Cold Stoke

Rob "Griz" Ginieczki/Griz Guides/2024

Purchase this book

This is a fantastic new guidebook on Colorado ice and mixed routes that is the best ice & mixed guidebook I've seen. In its 477 full color pages, it covers Clear Creek Canyon; Mount Warren, Spaulding, and Blue Sky; Ten Mile Canyon; South Gore Valley, North Gore Valley & Eagle River; the Mosquito & Ten Mile Ranges; the Central Collegiate Range including the almost mystical Sword of Damocles, Glenwood Canyon including the incredible Rich Purnell testpiece Alcatraz; and outliers like Staunton State Park, Bear Creek Canyon, Moffat Tunnel, and Hessie's Chimney. You can really feel the energy and passion it took to create such an amazing guidebook. It is packed with information like local climbers vibe, dogs at the cliffs, Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale, details on accidents on these routes, V-threads, grades, ethics, historical photos, and really detailed info on routes like history, access, trailheads, GPS, elevation, gear, maps, FA information when known, topos on photos, safety tips, drone photos, close-ups on some anchors, route/pitch lengths, descent information, local lore, tips to avoid law enforcement on climbs, and of course action photos. It will become obvious that quite a few of these are routes where the author was involved in the first ascent, and I think virtually every pitch has been climbed by the author. There is even a section on cleaning the death ledge between 7th Tentacle and 7th Testicle in Vail...whoa!

It is available for purchase at Bent Gate Mountaineering in Golden, Neptune's Mountaineering in Boulder, and Rock and Resole in Boulder, in addition to grizguides.com for ~$55. It is well worth the investment if you are inspired by ice and mixed lines in Colorado. If you purchase a copy, you will have a smile across your face for quite a long time!