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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Dec 28, 2004 - 05:06pm PT
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The blue Wilts guide (1979) is still available from Chessler Books (Mike Chessler bought up all of the AAC's vast supply). Chessler sells these on eBay pretty regularly. They are common and cheap.
The varius Tahquitz Guides are as follows:
1. Jim Smith's Tahquitz Guide (1937) mimeo with 6 routes listed. Only one original copy known.
2. William Shand, A Climber's Guide to Tahquitz Rock (1943) 9 page mimeo listing 20 routes. This is before the decimal rating system, routes are rated Easy, Moderate and Hard Class 5.
3. So. Cal RCS. Revision Sheet No. 1 (A supplement to Shand's duide. 2 pages mimeo.
4. Chuck Wilts, Don Wilson, Climber's Guide to Tahquitz (1956) 39pp. This is the first guide to use the new decimal system (devised at Tahquitz Rock by Wilts, Robins and Wilson). The first Wilts guide and pretty darn scarce.
5. Chuck Wilts, A Climber's Guide to Tahquitz Rock (1962) 92 pp.
6. Same, Supplement to ...... (1965) 12pp.
7. Wilts, Pat Callis & Charlie Raymond A CLimber's Guide to Tahquitz, Including a Guide to Suicide Rock (1970) AAC publisher, 132 pp. Rust colored cover stock.
8. Same, 2nd printing. Identical to above except smooth orange cover stock.
9. Chuck Wilts, 1971 Supplement, ...... (1971) 16pp.
10. Wilts, Callis & Raymond (1973) AAC publisher. 156pp
11. Wilts, 1974 Supplement to ...... (1974) 21pp loose pages to be inserted in #10.
12. Wilts, A Climber's Guide.... (1974) Self Published. 156pp + 12 pp supplement. Similar to #10, but no longer AAC and other differences.
13. Wilts, A Climbers Guide..... (1979) 208pp. The blue covered guide referenced above.
14. - 21. Various topo and other guides since including supplements.
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nature
climber
Flagstaff, AZ
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Dec 28, 2004 - 05:12pm PT
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Hey Nibs,
Wow, interesting information. I do have a copy of the Falcon guide for northern california. You are correct - it is a direct rip off from the Moonstone/Patricks Point guide and yeah, I wrote the original. And you want to know the hillarious part. Look through the part where they stole my work. Every other reference to me, including in the notation in Appendix A is wrong - half the the time they cite my name as "David W. La Farge" (it would be Douglas, thankyoubeerymuch). Those knuckleheads can't even get a ripped off citation correct.
I didn't realize NMS and Adventure's Edge refused to carry that guide. I suspect it was for more than the fact that they ripped me off. Either way, I guess I owe Larry and Scott a bit of a "thank you".
The funny thing is that book came up in converstation over the weekend. We were discussing how Falcon had ripped off a bunch of stuff for the Arizona guide (in southern AZ).
I never made a big deal out of it but I am glad I never took them up on the offer to write the northern cali edition.
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10b4me
Trad climber
Where Fair Oaks meets Altadena
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Dec 28, 2004 - 06:15pm PT
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How about Roper's guide to the High Sierra?
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Dec 28, 2004 - 09:21pm PT
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Roper's High Sierra Guide is still in print I believe... or at least around in inventories enough to be fairly easy to acquire.
The Starr guide might be an intersting find
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Melissa
Big Wall climber
oakland, ca
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Dec 29, 2004 - 12:42am PT
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If there's an OOP guide or other book that you want, keep checking amazon.com. I've found a few there before. Sometimes they're really cheep too b/c the used bookseller that's selling it, doesn't know what it is.
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Fungus Amongus
Big Wall climber
Single Cell
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Dec 29, 2004 - 02:44am PT
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Looking for a copy of Spencer's book (So. Yosemite Climbs).
Copies are hard to come by.....maybe I should look to Garcia for his version: So. Yosemites Slimes :P
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Nate D
Trad climber
San Francisco
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Dec 29, 2004 - 12:30pm PT
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The Spencer SoYo guide isn't terribly rare, although out of print. I'll never part with mine - it's kinda bursting at the seams, if you know what I mean...
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steelmnkey
climber
Phoenix, AZ
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Dec 29, 2004 - 01:04pm PT
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Ah...nice topic.
The original (at least the one I think was first) orange cover 1/4" Desert Rats Guide to Josh was published in 1970. Various editions followed with the expandable post binding system that allowed pages to be added. I had a friend that said when he was there in the '70's, the guys who wrote it used to come through the campgrounds in Josh selling supplement pages that you could put in your book.
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Nibs
Trad climber
Humboldt, CA
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Dec 29, 2004 - 01:55pm PT
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Nature -not sure if Larry or Scott are the ones to thank regards refusing to carry the Falcon Nor Cal guide. I think credit belongs to the climber/sales people. I received quite the chilly reception from them in both stores when I inquired. But I still went after it because I heard it contained climbs in the Trinity Alps. Other than a couple of routes on Ycatapom Pk, the rest was very disappointing. I have to dig the guide back out to see if in included Stone House. The beta I have on that I think came from an AAJ... rumors of a draft Trinity guide have been floating around for years – those backcountry climbs are a well kept secret.
I have a copy of your guide -thanks!! Almost posted to the "best beachside crags" thread when you mentioned Moonstone Beach to counter with Patricks Point Wedding Rock area.
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Nibs
Trad climber
Humboldt, CA
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Dec 29, 2004 - 03:50pm PT
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Speaking of the Trinities, a rare guidebook is the Sierra Club Bulletin (SCB), 1936 "Trinity Alps - Recent Observations." It has route descriptions for all of the major peaks. Very cool scramble described for Sawtooth Pk that I will check out next summer when scouting climbs near Morris Meadows.
Was hesitant to mention, but now that I have them all, the SCB's from the '30's are amazing. They document the development of roped climbing in the Sierra - the inclusion of a "climbing notes" section often written by Glen Dawson and Richard Leonard with additions by Norman Clyde; "On the Use and Management of the Rope in Rock Work," by Underhill (1931), "Mount Whitney by the East Face," also Underhill (1932), early women rock climbers: "North Palisade" by Helen Le Conte, and "Mt Humphreys" by Marjory Bridge (Marjory was hard core!) - 1934, "Climbers Guide to the High Sierra - Part 2" by Walter Starr (1938). And there is SO MUCH MORE. I have gotten many great trekking and climbing ideas from these issues... sorry to those that already know about these, but they are a fairly recent acquisition and prized possession that I had to share. working on collecting the '40's now...
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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The most entertaining part of the 70 (orange) John Wolfe guide, J Tree is the little treatise on dealing with tourists and their proper latin clasification. Got lured into doing the Damper in my first season of leading by that one!
Nomad's in J Tree has managed to lay their hands on some of the 79 Willits' Tahquitz guide if you are looking for one. Those that learned in the topo age have no appreciation for the concept that part of route finding skills was knowing the Latin name for various pine tree species.
My favorite Wilits description is for Magical Mystery Tour, at the time a new Evans, Sorensen et. al. route.
"With a name like this it is inapropriate to say more than that the route ascends the difficult buttress between the Sahara Terror and Hoodunnett"
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Latitute 33
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Jody brags:
I just found copies in my library of the following guides:
Climber's Guide to Tahquitz Rock
Chuck Wilts and Don Wilson-1956
This is the first Wilts guide and it is where the decimal rating system (devised by Wilts, Wilson and Robbins) is first introduced to the climbing public. One of the most historical guides around and quite scarce (only 200 were originally printed). Worth more than the others listed (including the Starr guide you can't find) by many multiples.
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clustiere
Trad climber
running springs, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 9, 2005 - 12:03am PT
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A Climbers Guide To THe Adirondacks Rock and Slide Climbs by Trudy Healy. Dedicated to Fritz Weissner and Jim Goodwin
The Climbers Guide to The High Sierra by Steve Roper
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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i got copies of:
schnieder's first sport climbing guide to tuolummne "man...i sure do love all these bolts!"
alan nelson's three-ring binder first-ever guide to tuolumne
all the valley guides from the green roper guide, to the first couple of meyers topo guides, to the meyers and reid pale blue guide (still my favorite)
1st edition roper's guide to yosemite
all the josh guide's starting with the '72 desert rat's guide
and, of course, the '76 scumbag digest guide to mission gorge
the '78 scumbag guide to san diego county crags and boulders
plus a heaping helpin of other junk....
still sorting through the huge archival library of material that duecey put in my care when he left for pagosa...that shit'll be in a special collections library someday.....
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Watusi
Social climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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Man I still have my dog-eared and tattered JT guide...('72?) Gotta go check...
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Batrock
Trad climber
Burbank
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I have a photo copy of the topo and guide to Stawberry Peak, Angeles Crest in Southern California. It was written and drawn by Mendenhall and others. I will try and dig it up. I think there were 6 or 7 routes up the N. Face I think it was written in the 40's. I went up there with copy in hand about 10 years ago and went home with a few horror stories of long runouts and loose rock. It was still a fun day to be climbing a piece of history even if the rock was crap. BTW I left a yellow TCU in a crack on one of the routes on the center of the face. If anyone finds it I would like it back :}
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Watusi
Social climber
Joshua Tree, CA
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Yowza Bob! Is there even any way to get a copy of the ol' Scumbag Guide anymore? Does Doug even have manuscripts from those ancient days?
p.s. I just got a chance to see it again at Al Bartlett's, and his was looking worn...
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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I got that old orange J-Tree guide. But dang if I didn't take out all the Oliver Moon essays to make room for Vogel's first JT Guide, the one that fit into the "expandable" orange book.
Sumner used the same printers for his old Tahoe book, that's a cool [green] one.
Somebody once offered my buddy $100 for my Arizona book, too bad I wan't there to sell it!
Is Vogel's book on rare books rare??
:- k
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lad
Trad climber
near Fresno, CA ( land of fruits, nuts and flakes)
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hey Largo and those hailin from SoCA.. - here's an obsure one for yah: Hunk Guide to Orange County Bouldering..
I still have a copy of the Tuolumne underground guide - back when Rock N Ice (Fullerton, CA) was in existence. That guide unleashed my reckless ambition like no other - LOL, (when in doubt, run it out).
Jody: I have Starr's Guide - is that considered rare?
I also have the old Wilt's guide to Tahquitz/Suicide (orange). It was well used in its time ;)
cheers
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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I have a copy of "San Luis Obispo Happy Climbs" by James "Blench and Dwight Kroll, 1978
I think Randy said these were worth some money a few years back, I wonder what it would go for today. Randy?
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