Customer Reviews

Guide to the Colorado Mountains

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book covers ALL the mountain ranges in Colorado, and does it in an interesting and informative way. It does NOT give detailed trail guides...how could it and still be portable? Although a resident of Colorado for many years, I still wondered just where one range began and another left off, what was the history of a particular region, what was the translation and derivation of some fascinating name (Sangre De Cristo Mountains ?), and where the most interesting trails might be. This guide covers all that and more. For complete detail on individual trails, look elsewhere, but for an excellent overview of all the Colorado mountain ranges, this is a great reference.

I much agree with the previous reviewer who stated...just enough to get you in trouble. Exactly. As I hinted at in my review title, you don't get much more than the names of the peaks in this book. While for someone who hasn't read anything else it may seen useful but in my case I've read and own many mountain guides.

This book is woefully inadequate....it gives you little information on approaches, very vague descriptions of climbing routes if at all, etc. For an example of what a good mountaineering guidebook should be then checkout anything by Gerry Roach or if you are a 4-season climber like me, look into Louis Dawson's guides.

Not for novice climbers who need more detailed descriptions or are looking only for the same crowded peaks covered in the other Colorado guidebooks. But a unique resource for more experienced climbers/hikers/backpackers with hundreds (thousands?)of peaks and other destinations to explore. No other book I've found covers ALL of Colorado's mountains - with enough info to get you going on the right ridge or around the odd obstacle. I've climbed nearly 1000 peaks in Colorado and never needed another guide, although others may find the descriptions too short.

Randy Ormes' "Guide to the Colorado Mountains" is an excellent primer for hiking: it has every imaginable peak and point. Planning on go hiking, but are unsure of where to go? If so, pull out Ormes' guide for ideas and a sense of where to go. This book is far from short on ideas.

The strengths of Ormes' guide are also its weaknesses. The diversity of routes is a plus; however, documenting so many peaks also means brevity: i.e each route has to be distilled down a paragraph or so. A paragraph is seldom sufficient to supply the necessary information.

this book is not for novices looking for a tour guide or sightseeing guide to the mountains in colorado. it is, however, one of, if not the best, summary of climbing & mountaineering in colorado's mountains. it's best for those already familiar with climbing and packing as it doesn't cover any basics, really. good information for those looking for someplace to go.

So, this is supposed to be a guide book? After seeing a "complete" guidebook of colorado mountains on the market, I jumped at the chance to buy it. I received it in the mail today, and after a quick run-through of the book, I can conclude that this text is worthless. The average climbing description on any mountain in the book goes something like this:
"Peak X lies to the south. Climb up its ridge."
You may find a bit more information on the more popular 14ers, but not much. Even Longs Peak, possibly the most versatile, well-rounded mountain in colorado with options from 3rd class hikes to highly technical climbs, gets no more than half a page of description. This book is by no means a "climbing" guide as it so proudly boasts either. While looking up climbs in the Sangre de Cristo range, I hoped to find some info on some of the classic climbs of Crestone Needle, but not ONE thing was mentioned about ANY climbs on the peak.
What more can I say. Don't buy this... attempt of a guidebook, unless you are happy with simple one-sentence descriptions of easy hikes.

This may be a complete list of the mountains of Colorado, but it is a complete waste of time for a hiker. There are no trail names, no distances, no elevation gains, or anything else that might be vaguely useful to planning a hiking trip. I can look on the map and see the names of the mountains. Save your money and buy a real trail guide.