The first guidebooks I bought were printed on 8.5x11s and stapled together. They included a few hand sketched topos, sparse beta, and cost about $5 each. Guidebooks have seen a real transformation in the past ten years. New guides looking more like coffee table books with all color glossy pages, photos, and essays by influential local climbers. I’ve found the new guides make it much easier to find and select good routes to climb. The only draw backs I see is they take away some of the unknowns, which can be part of the total experience, and they cost $30-40.
Ratings charts like the one above help to decide whether a diverse group should go to a particular crag. It’s also the best overview you could have.
This trend started at Sharp End Publishing with the stand out being the Indian Creek guide (now in it’s second edition). A hand full of publishers now produce these top notch guides. Here’s a little list of some nice guidebooks to drool over.
Eldorado Springs Canyon- Much needed, should be out in a few months (ebook available now). Some routes are really hard to find with the current publications. Preview here.
Ridiculous zig zag topo in Eldo
Clear Creek- Comprehensive, accurate. PDF preview of the Primo wall here.
Great maps like this one make finding the crag easier
Red Rocks- Finally, an accurate, organized, pretty guide to one of my favorite areas.
Indian Creek- As mentioned above. A cut above the rest, a beautiful place, great climbs, interesting essays.
Other front range guides- Flatirons, Boulder Canyon, St. Vrain
Adam or Eli (whomever owns the Boulder Creek guidebook pictured) – Maybe we can get some more use out that guidebook this weekend…. something to consider.
Eli – Damn, those new guidebooks are so unambiguous.