ratkowski 
    • 468 full-color pages
    • 9781938393389
  • REDUCED SALE PRICE - NEW EDITION COMING SOON

    About the book

    Ten Sleep Canyon is home to some of the best sport climbing, anywhere. As if that's not enough, it's also in a beautiful mountain setting. Ten Sleep is located in a canyon within the Bighorn Mountains in north central Wyoming, and has over 1,000 routes. Conveniently, there is a road in the canyon, so most routes are within a 15 minute walk from your car. The rock is dolomite, which is a type of limestone that produces some great holds. Most of the routes in this book are protected with bolts, but there are even a few traditional lines. The book has everything you need. You can find your way around easily with abundant maps and cliff photos. Sun and shade info helps you have the best experience. Lots of action photos make for eye candy on rest days. There are even full-spread route profiles featuring a few action photos on the same route. The introduction is loaded with helpful tips and information about climbing at Ten Sleep Canyon, such as local amenities, rock info, history, area hazards, and driving distances.

    Author info

    Louie Anderson has been climbing at Ten Sleep Canyon since 1998, and is passionate about investing his own time and resources developing new routes and areas in the area. He and his wife Valerie own and operate the Ten Sleep Rock Ranch, which is a great base for your climbing trip at Ten Sleep. Learn more and reserve your site in advance by visiting their website.

    Details

    • Ten Sleep Canyon Climbing 1st edition
    • 2019 Louie Anderson
    • by Louie Anderson
    • 464 full color pages
    • 9780976663034
  • About the book

    A Climber’s Guide to Big Bear Lake and Holcomb Valley Pinnacles is the essential guide to climbing near Big Bear Lake in California’s San Bernardino Mountains. It features over 1000 trad and sport routes! You’ll even find a little bouldering too. The most popular climbing area here is the famed Holcomb Valley Pinnacles, loved for its steep, well-featured, granite sport climbs. The Pinnacles are covered in full detail, but if you want to do some social distancing, there is beta here for scores of crags where you might not see a single person. Moderate sport climbs may have put Big Bear on the map, but there is something perfect here for everyone, from easy slabs, to remote pinnacles, to trad cracks of all kinds. Awesome camping abounds. While most people think of summer climbing at Big Bear, fall and even winter climbing is easy to find. The pine-covered hills, quaint mountain town, and expansive lake offer all kinds of rest-day fun. With never-before-published crags, extensive maps, and new routes for every skill level, this full-color, comprehensive guidebook promises years of climbing adventures in LA’s backyard.

    Areas included

    • Holcomb Valley Pinnacles
    • Lakeside crags including Castle Rock and Fisherman’s Buttress
    • Fawnskin area including Hanna Rocks and Holcomb Creek
    • Grapevine Canyon area, including Butt Rock
    • Black Bluff and Siberia Creek
    • North Shore Boulders

    Author

    Brandon Copp’s other job is aerospace engineer, and he has applied that same careful attention to detail in this guidebook. You’ll appreciate that when you’re looking for precise driving directions to a remote crag, or the respective grades of each of three variations to a route at your favorite Holcomb crag. What you won’t find is drab writing  — Copp’s love of the area shines through bright and clear. Learn more about Brandon and wife Jackie and their adventures in their travel blog, Go Escape The Ordinary.

    Details

    • Big Bear Lake & Holcomb Valley Pinnacles 1st edition
    • 2020 Wolverine Publishing
    • by Brandon Copp
    • 364 full color pages
    • 9781938393372
  • TEMPORARY UPDATE 1/06/2022: Frustration Creek areas are currently closed due to fire damage and rockfall!

    About the book

    A Climber's Guide to Frustration Creek describes a collection of areas in the lower San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. This area feels remote, but is conveniently located only a half hour drive from Riverside. The book has all of the route photos and maps that you need to get you oriented. You'll find lots of action photos, as well as area and historical information. Escape the summer heat and the bustling city with a trip to Frustration Creek with this guide as your companion. Even your non-climbing partners will enjoy the area, with Big Bear Lake and other mountain attractions nearby. And, since you're looking at this book, we thought you might also be interested in one of our newest titles, "A Climber's Guide to Big Bear Lake & Holcomb Valley Pinnacles" by Brandon Copp. Also featuring never-before-published areas, this book is a great companion to Frustration Creek!

    Areas included

    • Mill Creek Wash
    • Rocky Hollow
    • Thurman Flats
    • Monkey Face Falls
    • Mountain Home Creek
    • Frustration Creek

    About the author

    Louie Anderson was one of the first to explore the Frustration Creek area and established many new routes and boulder problems. It took some time to publish this book because things just wouldn't settle down in the area. Natural events such as flash floods and landslides were constantly changing the canyon. New routes just kept going up. In his words, "at long last, the secrets of the lower San Bernardino Mountain climbing areas are revealed" in this complete, accurate guidebook. He now lives in Ten Sleep, Wyoming with wife Valerie, and runs the Ten Sleep Canyon Rock Ranch. Check out his guide to the climbing at Ten Sleep Canyon!

    Details

    • Climber's Guide to Frustration Creek 1st edition
    • 2020 Louie Anderson
    • by Louie Anderson
    • 200 full-color pages
    • 9780976663089
     
  • About the book

    You’ve probably seen photos of the spectacular limestone walls of the Fins, renowned for their big, clean, hard sport lines. Idaho Underground is their big debut. But that is just the tip of the Idaho potato — more than 20 other southern Idaho crags are covered here, near Boise, Twin Falls, and the Sun Valley area. Locals and a few savvy visitors have long known about the truly “underground” areas such as Boise’s Black Cliffs, Dierkes Lake, Leslie Gulch, and more — including the crazy Lava Caves, with juggy, upside-down climbing set beneath windswept sage flats.  Dave Bingham, Godfather of Idaho climbing, put out the B&W first edition of this guide in 2012; with hundreds of new climbs to share, this color guide really showcases them! Check out this video from La Sportiva if you want to see the beautiful Fins (and the second ascent of a 5.14d).

    Some of the areas covered

    • The Fins
    • Boise’s Black Cliffs
    • Table Rock
    • Leslie Gulch
    • Dierkes Lake
    • Teddy Bear Cove
    • Ramshorn Canyon
    • Lava Caves
    • The Channel

    Idaho Underground Features

    • Over 1500 climbs, — sport, trad, multi-pitch, and bouldering
    • Durable, sewn binding
    • Lots of helpful regional information
    • Drone-assisted cliff imagery of the Fins
    • Essays by Jonny Woodward, Jonathan Siegrist, Tedd Thompson, and more
    • $1 from every book sold goes to local climbing organizations

    About the author

    In addition to Idaho Underground, Dave Bingham is also the author of several editions of the ever-popular City of Rocks guidebooks. He grew up in the Northeast, learning to ski and climb there before moving out West in the 1970s and settling near Sun Valley, Idaho. In addition to his impressive roster of FAs, his is an accomplished endurance athlete, with many wins in mountain-running and Nordic ski races. Check out the City of Rocks website entry for more details on his remarkable achievements. Dave lives in Hailey with his wife Lisa, where he runs a log-home chinking business, Dave Bingham Chinking.

    Details

    • Idaho Underground
    • 2019 Wolverine Publishing
    • by Dave Bingham
    • 316 full-color pages
    • 9781938393358
  • About the book

    Situated in the North Carolina Piedmont near Winston-Salem, Moore's Wall is home to year-round climbing and bouldering. It is conveniently located in a park where camping and hiking are also available. The rock is bullet quartzite, which is interesting both aesthetically and for climbing. Moore's Wall Bouldering covers over 500 problems, and includes detailed maps and boulder topos to help get you oriented. Information on climbing history and local amenities will help you get to know the area and things to do. The action photography is so energetic that you'll feel like you're right there. Go get some!

    About the author

    Greg Loomis was born and raised on the gneiss boulders around Asheville, NC. An avid developer and first ascensionist, Greg enjoys dragging his wife and friends on gnarly bushwhacking expeditions in search of new boulders. In addition to exploratory missions, Greg also enjoys maintaining the trails and developed areas.

    Details

    • Moore's Wall Bouldering 1st edition
    • 2017 Brayackmedia Publishing
    • by Greg Loomis
    • Color. 280 pages.
    •  9780990782124
  • 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
  • About the book

    The 11th edition of the comprehensive Owens River Gorge Climbs is an indispensable resource for a great trip to California's premier basalt sport-climbing area, the Owens River Gorge. Written by longtime local Marty Lewis, this latest edition features over 900 climbs and many color action shots, both modern and historical, featuring rock stars of the day. There are maps, cliff photos, and hand-drawn topos to help you find your pick of climbs easily, as well as helpful lists of local amenities. Details like elevation, approach times, and the number and grade range of climbs at the beginning of each chapter will help with planning. A collection of essays written by notable Owens Valley Gorge climbers and route developers is sure to entertain during those long evenings at camp. Bishop is located in the Owens Valley of the Eastern Sierra. It's a great destination for a climbing trip at any time of the year, and Maximus Press publishes a selection of guidebooks that have you covered for all seasons. While the Owens Valley Gorge is best visited in the Spring and Fall, sometimes conditions permit climbing in the hotter and colder months. Check out Mammoth Area Rock Climbs and The Good, the Great, and the Awesome for some great summer climbing. Check out the Bishop Visitor Information website for a little more information and suggestions for climbing at the Gorge. You can also buy souvenirs right off their website if you don't feel like taking time for shopping while in Bishop.

    About the author

    Marty Lewis has been climbing at Owens River Gorge since 1989. During this time, he has climbed many of the routes there, and even established a few of them himself. He runs Maximus Press, and publishes several other guidebooks in the local area, as well as around California. He lives near Bishop with wife Sharon, and a couple of canine friends.

    Details

    • Owens River Gorge Climbs 11th edition
    • 2018 Maximus Press
    • by Marty Lewis
    • 388 color pages.
    • 9780982498842
  • About the book

    The best climbs at the entire Red River Gorge, all in one volume!

    Visiting the Red and need a quick list of classics? On a budget and want to buy one book instead of three? Own all three but want a quick reference to the best climbs for a quick trip? Or do you love collecting sweet climbing guidebooks and need to see more inspiring action photos? Then Red River Gorge Select is perfect for you! The Red River Gorge has over 3,000 routes, and Red Select presents enough classics to fill a lifetime of weekend fun. With over 54 crag's worth of routes, you'll have plenty of areas to choose from if you need to escape crowds, rain, or cold.

    Inside the book find handy icons to help plan your day: driving times, walking times, sun exposure, rain protection, and even kid friendliness. You will quickly learn how many routes there are, their grades, and percentage of sport vs trad climbs. GPS coordinates and detailed approach directions help you find your destination easily. Now all there is to do is climb!

    Areas and features

    • Northern Gorge- Military, Left Flank, Funk Rock City, and more
    • Natural Bridge- Roadside, The Zoo, and more
    • Muir Valley- Midnight Surf, Bruise Brother's, Solarium, and more
    • Southern Region- Motherlode, Chocolate Factory, Solar Collector, Gold Coast, Gallery, Drive-by, Bob Marley, and more
    • Miller Fork- Infirmary, Fruit Wall, Cloud 9, Graveyard, and more
    • Handy infographics about each crag for quick reference
    Looking for the comprehensive set? Pick up Red River Gorge North and Red River Gorge South.

    Authors

    Born and raised in Slade, KY, Dario Ventura is a true Red River Gorge local. He did his first FA here at the age of 10, with his dad Miguel and RRG legend John Bronaugh and John's son Alex. From this early start, he has moved on to do many more first ascents in the area, especially at Miller Fork. Like his dad, he's got pizza in his blood, and from an early age has been an integral part of the Miguel's Pizza business. He and the rest of the Venturas have made the Red what it is with their ability to bring climbers together from around the world. Dario knows the Red as if it has been his backyard his whole life, which in fact it has. Mike Williams, assistant wordsmith, researcher, and project manager for this book, is a New River Gorge climber, and author of the guidebook for that area. A longtime editor of Deadpoint magazine until that fine publication's demise, he has climbed extensively in the Red, and his love of the area and attention to detail were essential in making this book what it is. Mike lives in Fayetteville, WV, with his wife Elissa and children Hazel and Elliot, where he climbs, writes, and operates Bridge Bound Campers, tricking out Sprinter vans. Ray Ellington has climbed at the Red for 30 years. He first partnered with Wolverine Publishing in 2005 and would go on to write 4 editions of the Red River Gorge guidebook, and self-publish the Miller Fork guide. He lives in Lexington, KY with his wife Michelle and still runs his website redriverclimbing.com.

    Details

    • Red River Gorge Select
    • 2018 Wolverine Publishing
    • by Dario Ventura, Mike Williams, and Ray Ellington
    • 340 full-color pages
    • 9781938393327

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