Nationally recognised as one of the best summer bouldering destinations in North America, if not the world, the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and nearby Mount Evans host an array of gloriously positioned bouldering locations in a picturesque alpine setting throughout the mountains immediately west of Denver, Colorado.

Whilst it has become a regular occurrence for the climbing media to be awash with reports of hard ascents, from across the RMNP region throughout the summer and autumn months, for far too long there has been no specific guide to the area, with the Falcon Colorado Bouldering guide being the only thing available (in Europe at least). Despite a tidy and logical layout the 2008 Falcon guide is a decidedly mechanical and fairly uninspiring work, which covers, as you would imagine, bouldering across the centennial state and thus the selection for Colorado’s most famed area is decidedly watered down and covers little of the more recent developments. With this in mind it is great news that the new Sharp End Publishing guide, “Bouldering: Rocky Mountain National Park & Mountain Evans”, by Jamie Emerson, has now landed on the shelves of all good rock climbing retailers.

Gutenberg’s Legacy
There are some fantastic climbing guides around these days. There doesn’t seem to be a month goes by without yet another inspiring book hitting the shelves, with each causing you to consider if it may just be the best damn guide you’ve ever laid eyes on! On top of this, and as much as it pains me to say it, many of the best new guides are now coming out of the States. Whilst we in the UK are undoubtedly no slouches on the quality guide front and arguably started the modern era of slick, graphic laden and easy-to-use guide books, the likes of Wolverine and Sharp End Publishing have quickly become masters in blending the art of no-nonsense, image orientated Rockfax-style guides with the locally backed knowledge packed tomes of yesteryear.

The Guide
The new Rocky Mountain National Park & Mountain Evans bouldering guide is a prime example of the modern American guide, rich in colourful yet design tidy graphics from the awesome cover shot, of Carlo Traversi on the beautifully set ‘Sunseeker’ (V13), all the way through to the back cover, an ever-original Five Ten advert featuring, of all things, a Magic Eye picture!

Between the Sheets
After the obligatory few pages of accreditation, acknowledgements and content lists the book gets straight to business, plying you with all the knowledge you’ll need for a successful trip; pages 6 through 18 give you an in depth yet concise and un-laboured introduction to everything from general logistics on wilderness bouldering to geology and wildlife information specific to the region. Within these introductory sections I was particularly impressed with the information on seasonal weather patterns: as the area sits in a mountainous alpine region and is un-climbable for much of the year (predominately the winter), information on when to visit and which sectors come into condition is invaluable as a visitor and in this regard the book excels. It offers not only a breakdown of the weather month on month and a table with average max and min temps throughout the year, but also macro climate details within the introduction to each crag/area. The guide is split in to two distinct sections, the first of which (roughly a third of the guide) covers the bouldering around Mount Evans, whilst the final two thirds cover the climbing in the RMNP. Each of the two sections has its own concise introduction; covering camping (inc. fees) and other accommodation options, rest day activities and other logistical needs, followed by a few pages on the history of climbing in the area and general bouldering etiquette.  

In terms of actual climbing information, each area is portrayed via a superbly detailed topographical map, featuring accurate scaling, contours, altitudes and a key to relevant symbols. Each individual sector is then shown via a more simplistic larger scale overview map with each block in turn then represented via a clear and concisely annotated photo-topo. Problem descriptions are detailed and include first ascent details where available as well as colour coded grades (green V0-2, blue V3-5, orange V6-9 and red V10-15), offered to help the individual climber gauge the approximate grade range in a specific area at a glance. As I hinted at earlier, the guide is packed with an awesome array of action images to help inspire you, but if further incentive is required the book also hosts an interesting selection of musings, interviews and essays written by various climbers, from world-renowned wads to lesser-known but no less diehard locals, all of whom have some ingrained connection to this wonderful location.

Overall a wonderfully detailed and thoroughly inspiring guide, which may even convince the greatest bouldering cynic that the world of high altitude pebbling is indeed deserved of its increasing popularity and coverage!

Purchase the Rocky Mountain National Park & Mount Evans bouldering guide: here.