Bouldering Colorado Guidebook: Much Ado About Nothing?
A couple weeks ago at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City, Globe Pequot Press and Falcon Guides received a few advance copies of their forthcoming guidebook Bouldering Colorado by long-time Colorado boulderer and author Bob Horan. The hefty 598-page volume, detailing around 4,000 boulder problems, was quickly perused and then dissed by a small posse of Boulder climbers attending the show.
Their primary beef was that a couple of their pet “secret” areas—Chaos Canyon at Rocky Mountain National Park and a handful of boulders in the Mount Evans Wilderness Area—were included and were, as Jamie Emerson noted on his B3Bouldering blog, “rife with gratuitous mistakes.” He also wrote, “I flipped through the book in 20 minutes or so and what I saw was appalling, embarrassing, and the source of much entertainment.” Based on this quick 20-minute review, Emerson and a handful of other climbers quickly spread the rumor throughout the OR show as well as on various internet blogs that the book was filled with mistakes and have actively campaigned to have the book banned…even though it hasn’t even been released yet. All this based on a 20-minute review. Hmmmmm.
I, however, looked very closely at the book, took it to some of my local areas in central Colorado, and talked to some active Colorado boulderers about some of the sections. They related that, yes, there are mistakes in both the Rocky Mountain and Mount Evans sections. Some problems are misnamed and misrated. Some boulders are misnamed and some have the wrong problems on them. Some directions are confusing. So there are misaccuracies. It’s not an excuse, but almost every climbing guidebook out there has errors. Guides detail thousands and thousands of bits of factual information, so errors creep in. If you’re dealing with thousands of problems on hundreds of boulders, there will be mistakes. That’s life.
The question then is how factual is Bouldering Colorado? Are there sufficient errors to warrant the wholesale trashing of the book? Does the book work in all the other areas included besides Rocky Mountain and Mount Evans? I asked another group of experts that aren’t as invested in those two areas as the Boulder posse to have a look at the book and give me their honest opinion.
These are some of the comments I heard: “Wow, there are a lot of problems and boulders in there that I never knew existed. I’m psyched to get out to some of these new areas;” “Most climbers aren’t going to be going to Chaos Canyon and Mount Evans anyway since most of the problems are too hard for them;” “Those are just a bunch of elitist little s—ts that don’t like it that a bunch of no-names are going to go to their secret areas—but they should have thought about that before they sprayed about the problems all over the net and in the mags;” “I don’t like it that Horan felt like he had to name all the problems but for the area around Grand Junction it looks pretty good;” “I counted just 33 problems in Chaos Canyon and 63 at Mount Evans in the book and there are some mistakes with them, but heck, that’s not many problems in the book and the season at those areas is just a few months each year;” and lastly, “I don’t see many problems…problems ha ha…with the book, just a few areas. I say if you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Better yet, put your money where your mouth is and do something better—that I would like to see!”
I’ve worked with Falcon and Globe Pequot for over 20 years now and they’ve published most of my books. I say this as a disclaimer though—I have no vested interest in Bouldering Colorado and I see mistakes with the book too. Nonetheless, after conversations with Executive Editor Scott Adams and other Falcon editors, I feel that Falcon is seriously addressing the book’s mistakes and trying to rectify them in a fair manner. When I first saw the book, I asked if Rocky Mountain National Park had had an opportunity to review the section before publication, and yes, the park did read and approve the manuscript and asked for some corrections to be made. Likewise, Globe Pequot Press has long worked with the Access Fund and is a major contributor to their efforts to keep our climbing areas open. What else is a book publisher supposed to do?
I’ve always found Globe Pequot to be a responsible outdoor publisher, as well as extremely sensitive to environmental abuses and human impact, which can occur as a result of guidebooks. They tell me that they are taking all constructive criticism and suggested corrections from boulderers very seriously and will publish all that updated information on their Falcon Guides website. Globe/Falcon, like every other publisher, relies on their authors to give correct and vetted information that has also been properly approved by management agencies like the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In this case, Falcon has to rely on Bob Horan, a long-time Colorado climber, to put together an accurate and factual manuscript and have it approved. This is what he did and if there are mistakes in Bouldering Colorado, they are his responsibility—after all it’s his name on the cover.
What are your thoughts about Bouldering Colorado? Should the mistakes warrant the trashing of the book? Are a few climbers just being elitist and not wanting anyone else invading their secret turf? Do climbers have a right to complain about a guidebook when they’ve been publishing articles and photos about their areas in the magazines and on the internet? What happens with guides at your local areas? Don’t boulderers do a lot more environmental damage with their crash pads compacting the ground below problems and creating trails to boulders through fragile sub-alpine and alpine ecosystems at Mount Evans and Rocky Mountain National Park than a guidebook? Go to the Climbing Forum and put your thoughts down. Let’s keep it civil though!
Photo above: The cover of Bouldering Colorado by Bob Horan.
Compare prices and buy Bouldering Colorado
Comments
OK, if I ever come to Colorado, you have to teach me how to do the bouldering thing. I like that they’re not so high. And don’t tell me I could still kill myself.
Just because he lied about including the areas in the guide book, all of the local climbers are against it, the rangers are against it, and all of the info is wrong. Other than that, there is no problem.
Maybe Falcon should get some employees who climb.
Stewart,
I have long used Falcon Guides and yours in particular. However your view as expressed in this situation is definitely biased:
“Based on this quick 20-minute review, Emerson and a handful of other climbers quickly spread the rumor throughout the OR show as well as on various internet blogs that the book was filled with mistakes and have actively campaigned to have the book banned…even though it hasn’t even been released yet. All this based on a 20-minute review. Hmmmmm.”
20 minutes is plenty of time to see major problems in a guidebook. Casting aspersions on the motives on one of the main activists in Colorado who has literally gone everywhere in the state is not very impartial at all. I was at a meeting of Front Range climbers at Sharp End Books, which is coming out with a new CO book, and there were a lot of negative comments regarding the Horan book. One of the climbers present had a copy there. The issues were not just with Chaos and Evans. Falcon should do the right thing and pulp the book
My impression based upon responses sent by Falcon is that they are uninterested in genuinely listening to the concerns of local climbers. Unfortunately the final paragraph in your comments merely echoes the sentiments I heard from Falcon. Too bad but understandable given your long association with the publisher. However it’s definitely not “Much Ado About Nothing”.
I have said it once and I will say it again.
First of all, this guidebook is an absolute embarrassment. Having spent more than 365 days (literally) bouldering in Chaos Canyon I feel that I know the place as well as anyone. Nearly every single problem in the Chaos Canyon section is mislabled or misgraded.
Here is a list of problems that are wrongly described, either by name, grade or area in Chaos Canyon alone:
Nuthin But Sunshine
Handicapps
The Centuar
The Marble
The Marble Sit Start
Gang Bang Arete
Taurus
Valis
Secret Splendour
Skyscraper
Stars and Stripes
European Human Being
Tommy’s Arete
Deep Puddle Dynamics
Brimstone
Bushpilot
Potato Chip
The Gobot
Geeks of the Industry
The Fat Lady
Optimus Prime
Freshly Squeezed
Sunspot
McFly
Omaha Stylee
Minor Threat
Triple Threat Arete
The Dead Racoon
Jade
Left El Jorge
Pterodactyle
Riddles in the Dark/Park
Terrorism Arete
Eternia
Reternia
Secrets are Lies
A Sinister Secret
The Toolshed
Blood Money
Top Notch
Don’t Get Too Greedy
Leviathan Style
Two Ton Tongue
The Lochness Monster
Suicide Season
The Hobbit
Far Left El Jorge
Skipper D
Skipper Left
Skipper Right
Baby Otech
Otech Direct
Friday the 13th
Next Friday
Skipper G
Aristocrat
The White Russian
Chads Bulge
ETC ETC ETC…
There is no topo given and directions are horrible. This is not a matter of opinion. In fact it is so bad that it has been suggested that it was written as a joke. While I have publicized the area on my blog, it is very well known that I offer anyone a free tour of accurate information to the area. To say that I am trying to keep it for myself is as laughable as the guidebook itsself. I find it hard to believe that anyone who had never been to the area could use the guide book for its intended purpose. Bob makes no mention of the access issues that are central to bouldering in Chaos Canyon. He makes no mention of the short season (the boulders are only climbable about 4 months of the year), or the serious issue of weather, lightening or hypothermia. The reason myself and many others have gotten so upset about this is because of its appalling misinformation. No park officials were contacted about this whatsoever. RMNP is a world class bouldering area and people from all over the country or the world might buy this book, as it is the first of its kind for the park.
In regards to Mt. Evans, the Northern Colorado Climber Coalition, an organization dedicated to securing access for future generations, has established a great working relationship with the rangers. In fact, an annual cleanup has taken place and the rangers are really excited about the proactive steps climbers have taken towards being stewards of the area. The rangers opposed a guidebook, and although Bob told Cameron Cross (the president of the NCC) that he had contacted the rangers and they were fine with it, it turns our the opposite is true. Bob lied to Cameron and the rangers at Mt. Evans and in doing so threatens the positive relationship that Cameron had worked so hard to build. I also personally heard Bob say that he would not include certain areas, yet there they are, and horrendously mislabeled as well. I’m not sure if ONE problem in the entire section is correctly labeled. One has to wonder about Bob’s motivation, as it doesn’t seem to come from a desire to share accurate information.
As a climber of 10 years, I have used my fair share of guidebooks. This is, by far the most inaccurate one I have ever seen. There is an area in the guidebook called the Tropics that was blown up 7 years ago as well as several areas that are and have been on private property. After getting a second chance to look over the guidebook, the number of errors I saw increased, seemingly exponentially. There are literally hundreds of mistakes throughout the book. This book was a waste of time and if you buy it a waste of money. As long as Falcon stands by this atrocity I will make sure to tell everyone I know not to spend their money on it and I will continue to give free and accurate information to as many people as I know, either by word or mouth or on my website.
Jamie Emerson
Thanks Jamie and Peter for your reasoned and sane responses regarding the Bouldering Colorado book.
I posted what I did to get exactly what you wrote–some good perspectives on this book. I personally agree with both of you. This book has errors and a lot of them. You both are experts on all the new stuff up in Rocky Mtn, Boulder, and Mt Evans and know what’s wrong.
I’m an expert on southern Colorado and the Pikes Peak region; I’ve been bouldering down here ever since I started climbing back in the late 60s. And the areas down here in the book also have errors. Myself and other Pikes Peak locals took exception to the first edition of the book that Bob Horan published back with Chockstone back in the early 1990s. Unfortunately he never consulted any of us on what areas to include, what the names of boulders and problems were, what the area history was, and what areas had access problems. Many of those mistakes continued to the new edition of Bouldering Colorado. So I totally sympathize with you both.
I’ve written a bunch of Falcon books so perhaps I have a bit of bias, but I am not a company man at all. I’m a freelance writer beholden to no one. I have wanted to see the book get a fair shake and see what the problems are with it after a measured and reasonable amount of time.
And now, well after the OR show, it appears that there are even more mistakes and problems than even initally appeared at first glance. At the OR show, I told Scott, the executive editor with Falcon, that my personal opinion was that the book should be pulped and to push it was damaging to the reputation of the other fine guides they publish…including mine!
Regarding my last paragraph Peter, I wanted to raise some other questions about both the book and bouldering. What Falcon decides to do with the book is entirely their business, not mine. I have told them my thoughts about it, but they certainly don’t listen to me. I know they spent a lot of money on the book and the bean counters want to recoup some of that. But as I stated above, from the very beginning I thought the book should be pulped.
It’s also the author’s responsibility to make sure all the info is correct and vetted. I don’t know Bob Horan and haven’t talked to him so I really can’t say what he did and didn’t do in his research. But really, in the end it’s his name on the front and I would think he would want to get it right to avoid all this debate.