Climbing

Colorado Ice Climbing Guide Books

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Colorado’s ice climbing scene is a little secretive. Numerically, we probably have the most ice climbers out of any state in the USA. As an informal way of controlling those crowds, information about where the ice is located is pretty hard to come by. Conditions, too, are often hoarded.

Facebook groups exist, and are probably the best source of current info (as well as drama). If you know where to look and what the names of the climbs are, Mountain Project can be an ok resource. But there’s plenty which is not online or is intentionally obscured.

This post is just intended as a primer for the guidebooks which exist for Colorado ice. It points you towards a few resources, if you care to track them down. I’ll link to Amazon where possible, but keep in mind that the prices on these things change algorithmically according to supply and demand, so it’s hard for me to know what type of price you’ll see.

If you don’t want to buy these books, the regional Colorado libraries have some copies, and the American Alpine Club has a spectacular guidebook library, located in Golden, which AAC members can take advantage of. I have also personally installed a few of these books at the Ice Coop in Boulder. Don’t steal ’em.

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Zen and the Art of Mountain Climbing

Daniel 2 Comments

Although once a hip and trendy book, few people today seem to read and connect with “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” by Robert M. Pirsig. First published in 1974, this philosophical novel celebrates its 50th birthday this year. My attempts at forming an anniversary book club within my family have been unsuccessful; only I have done the readings.

I read this book at the crag in Indian Creek, suffering through a sandstorm. Every time I come to the Creek I promise I’ll read at the crag – this past trip was the first time I’ve ever done so. Conversation in Indian Creek, when not being made impossible by howling wind blowing sand between your molars and into your cavities, consists of general ego stroking: “Oh you did that crack? Have you tried this crack? Someday I want to try this other crack!” And so on.

It’s tedious, and unavoidable.

In that context, this excerpt felt appropriate. What do you think?

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Recent Reads for February 2024

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Books reviewed: “The General in His Labyrinth” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “Kiss or Kill” by Mark Twight, “Everest: The West Ridge” (Abridged) by Thomas Hornbein.

They say you can learn a lot about a person by browsing their bookshelf. The trouble with this approach is most voracious readers move through books at a faster rate than they can accumulate them. None of these three will end up on my bookshelf. That says something too, I suppose.

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Rebuffat Couloir, Tour Ronde, Winter

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I flew from New York to Milan, arriving at Malpensa airport 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning. I recollected my duffel full of mountaineering equipment, took the train to the city center, and then walked to my buddy Enrico’s apartment, 30 kilos on my back. He was finishing up work; we pored over avalanche forecasts and trip reports. We asked all our contacts for conditions, suggestions. We scoured the Facebook groups. We ended up choosing the Rebuffat Couloir on the Tour Ronde, a route no one had suggested, and for which we had absolutely zero conditions information.

The weather looked best for tomorrow. We woke up, 5:15 a.m., dragged ourselves to the car, and drove to Courmayuer. Parked, dressed, and just enough spare time for an espresso. 8:30 a.m., first lift up, and we were on it. American country music played through the stereo system on the shiny cable car. 9:00, suited up and ready for action, we stepped onto the glacier at 11,300 feet. I’d always heard alpinism in Europe was accessible, but this was next-level.

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