City of Rocks Idaho, 7th: A Climber's Guide (Paperback)

by Dave Bingham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This seventh edition of City of Rocks - A Climber's Guide offers the most thorough and up to date information, maps and topo's detailing over 750 high quality climbs. Also included are details on local amenities, camping, geology, biking, hiking and running trails, climbing lore, and other Idaho climbing spots to discover.

From the Back Cover

Idaho's City of Rocks has been called America's premiere granite sport climbing area. Tucked away in the enchanting high desert corner of the state, this unique area continues to attract climbers from around the globe.

The City of Rocks is renowned for its fascinating and often bizarre geography, plentiful moderate climbs as well as famous test-pieces of extreme difficulty. With an inviting combination of rustic western atmosphere, scenic camping and well protected climbs, the City of Rocks is a unique and refreshingly enjoyable experience.

This seventh edition of City of Rocks - A Climber's Guide offers the most thorough and up to date information, maps and topos detailing over 750 high quality climbs. Also included are details on local amenities, camping, geology, biking, hiking and running trails, climbing lore, and other Idaho climbing spots to discover.

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Product Details Paperback: 296 pages Publisher: Falcon Distribution; 7th edition (May 1, 2004) Language: English ISBN-10: 0970096410 ISBN-13: 978-0970096418 Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,072 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #22 in  Books > Travel > United States > States > Idaho #29 in  Books > Sports > Mountaineering > Excursion Guides #34 in  Books > Sports > Mountaineering > Rock Climbing

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 2.9 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide, June 25, 2007 By  Robert B. Kelman "RobDotCalm" (Loveland CO) - See all my reviews There is confusion here as to what book is being reviewed, viz., the 2006 version of "City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide" or some earlier edition. This is caused, in part, by Mr. David Bingham's listing all editions by the exact same name and not having an ISBN associated with the book. Further, the book being sold here is listed as "7th". Looking at the title page of the 2006 edition, there is no mention of what edition it is. Being an occasional visitor to the City, 4 trips since 1988, I owned 2 earlier versions of the book. On the basis of the reviews here, I hesitated to buy the current (2006) edition until I was able to see it. Simply put, it is a vast improvement over the earlier versions. The challenging topographics have been replaced by photographs, which clarify the location of the crags and of the routes. The illustrations have been supplemented by useful verbal descriptions. Many new areas have been added, e.g., Tahitian Wall. The worst aspects of the index have been corrected. For example, "The Anteater" is now listed under "A" and not under "T". The book is sturdily bound although it would hold up better as a field guide if the corners had been rounded. I recommend this book as a fine, useful guide to the area. The earlier guidebooks by Davis and by Calderone were quite decent and helpful when they were published but are outmoded by the 2006 edition of "City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide." Since I'm a professional publisher and indexer, take the following nit-picking with a grain of salt. The index would be easier to use if different font styles were used for route names and for all other objects. This lack of difference contributes to omissions, e.g., "Private Idaho" refers to a route and to a crag, but the route gets omitted from the index. Also, the rating of the route should follow its name in the index. The author should either forgo using "5." before a rating or use it all the time. The confusion this causes is such that not even the author can follow his own usage, e.g., Delay of Game is listed as 5.8, whereas Skyline is listed as 8. Many routes have a generic name such as "Chimney." They should be given unique names, even something like "Chimney of the Spire" would be an improvement. Occasional inset photographs of the starts of routes on some of the larger crags, e.g., The Breadloaves, would make it easier to figure out where the climbs are on a crag. And some of the washed out photographs, e.g., Lost World, need reworking. David, thanks for yours series of guidebooks to the City. They've provided me with a lot of pleasure (and some adventure now and then) over the years. 7 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre Effort = Mediocre Information, October 23, 2000 By  greg cline (Twin Falls, ID) - See all my reviews This review is from: City of Rocks, Idaho: A Climber's Guide (Paperback) For a guy who has been doing first ascents here as long as Dave Bingham, you would think he would be able to compile more information than this. This book is largely unchanged from the original version that he pieced together over 12 years ago. The drawings are difficult to follow. He often takes a wall that wraps around 90 or more degrees and flattens it out to fit on one topo, making it very difficult to follow. You have no idea what direction the walls are facing. He misnames entire rocks knowingly and then never corrects them in following editions. (i.e. Rabbit Rock / Real Rabbit Rock) A little climbing history would be nice. Some first ascent info would be nice. A few wall photos would be nice. More overviews would be nice. I just get the sense that this guy threw something together one day and has been making a killing on it for ten years because he has a climbing reputation in his hometown climbing area. The little bit of information that is contained in this book cannot (for the most part) be called inaccurate, but it is extremely vague and does not give the reader any idea what the area is like. Bingham's cronies have managed to drive much of the competition out of print, but I suggest Laird Davis' guide to get you to the classics without bushwacking or Calderone's guide if you really want to know about the area in detail. 3.0 out of 5 stars I'm ambivalent about this guide., September 7, 2008 By  Jim Morrison (Hansville, WA) - See all my reviews This may be the best rock climbing guide book on the area, but it has both some good qualities and some flaws. The pictures and the maps, both large scale and small scale are adequate. However, he leaves out too much in the narrative description of the climbs. Sometimes he doesn't even say if the route is trad or sport. I was certainly happy to have the book on a recent trip to the COR, but sometimes I felt I needed more beta on the climbs before starting out. I was able to find out some details on many routes on line, including a list of the best sport routes. I don't know who provides the ratings, perhaps not Bingham, but we thought they were pretty stiff. Climbs listed as 5.7 seemed more like 5.8 and so on. This review covers the 2006 edition.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Too bad it is the only guide for the area. The author clearly has put a minimal amount of effort into this guide. The trail maps are good which makes it easy to find your way around, but info on specific climbs and... Read more Published 21 months ago by A. Rawhouser 5.0 out of 5 stars City of Rocks Idaho, 7th A climber's Guide Updated version of a popular guide to a popular place Published on September 7, 2005 by William T. Mccarvill 4.0 out of 5 stars climbing is an adventure what did you expect Dave's book is the most up to date info available next to phony tony's recalled book. The pictures are great in tony's if you know where and what your looking for. Read more Published on April 26, 2004 by MATTHEW MOYES 3.0 out of 5 stars City of Rocks Idaho In response to the critics of my City of Rocks guide, it is still the most accurate and complete guide on the market. Read more Published on May 24, 2003 by dave bingham 1.0 out of 5 stars Huh? Its time for serious update. This guy has been rebublishing the same stuff for years. You might as well buy the first edition for nickels since nothing really has changed... Read more Published on May 4, 2003 3.0 out of 5 stars well... If you do happen to get your hands on Calderone's book, consider yourself unlucky. It was withdrawn by the publisher because it had so many errors and misinformation. Read more Published on January 28, 2001 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Falcon Distribution; 7th edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970096410
• ISBN-13: 978-0970096418
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,072 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #22 in	Books > Travel > United States > States > Idaho
  #29 in	Books > Sports > Mountaineering > Excursion Guides
  #34 in	Books > Sports > Mountaineering > Rock Climbing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide, June 25, 2007

By	Robert B. Kelman "RobDotCalm" (Loveland CO) - See all my reviews

There is confusion here as to what book is being reviewed, viz., the 2006 version of "City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide" or some earlier edition. This is caused, in part, by Mr. David Bingham's listing all editions by the exact same name and not having an ISBN associated with the book. Further, the book being sold here is listed as "7th". Looking at the title page of the 2006 edition, there is no mention of what edition it is.

Being an occasional visitor to the City, 4 trips since 1988, I owned 2 earlier versions of the book. On the basis of the reviews here, I hesitated to buy the current (2006) edition until I was able to see it. Simply put, it is a vast improvement over the earlier versions. The challenging topographics have been replaced by photographs, which clarify the location of the crags and of the routes. The illustrations have been supplemented by useful verbal descriptions. Many new areas have been added, e.g., Tahitian Wall. The worst aspects of the index have been corrected. For example, "The Anteater" is now listed under "A" and not under "T". The book is sturdily bound although it would hold up better as a field guide if the corners had been rounded.

I recommend this book as a fine, useful guide to the area. The earlier guidebooks by Davis and by Calderone were quite decent and helpful when they were published but are outmoded by the 2006 edition of "City of Rocks Idaho--A Climber's Guide."

Since I'm a professional publisher and indexer, take the following nit-picking with a grain of salt. The index would be easier to use if different font styles were used for route names and for all other objects. This lack of difference contributes to omissions, e.g., "Private Idaho" refers to a route and to a crag, but the route gets omitted from the index. Also, the rating of the route should follow its name in the index. The author should either forgo using "5." before a rating or use it all the time. The confusion this causes is such that not even the author can follow his own usage, e.g., Delay of Game is listed as 5.8, whereas Skyline is listed as 8. Many routes have a generic name such as "Chimney." They should be given unique names, even something like "Chimney of the Spire" would be an improvement. Occasional inset photographs of the starts of routes on some of the larger crags, e.g., The Breadloaves, would make it easier to figure out where the climbs are on a crag. And some of the washed out photographs, e.g., Lost World, need reworking.

David, thanks for yours series of guidebooks to the City. They've provided me with a lot of pleasure (and some adventure now and then) over the years.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre Effort = Mediocre Information, October 23, 2000

By	greg cline (Twin Falls, ID) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City of Rocks, Idaho: A Climber's Guide (Paperback)

For a guy who has been doing first ascents here as long as Dave Bingham, you would think he would be able to compile more information than this. This book is largely unchanged from the original version that he pieced together over 12 years ago. The drawings are difficult to follow. He often takes a wall that wraps around 90 or more degrees and flattens it out to fit on one topo, making it very difficult to follow. You have no idea what direction the walls are facing. He misnames entire rocks knowingly and then never corrects them in following editions. (i.e. Rabbit Rock / Real Rabbit Rock) A little climbing history would be nice. Some first ascent info would be nice. A few wall photos would be nice. More overviews would be nice. I just get the sense that this guy threw something together one day and has been making a killing on it for ten years because he has a climbing reputation in his hometown climbing area. The little bit of information that is contained in this book cannot (for the most part) be called inaccurate, but it is extremely vague and does not give the reader any idea what the area is like. Bingham's cronies have managed to drive much of the competition out of print, but I suggest Laird Davis' guide to get you to the classics without bushwacking or Calderone's guide if you really want to know about the area in detail.

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm ambivalent about this guide., September 7, 2008

By	Jim Morrison (Hansville, WA) - See all my reviews

This may be the best rock climbing guide book on the area, but it has both some good qualities and some flaws. The pictures and the maps, both large scale and small scale are adequate. However, he leaves out too much in the narrative description of the climbs. Sometimes he doesn't even say if the route is trad or sport. I was certainly happy to have the book on a recent trip to the COR, but sometimes I felt I needed more beta on the climbs before starting out. I was able to find out some details on many routes on line, including a list of the best sport routes. I don't know who provides the ratings, perhaps not Bingham, but we thought they were pretty stiff. Climbs listed as 5.7 seemed more like 5.8 and so on. This review covers the 2006 edition.