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New Kings Canyon Guidebook

Original Post
Tyler S · · Oakhurst CA · Joined Nov 2017 · Points: 65

Does Kings Canyon need a new guidebook? I’ve been out of work for the past couple weeks and started documenting the climbing areas in the park and getting pictures of routes/approaches. A long way from print, but wanted to weigh the opinions of those in favor of possibly popularizing the park vs. leaving it a solitary climbing area. Areas previously documented in the Southern Sierra Rock Climbing book have slowly been getting area specific guides, it’s only a matter of time before Kings Canyon presumably gets its due.
feel free to contact me here or hunt me down in Cedar
steintylerj@gmail.com

tom donnelly · · san diego · Joined Aug 2002 · Points: 364

I would say yes, if you have enough good routes to fill a book and spread people out.    

Cory B · · Fresno, CA · Joined Feb 2015 · Points: 2,577

As I understand it a long time Kings canyon climber has already been working on a guidebook for the area (several years work already done).

Why not just add your photos and beta to this site rather than trying to go through the long process of making a book and duplicating other people's effort?

Mike Stephan · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2017 · Points: 1,188

I have done a bit of bouldering in KCNP and would be interested.  

Tyler S · · Oakhurst CA · Joined Nov 2017 · Points: 65

Tom, I think people would be pretty spread out, but some of the crags are exceptional and hard to avoid. 
I'm aware that years ago someone had talked about making a guidebook, but no noise of anything recently. If someone is already in the process and plans to publish they are more than welcome to everything I have. I simply walk around a lot and find old bolted routes and potentially new trad lines. And I walk a lot. Between Cedar Grove proper (Boyden to Roads End), Grant Grove, and Buck Rock I know of at least 225 routes and boulders. Many areas in Cedar I haven't checked out yet, but they look promising. Some cracks may have never been climbed before but I'm sure someone would get a kick out of them.
Mike, I know of a few of the published boulder problems, but otherwise if there is not a crack or seam on the boulder I'm oblivious! Help sounds great, interested to hear more opinions and I'm sure there are plenty more. 

Katarina Owens · · Bay Area · Joined Sep 2018 · Points: 15

I’m also interested in hearing from the guy who’s been working on a guidebook about whether it’s still in the works. I’m in favor of making the information available one way or another, there are lots of great routes out there. And stuff that seems undeveloped too

Christian Black · · Reno, NV · Joined Mar 2016 · Points: 365

I think a proper guidebook would be sweet. Maybe message @limpingcrap (Daniel Jeffcoach) to see if you guys could work together on getting his stuff from sekiclimbing.com and you’re new additions as a place to start?

FrankPS · · Atascadero, CA · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 276
Christian Black wrote: I think a proper guidebook would be sweet. Maybe message @limpingcrap (Daniel Jeffcoach) to see if you guys could work together on getting his stuff from sekiclimbing.com and you’re new additions as a place to start?

I believe you meant, "limpingcrab."

Guy Keesee · · Moorpark, CA · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 349

PM me if you want to know about the climbing in The Gorge of Despair...,

Jeff J.. has a fairly large database already on line. Sekiclimbing.com

Good Luck with it. 

JaredG · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 17
tom donnelly wrote: spread people out.    

Why do you believe this works?  There have never been so many climbing guidebooks, and the crags have never been so crowded.

Tyler S · · Oakhurst CA · Joined Nov 2017 · Points: 65

Two things are mystifying to me and giving me pause. First is finding a quality aerial image of the park to label climbing areas. The second is a program to edit images to insert route lines, bolts, approaches, etc.

My computer skills are subpar and until I figure these two issues out I don’t really have much of a guidebook. Once this is figured out I’ll have a super rough draft of a guidebook and get everyone’s thoughts on it. I’ll definitely reach out for help, advice, beta once I know I have something resembling a guidebook and I’m sure I’m not wasting anyone’s time. Until then, I’ll be in Cedar 

Limpingcrab DJ · · Middle of CA · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 1,055

Hi Tyler!  Just my 2 cents:

I think a guidebook for Kings Canyon would be sweet!  When the old guidebook came out people worried it would bring crowds but it didn't happen, there's just too much amazing and easy to access rock all over the Sierra for many climbers to go to KC.  (for now at least, maybe in the long run it would backfire).  You've probably noticed on all your walks that there aren't any climbers helping to keep routes clean and such.    

The toughest part is getting the accurate info for the routes down in the canyon (names, FAs, dates, etc..).  A former Cedar Grove employee who now works in Lodgepole spent 15 years down there and put up over 200 routes.  In his folder of topos and beta there are around 300 routes from Boyden Cavern to Road's End.  Even if you had that info it would be hard to organize it without his help since it's all hand drawn topos and such without a ton of commonly used place names or approach directions.  

It would still be possible to put together a guidebook but you'd end up having to make up a whole lot of information, that's the main reason I haven't put much on sekiclimbing.com/ for Cedar Grove, I want it to be historically accurate when I do.  The guy who put up most of those routes is really friendly and helpful but he's hard to get ahold of and has mostly moved on from climbing so there's not really a guidebook in the works at this time.

It's possibly my favorite place on earth so if you want to get a serious start on something I'd be happy to help if you want.  Otherwise I'll continue my years long struggle to get those Kings Canyon routes organized and onto my website at some point, I've been slacking lately :/

Oh ya, Caltopo can be really helpful for creating area maps, and I've got about a zillion pictures that would work for overlays from climbing each side of the canyon and taking pictures of the other.

Good luck either way, it'd be fun to meet up sometime, I was in Grant Grove yesterday and will be in Kings Canyon again soon so I'm around quite a bit.    

Richard Randall · · Santa Cruz · Joined Jun 2016 · Points: 0

I would love to buy this guidebook if it existed. Although the one time I went there, the mystique of having such sparse route info was kind of fun. Other cool things to maybe include are the new-ish big free routes that Vitaliy M has put up (eg on Bubbs Creek Wall), and any ones the the Pullharder Collective folks have added.

Cory B · · Fresno, CA · Joined Feb 2015 · Points: 2,577

I'm going to hijack this thread since its full of King's Canyon climbers to ask about the route Scarlet Slipstream.
Any of you climbed it recently? Are the bolts still intact or in need of replacement?
 Also Herb says the runouts are "moderate" in his AAJ write-up, I suppose that means "sphincter clenching" in reality. 

Limpingcrab DJ · · Middle of CA · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 1,055

I looked for Scarlet Slipstream briefly but didn't see it (had my son in my backpack one time and was fishing the next time so I didn't look hard).  I heard several key bolts are damaged but didn't see them myself.

There's a new 10 pitch slab route in that same area now, hardware is still good on that.

Cory B · · Fresno, CA · Joined Feb 2015 · Points: 2,577
limpingcrab wrote: I looked for Scarlet Slipstream briefly but didn't see it (had my son in my backpack one time and was fishing the next time so I didn't look hard).  I heard several key bolts are damaged but didn't see them myself.

There's a new 10 pitch slab route in that same area now, hardware is still good on that.

Thanks Daniel, sounds intriguing. I'm a bit of a slab aficionado. I'll have to see if I can't sucker someone one head up with me on that one before the winter closes the road

Clint Cummins · · Palo Alto, CA · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 1,738
Richard R wrote:... Other cool things to maybe include are the new-ish big free routes that Vitaliy M has put up (eg on Bubbs Creek Wall), and any ones the the Pullharder Collective folks have added.

I recall Vitaliy is working on a separate guide to backcountry climbs in the Sierra - that would include Bubbs Creek Wall and many other areas:

> I been working on a guide to technical climbing in the High Sierra, had to do a lot of hiking/exploratory climbing and put a lot more time into topo drawing for the book.
http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Summer-2018-in-photos/t13357n.html​​​
Tyler S · · Oakhurst CA · Joined Nov 2017 · Points: 65

@limpingcrab, you are spot on about the problem with gathering accurate historical data. So far I've been making up names based on descriptive info (ex: hand crack left of gully) which is lame. Getting some topos, route names, FA data from him would be stellar, but I have not tried to contact him yet. I've still been exploring the area and familiarizing myself more with the National Forest down here and some more obscure areas. I definitely intend to try and reach him. My intentions would mainly be to put profits from the book back into the park replacing old hardware, protecting the area, etc. Easily my favorite place! Your offer to help is accepted! If you are familiar with Sequoia we could put together a SEKI guide, focus on routes and omit boulders. Email me anytime you're in the park. I may just be in Cedar until NPS locks the gates.

@Cory I will try and shoot you a picture with approach beta on Scarlet Slipstream this week when I make it over that way, unless you already have some good info. I have no better info than that though as 5.11 slab is above me.

@Richard I emailed Vitaliy this morning and will look into Pullharder. Definitely lots of new beautiful lines in the last 30 years that deserve some yearly love from climbers. 

Limpingcrab DJ · · Middle of CA · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 1,055

The pullharder routes are the ones on mountainproject (like the foolproof plan stuff and a few others). Vitaliy and Roger’s book is for the high Sierra so it won’t include cedar grove but will have Bubb’s and climbs in that area.

Ya, I’m somewhat familiar with Sequoia and can help if you end up making a book.

Richard Randall · · Santa Cruz · Joined Jun 2016 · Points: 0
Clint Cummins wrote:

I recall Vitaliy is working on a separate guide to backcountry climbs in the Sierra - that would include Bubbs Creek Wall and many other areas:

  

Cory B · · Fresno, CA · Joined Feb 2015 · Points: 2,577
Jeremy R wrote: Wait, wait wait...

What's this about 5.11 slab and a new 10 pitch route? Where are they?   

I hear ya Jeremy, psyched about this new 10 pitch slab route! 

Here is the old beta on Scarlet Slipstream, the 5.11 slab:
From the AAJ and the old SEKI guidebook
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northern California
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