Customer Reviews

A climbing guide to Colorado's fourteeners

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

 

 

Yes, Bourneman and Lampert are good climbers. Too good! This is a text to consult after you have climbed your mountain. I suggest that you choose your route in "Colorado's Fourteeners: From Hikes to Climbs" by Gerry Roach. Bourneman often selects routes that are not appropriate for those who are not up to his ability. I have learned the hard way. After, 37 successful Colorado 14er climbs, I recommend Roach. You should also check Edrinn's "Grand Slam", and Ormes' "Guide to the Colorado Mountains". Bourneman and Lampert salvage two stars but only because their historical information is interesting.

Great Reference book. Includes maps and directions for the best way to do any of the Fourteeners. Excellent maps to show you physically what you will encounter. Another good reference is [online]where you can read and see photos from folks climbing to check current conditions after picking the one you want to climb from this book.

Yes, Bourneman and Lampert are good climbers. Too good! This is a text to consult after you have climbed your mountain. I suggest that you choose your route in "Colorado's Fourteeners: From Hikes to Climbs" by Gerry Roach. Bourneman often selects routes that are not appropriate for those who are not up to his ability. I have learned the hard way. After, 37 successful Colorado 14er climbs, I recommend Roach. You should also check Edrinn's "Grand Slam", and Ormes' "Guide to the Colorado Mountains". Bourneman and Lampert salvage two stars, but only because their historical information is interesting.

All Colorado 14er guidebooks have strengths and weaknesses. Borneman and Lampart's famous guides is not exempt. It's major strength is in the history of each peak: e.g. first climbed, how it got its name, etc. No other 14er guidebook comes close to doing as thorough a job as Borneman and Lampart do on history.

That said the major weaknesses are on route diversity: i.e. each peak has only a handful of routes. I say this because Lou Dawson and Garry Roaches guidebooks have many different routes, and are far better in terms of route diversity.

Which guidebook is best depends on what you're looking for,.

(1) History: Borneman and Lamparts guide

(2) Ski Descents and Snowclimbing: Lou Dawson's guidebooks

(3) How to/detailed guide: Garry Roach

I used this book as my guide for climbing most of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks. It includes good route descriptions, photographs of each of the peaks, and interesting historical information about the mountains, and people who have climbed them. The guide also provides excellent maps for the hiking and climbing routes it describes.

I fear the above reviews are wanting for some explanation and I wonder if many of the above reviewers bothered to read the preface:

"Consequentialy, the third edition of this guide is published in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service in an attempt to encourage the use of one or two minimum-impact trails or clearly established routes to each Fourteener."

Thus this is not a guide built for exploring every possible way to the summit of every Fourteener.

Instead "A Climbing Guide to Colorado's Fourteeners" is best described as an overview of the most traveled routes to each of Colorado's Fourteeners.

The guides contents include:
a) Copious amounts of historical detail for each Colorado mountain range as well as each peak.
b) Topographical maps with approximate trail markings for each section (some sections may contain more than one peak if they are in close proximity).
c) Route descriptions and thoughtful recommendations for certain peaks (including weather, rock quality, and amounts of time needed).

Who is this guide recommended for?
The guide is primarily written as for those who want to get up off the couch, or get out for a weekend of summer fun climbing a fourteener. That is beginning to intermediate scramblers/peak baggers. Or for those who like to explore areas with minimum knowledge of how to get to a given area.

As stated above since the guide is written with leave no trace in mind, it specifically discourages alternate routes to the peaks listed. Further the guide does not tackle winter ascents or technical ascents. So for the advanced climber there is little here to advance your knowledge of the area.

Personally I just want to know how to get there and have an idea of where I'm going. This guide is nearly perfect for my needs. I usually carry an extra map of the area anyway (as I shun technology on my trips into the wilderness) and I love to explore. Personally guides that offer too many details detract from my ability to explore.

The two small cons I feel that should be addressed are the age of the text (a lot can change in 13 years) and more recommendations on 13ers and local peaks around the peaks listed. Although the second con would probably encourage readers to deviate from the standard routes.

An updated versions should also include more references to prominence as that has become a primary scrambling objective for climbers in the last ten years.

All that said the text is certainly well written for its purpose and deserves four stars for successfully guiding the reader to his or her destination. If you'd like more details on routes I'd suggest searching on one of many websites dedicated to each mountain. Or be a true outdoorsman and go exploring. You need not be chained to a mountain or a trail simply because someone wrote about it or it is marked.

This book is the definitive guide to Colorado 14ers. There are newer, flashier books available, but this is the one that goes in my pack before every climb and has for the last 20 years. It is a must have.

I have used this guide as well as Roach(99) to climb most of the Colorado Fourteeners. This book has some interesting historical data, but has poor maps and lists only one route on most peaks. Roach's 1999 edition is far superior.

This is one of the earlier books on climbing Colorado's Fourteeners; before everyone was doing it. The book serves as my guide as I work on reaching all of Colorado's summits over 14,000 feet. For one mountaineer's specific tales of high adventure in the Colorado Rockies, read TJ Burr's "Rocky Mountain Adventure Collection."