Camp 4 Press Rock Climbs of North Tahoe Book Books & videos 0000 Paperback – January 1, 2011

Very useful

Great book with lots of detail

Nice book.

After getting by with the old Falcon guidebook to Tahoe, which I purchased in the 90s, this new guidebook was a great gift, finally, to climbers that regularly climb in the North Tahoe and Donner Summit region. It more than doubles the amount of previously reported routes and areas in the region. My regular partner, a decades long Donner climber, bought the new Locals Guide North Tahoe guidebook two years ago. (Unfortunately he just moved out of the Bay Area and I no longer have the ability to easily borrow his copy anymore, so having to cough up the $$ to purchase my own copy now)This guidebook was apparently a twenty year collaboration by the local climbing community with Jackson to put together a comprehensive guide of all climbs in the region it covers. My climbing partner saw a 250ish page, in progress, version of this book clear back in 2002, which Jackson had shown him while out at Indian Springs, ten years after it had been started and over ten years before it was finally completed and published. Hundreds of routes that probably had not seen an ascent in decades, or maybe even a second ascent until they were discovered by the diligence of Jackson, were brought to light.Personally in awe, and gratitude, to the dedication that someone would have to have to stay on point for twenty years trying to climb, research, and document over 1,200 routes, including over 700 routes which had never previously been known or recorded. Only a handful of the included routes are left with undocumented/guessed at ratings, which suggests that almost all of the routes were actually climbed by the author or contributors, with many routes so obscure that they most likely were actually first ascents instead of “unknown” routes. Also nice to see many of the old routes get updated with accurate credits on the first ascent teams, as well as a fascinating section on the regional climbing history. My only complaint with this guide is that it took us a bunch of trips to finally notice why there were no specific gear recommendations for many of the routes. The answer was only found by reading a sentence buried in the “How To Use This Guide” section in the front (Do experienced climbers actually read that redundant stuff anyhow?) It says something to the effect of “if no specific additional gear recommendations are included, then a “standard” rack is suggested; followed by a list of what is considered a “standard” Tahoe rack.I’ve purchased dozens of guidebooks over the past twenty five years, and used many more, and this is the most comprehensive guidebook, by far, that I have seen. No chunk of rock or route in the region, no matter how insignificant or chossy, appears to have been overlooked.

I own over 2 dozen climbing guidebooks and this one is by far the worst. It appears the author wanted to get the book to the printers without any due diligence. Unfortunately, there isn't much competition for a comprehensive north shore guidebook and the only reason I didn't return it. You're better off owning it than not owning it if you plan to climb extensively in the area. Here's what needs to be improved (hopefully a second edition):1. Each documented climbing area will contain a few unnamed routes (in some areas, unnamed routes make up 50% of the routes)2. Unknown rating? From the book: "If the route has a rating followed by a ?, this indicates an unknown rating. The rating has been guessed at from a visual only inspection."3. Some sections have been crossed out and renumbered by hand. I guess I'm grateful he took the time to fix it.4. Organization: all areas are organized by listing all the routes on consecutive pages and then followed by pages and pages of photos. E.g Big Chief (consisting of 4 sections) is organized where the first 6 pages list all the routes followed by 20+ pages of photos. It would be much more usable to list each subsection separately with routes and photos next to the route description.