The newest guide books to, Shuteye,Fresno,Courtright.

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mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 24, 2012 - 05:10pm PT
Now that spring is upon us, and the snow will melt opening the roads to the high sierra, It's time to start planning your road trips. Here is three amazing climbing areas, Fresno Dome, Shuteye Ridge, and Courtright Reservoir. I have all the beta one needs to have a fun filled climbing trip to those awesome climbing places, and if you buy all three you will receive a huge discount. with three books and shipping, you only pay the low price of, $70.00, to make your order or more info, e-mail mike @, mikeclimbingdude@aol.com. Happy climbing!
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 24, 2012 - 05:12pm PT
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 24, 2012 - 05:13pm PT
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 24, 2012 - 05:15pm PT
mucci

Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
Mar 24, 2012 - 06:26pm PT
How many routes are in the Shuteye guide? How many for Gray Eagle?

Jeff
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 24, 2012 - 06:53pm PT
hi, it would take you years to climb all the climbs in this book, plus i always have updates and new routes and info on shuteye, it one of the best areas to climb at in calif, happy climbing, cheers mike.
Tork

climber
Yosemite
Mar 24, 2012 - 07:49pm PT
Yeah, I hear there are a bunch of new routes on Gray.I have done the Captain Obvious route but there looks like a bunch of other cool routes? Does the guide cover this area?
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 24, 2012 - 08:37pm PT
hi, it's captian/ feather, yes i have been there, and road to zion/ intrepid voyage are fun as well, no not in the book, but i have topos and updates on gray eagle, happy climbing!
Nate D

climber
San Francisco
Mar 25, 2012 - 02:32am PT
Hey Mike, can you list the crags/domes covered in the Shuteye guide?
Thanks.
Todd Gordon

Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
Mar 25, 2012 - 02:40am PT
Looks great;....I need to get these books........I really do..
Tork

climber
Yosemite
Mar 25, 2012 - 02:58pm PT
Can you post a sample of the content?
Salamanizer

Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
Mar 25, 2012 - 03:05pm PT
24 dollars a book is a discount???
susan peplow

climber
GordonFest Paypal: devansbike@earthlink.net
Mar 25, 2012 - 03:18pm PT
Mike, those look great. How about a little peek at one of the inside pages?

~Susan
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
Mar 25, 2012 - 03:21pm PT
Mike, I didn't see the Courtright guide at PG SV. Will they be available there to check out?
mctwisted

Trad climber
e.p.
Mar 25, 2012 - 03:51pm PT
todd, i heard if you come out and put up 100 pitches you will be considered to get a free guidebook! you and tucker could do that in a few weekends.
seriously though, not sure if you've been out here yet, its worth the drive, just ask tucker.
mike it would be nice to have some more details. just showing one page of one of the eagle domes would tell us how extensive and current the content is.
so if grahm does come out with his guidebook as promised this spring will that make 5 guidebooks for the eagles of shuteye? wow, good stuff
Bruce Morris

Social climber
Belmont, California
Mar 25, 2012 - 04:04pm PT
Yes, Mike A., McTwisted is right: You ought to put three separate pics of the TOCs (Table of Contents) for each book. That would give the buyer a better idea of the scope and contents of each guide.

And the costs of self-publication these days are getting to be so prohibitively high, especially if you use color, that there's virtually no ROI (return on investment). Almost a labor of love. More pressure to get assimilated into someone's publishing stable where they own the means of production (i.e. the printer and distribution system) so that they can pay the author pennies-per-hour of labor expended. They're chasing the independents out of town!

Marketing guidebooks just ain't like being a middle-level manager at Goldman-Sachs! When you buy that new Z4 at Peter Pan, Mike A., make sure you get it with the dual-inline supercharged 300BHP V6. Otherwise you'll never get any respect on the road!
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
Mar 25, 2012 - 04:28pm PT
speaking of self published, Bruce, I saw your book in the shop, but it looks fatter than it used to be. Which version was that I saw?

What new stuff is in it?



apologies for thread drift
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
Mar 25, 2012 - 05:44pm PT
And the costs of self-publication these days are getting to be so prohibitively high, especially if you use color, that there's virtually no ROI (return on investment).

Don't use color. Black and white self pub is very cost effective.

I just wanna know where and what the routes are. This arms race on using full color and all that crap is pricing guidebooks right out of themselves. I used to buy tons of "oh what the hell, I might go there someday" or "I don't have that one" guidebooks. At the latest $40/per I'm pretty much done.
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 25, 2012 - 08:07pm PT
hi all, you know i would never slam someone for their hard work and their life love for climbing and shuteye, it's sooo easy to set back here on this forum and be mean and say bad things about my work and books to some of my favorite climbing places on the western slopes of the sierra. i just want to share info so others can come and feel the magic of these amazing places to climb, and feel the beauty of the western slopes of the sierra, Doug Robinson brought me here over 20 years ago, and i have been hooked ever since, he taught me that these special places are to be shared with family and friends, and route info should be shared with the whole climbing community, and not be this big old secret, when one does so things like captian/feather happens. that is what we are people, like it or not, "climbing community", we all LOVE climbing, some of us want us to climb by there rules, and do it by there style, but remeber this, we are all out there to feel the wind in our face, to see the hawk over our head, pee in the bushes, and drink a cold one around the campfire, it's called FREEDOM!!!, and for color in the books, the more detail, the faster one will find the climbs, especially if one is a nebee to the area, and for mr.denny's, you do get the discount,a book can last a life time, and do the math mr. $24 a book, $70.00, 3 books with shipping and one can e-mail me for info and updates is a fair price, sooo, ok i counted to 10, and took some deep breaths, i think as a climbing community we should not be sooo hyper critical, and be more respectful and nice to each other, happy climbing, cheers mike :-) ps, thanks mr.morris for your support, it's nice to know i have at least one friend out there!!!
mctwisted

Trad climber
e.p.
Mar 25, 2012 - 08:22pm PT
mike, i'm still interested in your guidebooks! just curious what's in there!
steelmnkey

climber
Vision man...ya gotta have vision...
Mar 25, 2012 - 08:45pm PT
Mike, my statement was not meant as any slight on your books. I'm sure they're great and you put a lot of love into them. I was only commenting on the "ROI" statement by Bruce and the ever-increasing price of making guidebooks.
Bruce Morris

Social climber
Belmont, California
Mar 26, 2012 - 12:43am PT
__speaking of self published, Bruce, I saw your book in the shop, but it looks fatter than it used to be. Which version was that I saw?

What new stuff is in it?__

Same old book Munge. Just did another print run to meet pending orders and the printer must have used some other fatter kind of paper. Makes it look like there's more. Same old. Same old.

There's some more new TR routes for Castle listed in Chris Summit's Bay Area Top Ropes (SuperTopo). Maybe 10-15 more out between the Hostess and Last Temptation Cliff along the trail to Goat Rock.
Salamanizer

Trad climber
The land of Fruits & Nuts!
Mar 26, 2012 - 02:39am PT
Wow, a little sensitive are we? No ones knocking ya, or your efforts.
It's just the going rate for a 24 dollar guidebook these days is at least 1/2in worth of info and your guides look to be about as thin as a Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer advertisement.

Maybe the content contained in your guides will be well worth it? How the hell do I know? Come on, sell this thing! What's in it. 70 bucks is alot of money in this Obomoconomy.

Until then, fill out this form to place a complaint;)

jaaan

Trad climber
Chamonix, France
Mar 26, 2012 - 05:54am PT
Mike, the guys jumping you from behind their laptops are out of order. Don't lose any sleep over them - ignore them. Please remember to email my wife Hilary about posting to Europe... Thanks!
mooch

Trad climber
Old Climbers' Home (Adopted)
Mar 26, 2012 - 08:49am PT
What did you spend on editing? Materials? And what's the story behind Captain/Feather?

Hey Dan.....Shuteye is fabulous! Best to hit the place in the winter with loads of snow. Bring your Arctic Cat! Not a soul around if you want to build your own guidebook.
kc

Trad climber
the cats
Mar 26, 2012 - 10:38am PT
It is not unusual to want to know what you are getting for your money. I don't think anyone is knocking your guidebooks, they just want to see an example of what's in there and maybe an idea of what areas each covers. If I saw your books in the store, I would want to look in them before buying. If they were shrinkwrapped or something, I would pass.

Relax and open the vault a little. I'm sure you will have many takers on this site, myself included.

Loomis

climber
Peklo Vole!
Mar 26, 2012 - 11:59am PT
I would like to review the Courtright guide, see if the info is correct, especially the info on "Trapper Dome".
If the info from the old guidebook has been used, it will have many mistakes.
I have the original topo of the routes on "Trapper Dome" dating all the way back to 1984. I would like to see how our notes compare, historically and ratings.
Bruce Morris

Social climber
Belmont, California
Mar 26, 2012 - 04:41pm PT
Mike A.: Any guidebook is always a work-in-progress, subject to corrections, revisions and upgrades. Once you've got the information out there, later authors and editors can always amend and add to it with new information. The point is that you've taken a stab at Courtright et alia and that puts you in the batter's cage and makes you a target. Just keep on doing what you're doing and it'll all come out in the wash someday. There just isn't any perfection in this world no way, no how. If someone comes along later with infinite deep pockets and infinite time on their hands, they'll be able to surpass your efforts and create an Encyclopaedia Britannica-style guidebook that'll cost at least $55 bucks per volume. But I suspect there'll never be enough bucks in out-of-the-way areas to warrant that kind of perfectionist treatment, but we'll have to await the recreation and leisure time Veblen economy for that to happen. Not this week!
mooch

Trad climber
Old Climbers' Home (Adopted)
Mar 26, 2012 - 04:56pm PT
The point is that you've taken a stab at Courtright et alia and that puts you in the batter's cage and makes you a target

....especially if you have a bunch of the FAist chiming in right now who contributed to all of these areas. Seems like a few of them haven't been contacted for correct info, eh Scott?....er, Nate?......er, Dan?.....er, Jeff.....er......

Batter up!
guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Mar 26, 2012 - 06:18pm PT
Mike... Hi, I'll buy one- if it's more than a rehash of the old one.

Just answer these Qs for me:

What dome, FA ist and rating is "Black Satin Slips"?

and "Doughballs on a rampage"

"By Jupiter there are rings around uranius"

"Eve of distruction"


easy enuf questions I figure.

Bruce Morris

Social climber
Belmont, California
Mar 26, 2012 - 06:57pm PT
That's easy: Just collect the new info from the FAers and include it in a subsequent revised edition of the Mike A. guide. The loose leaf ring spiral format is easy to add new pages to. You got to start somewhere, don't you? If Mike A's in the batter's cage, why not funnel all the new Courtright, Fresno Dome, Shuteye Ridge info to him and let him update his guide accordingly? Or is there another guidebook to these areas in progress elsewhere? No idea.

guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Mar 27, 2012 - 01:20pm PT
Hi all...... just want to bump this. Mike thanks for working on a new guide. The old one for Courtwright is sooooo outdated.

But before I send you $$$$$$$$$ I do need to know how indepth your research is.

In the last few years we have been swamped by inaccurate, poorly researched guides.

So if you want folks to give you $$$$$ come on and sell the darn thing.

Guy Keesee



Radish

Trad climber
SeKi, California
Mar 27, 2012 - 01:32pm PT
Orgasm Addict, on Trapper......Hey that's a John Barbella route right. I know Dwight Kroll is hard at work on the Courtrite guide, another one. Walking the guidebook author trail is a fine line. To be good you have to be able to get to know all climbers of an area and make friends. Getting info from them directly gives your book respect. Gleaning info can be a roll of the dice. Plus,of course, doing as many routes yourself before you do a guide helps too and makes you more of an expert to the area. Anyone can do a guidebook though and hopefully the proper folks who did the FA's will get the credit they deserve.
doughnutnational

Gym climber
its nice here in the spring
Mar 27, 2012 - 01:40pm PT
I think it's a Loomis route. I dont think Mike a is attempting to produce a comprehensive guide to any of the areas. So contacting tons of first ascencionist is not needed. Dwight Kroll is working on a comprhensive guide to Courtright and would be appreciative to talk to anyone withv route knowledge in the area.
Nate D

climber
San Francisco
Mar 27, 2012 - 02:03pm PT
Bruce - the answer to your last question is yes. 3 guides that most know about already in the works.

Here is the link started by Dwight for the Courtright guide:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1568147/New-Courtright-Guide-in-the-Works

But there is absolutely nothing wrong with Mike's enthusiasm and shared adoration for these magical places. He's a local, if ever there was one.
guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Mar 27, 2012 - 02:32pm PT
I believe S. Loomas did the first.

And that's the point.... anybody can walk around and do the climbs and draw topos.

But to really make a quality GB one must get the history right.

I have only done a few FAs at Cortwright so I don't really count because one of my SUBMEN can give the proper info.

The climbs I was asking Mike A. about are major climbs, newer than the old book, but all ca
n be found in other references and if they are not in this newest, latest most up to date book, then how valuable can this book really be?
Bruce Morris

Social climber
Belmont, California
Mar 27, 2012 - 03:34pm PT
Bruce - the answer to your last question is yes. 3 guides that most know about already in the works.

Sounds like a lot of people are attacking the area from several different angles at once. Might be nice if one local who's at least climbed everything there [hah!] would take on the job of funneling all that route info into one guide, to talk fancy, a meta-guide that would reconcile and synthesize all the route and historical information in one place. A necessary first step would be for some brave sole/soul to write a comprehensive [hah!] history of the place that would give a balanced [hah!] timeline of who, what, when, where, how? Then, get a lot of mud and venom thrown and spit on you and then revise, revise, revise. Sounds like a god-dang Ph.D. diss with a really mean committee of supervising profs!

Will a local crag historian please stand up and take the heat prior to publishing a guide? Batter up! I realize too that there are many people who just don't want a guide to the area too. It sure sounds like it's gonna take eons before there's a definitive guide coming out.
crazy horse

Trad climber
fresno, ca
Mar 27, 2012 - 08:13pm PT
The idea of a guide that covers everything from the kings river to the san joaquin so Wawona dome through the balls, shuteye, Shaver, dinkey dome, bald mountain courtwrite, Patterson bluffs down to tehipite dome has been thrown around in the past within a few discussions of the fresno folks, but never materialized. Currently though yes Courtwrite with some nearby areas thrown in as well as all of shuteye is in production. Courtwrite is a ways off, Shuteye will be out fairly soon.

Thanks mike for all the hard work you've put into your guides. it's a selfless act that often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Some of my original trips to shuteye and hawk dome were done with old topos posted on totalclimbingonline.com. Thanks!!
mooch

Trad climber
Old Climbers' Home (Adopted)
Mar 28, 2012 - 02:48pm PT
I'm with Guyzo....comprehensive doesn't mean 'cut and paste'. Work the details like history, updates (ie new FA's since the last guide was out, access, and pro). As a bonus, add in the FAist and dates.....which I find helpful these days in case I need to research or track down the FAist). There are folks out there that don't take the time to research an area for previous activity and the history behind it. But that's a different topic altogether..... ; )
Radish

Trad climber
SeKi, California
Mar 28, 2012 - 03:14pm PT
Maybe the first Ascentists should get royalties just like musicians. You don't see anybody just coming out and releasing a Beatles album. Really,I know it gets crazy but whats the difference?
Nate D

climber
San Francisco
Mar 28, 2012 - 04:04pm PT
Wow Rene, that sure is a wild concept, ripe for a whole 'nother thread.

mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 29, 2012 - 05:03pm PT
hi all, thanks for all your input, happy climbing, mike a.
Gene

climber
Mar 29, 2012 - 05:16pm PT
Maybe the first Ascentists should get royalties just like musicians. You don't see anybody just coming out and releasing a Beatles album. Really,I know it gets crazy but whats the difference?


That's a provocative question. Are we ready for climbs to be intellectual property owned by the FA team? No.

But what about this? If the FA team makes known to a guidebook author that they don’t want a route published, should the author respect that wish?

g
Nate D

climber
San Francisco
Mar 29, 2012 - 06:20pm PT
Yes, intellectual property on public lands seems pretty far fetched, not to mention obvious trad climbs where the FA party had little to no part in "creating" anything, but just happened to find it first. And the implication of incentivizing the development of even more routes by possible royalties is pretty scary.

Up to the author I suppose to respect wishes to exclude routes. Much easier to exclude entire crags than to exclude a route here and there on the same cliff as many other existing and recorded climbs. It can get confusing for the first time visitor to use a topo with some routes included and others left out, whether intentional or not. But hey, the bonus is that fine adventures often come out of having little to no tangible (or even accurate) information! In that sense, as long as expectations are set, the minimalist guidebook is a great service.


Hey Mike,
Are these latest guides on the shelf at PGSF or other bay area gyms, as in the past? If so, many of us can take a gander first.
Baggins

Boulder climber
Mar 29, 2012 - 06:57pm PT
Climbers are cheap motherf**kers, arent we?

I mean, arguing that 70 bucks is too much to spend on the accumulated effort of scores of people over many years seems crazy to me. Oh you have so many other things to spend money on.. ummm.. chalk... and beer?

Skiers spend more than that on a single day pass at virtually any half well known ski hill these days.. photographers regard a lens as cheap if its less than a grand... to quote one example of many...
Slater

Trad climber
Central Coast
Mar 30, 2012 - 12:02am PT
Lots of examples of samples of Mike's work on rc.com

http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos/Topo/Gray_Eagle_Dome_117535.html

http://www.rockclimbing.com/photos/Topo/Map_of_Shuteye_area_117492.html

just go and look if you're curious
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 30, 2012 - 08:55am PT
morning @ nate d., yes, one can get all my books at any pg, cheers mike a.
micronut

Trad climber
Mar 30, 2012 - 12:05pm PT
Hey Mike,
I'll take one of the Shuteye books. How do I contact you? Sorry if it's already been answered up thread. I don't have much time right now. E-mail me if you have a moment.
Thanks,
Scott
Double D

climber
Mar 30, 2012 - 12:18pm PT
Wow Mike, congrats on the books! Missing hanging around the campfire and hearing your warped humor. Best wishes with the books and if I weren't so geographically challenged, plus surrounded by such awesome climbing in my back yard, I'd be stoked to own all three books.




casey yorkunas

Trad climber
CA/CO
Dec 21, 2012 - 11:48pm PT
Just wanted 2 post my topo's of some cool routes me and friends did a while back on fresno dome. Dont know if they are in the new guide so if not here's my crusty topo's....
Petey the Underdog is to the right of south pillar in a gully with an obvious arching finger crack on the wall to its left. This route takes small tcu's and stoppers. On all ascents I traversed under the roof into the chimney on the left and then back onto the face to reach the 1-bolt natural pro anchor (not set up for lower off). It's a worthy 2 pitch gear route with tech crack climbing to thought provoking 5.10 face climbing on gear.

Green monster is a one pitch variation off the easy bolt routes up the south face. It's the obvious green lichen witch shaped flake on the north face of the steep summit blob. Crux is bouldery moves out of the gully/ramp to gain the overhanging thin hands corner. There is a large jug before you get established in the crack that I used a sky hook for pro on the F.A., without a large hook this section is R-rated. There is a one bolt anchor @ the top of the pitch. Finish out easy cracks to top-out.
Peace All.....:)
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Dec 25, 2012 - 03:05pm PT
casey yorkunas

Trad climber
CA/CO
Jan 25, 2013 - 04:22pm PT
Yeah its the corner/roof/flake on the north side of the summit blob in that picture. Start is bouldery (don't care if someone adds one bolt), hard 5.10 through roof. Somebody please repeat "petey the underdog" I remember it being epic so it probably doesn't suck too bad. Don't know about fixed rope by Petey it was a long time ago, it has a chimney on the left and a hands corner on the right. Petey goes up the short corner (ultra sharp arete on left wall of corner) to double thin cracks. If someone wants to add a bolt at the anchor for lower-off go for it :)....
Nate D

climber
San Francisco
Jan 25, 2013 - 04:35pm PT
Casey,
Can you confirm DL is for Dave Lane, as your partner on these? Was the Green Monster also done in 98? Have any more precise dates?
Thanks!
casey yorkunas

Trad climber
CA/CO
Jan 25, 2013 - 04:54pm PT
Yeah DL is Dave Lane. He was with me when we went to the rim on Petey and Green Monster. I had sent the first pitch of Petey earlier in the summer and was belayed by Zeke Federman. Don't have exact dates, for sure summer of 98'.
mooch

Trad climber
Old Climbers' Home (Adopted)
Jan 25, 2013 - 05:09pm PT
Hmmmm.....is there drama in the works? some where along the beaten path, rumor has it that soomeone was f#ckin' with Green Monster after you and DL put it up. LG?
casey yorkunas

Trad climber
CA/CO
Jan 25, 2013 - 05:27pm PT
I'm not one for drama, just good times.
mooch

Trad climber
Old Climbers' Home (Adopted)
Jan 25, 2013 - 05:28pm PT
Not you Casey....
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 25, 2013 - 09:06pm PT
thanks for getting back with me on fresno dome info, this season for sure will check if out, hopefully i will run in to you at fresno dome, i am up there alot, i am somewhat of a local, the girl friend has a place in oakhurst, so i am there a ton, if you need any beta for shuteye, let me know and i will try and hook you up, cheers arechiga.
casey yorkunas

Trad climber
CA/CO
Jan 26, 2013 - 11:50am PT
More crusty soyo topos of cool routes...... These routes are on perfect rock "All Along the Watchtower" has an epic finish....:)ffa's: C.Y. D.L. M.M A.M. (summer 98")
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
Jan 26, 2013 - 12:12pm PT
Thanks for getting the guidebook out Mike! I will make sure to pick one up and check out this place, seems awesome.
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 26, 2013 - 12:35pm PT
thanks for the topos, my girl friend and i have climbed at big sleep, checked slater's new 5.7, it's fun, but whats up with first bolt? i think it's there to mark the location of his climb?, and we climbed some routes at the crocadile, fun routes there as well, but did not check out the eagle beaks, thats on the list for this season as well as fellen eagle dome, and fuller butte, i will check out your topos of the routes on the voodoo, thanks again for them, if you have not been to lost eagle dome, you really need to go, the melting wall is super duper fun stuff, and the swimming holes on the creek there are beautiful, happy climbing, mike a.
cultureshock

Trad climber
Mountain View
May 2, 2013 - 03:10pm PT
Bump!

Will Shuteye be climbable by Memorial day weekend? Looking for some mellow sport climbing, and wasn't sure if the road would be snow free.

 Luke
mike a.

Sport climber
ca
Topic Author's Reply - May 2, 2013 - 03:19pm PT
one could climb at shuteye right this minute if you were there, yes, looks great for that weekend, happy climbing mike a.
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