The Guidebook of the Future

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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Aug_Dog
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by Aug_Dog »

Hey James -

Good to see your post. I will always like paper backs. And I'm looking forward to seeing what you put out next. You do great work!
Go get it
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Jesse M
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by Jesse M »

My favorite format is a paper guidebook, I like the way Roach writes about the hikes and the amount of info he gives. Sometimes just the mention of a crux can spark my imagination and keep me motivated. In the future I could imagine a live technical support or a call center, Skype/Face-2-Face. Eventually this would evolve into holographic guides, controlled by your smart watch/ring, and would be interactive.
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
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SchralpTheGnar
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by SchralpTheGnar »

you are currently..... falling off a cliff.... if this is correct please press 1.
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MatB
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by MatB »

While I use a lot of information the internet offers, I enjoy flipping through the pages of a guide book and marking down adventures for when the season is right or skills acquired.

@silverlynx I just picked up copies of Dawson's two 14er guides that include technical and winter routes. They were 60% off at Bookies off of Colorado. I went back in almost a week later and the sale display I found them on was taken down. I'd still give them a call though. Together they cost me $19.
"Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived,'"
- Dalai Lama, when asked about what surprises him the most about humanity
onepeakatatime
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by onepeakatatime »

I have a number of guide books at home, where they stay. I search Google Earth, which also stays at home. My favorite guide book is the well worn trail made by all the folks that fill this site. If I get lost, my GPS or map and compass are there to get me back on the trail. A well worn trail is always a sign of a good trail. That has never let me down. Thanks to all of you.
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ameristrat
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by ameristrat »

BillMiddlebrook wrote:
ameristrat wrote:I haven't done this but I've certainly thought about it - you could buy that nat geo adventure paper and print whatever you need on there. It's supposed to be waterproof and durable.
Yes
Before all of my hikes, I print my map on a 8.5x11" sheet of the waterproof paper but go with the iGage map paper which is a LOT cheaper.
Igage... Huh - I'll have to check that out. Thanks!
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. - Rene Daumal
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argothor
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by argothor »

Guidebooks are good, more guidebooks are better. I have probably at least 2 dozen. That being said, as long as they don't cover the same thing that other guide books already cover. That's one of the reasons I enjoy Dziezynski's "Best Summit Hikes in Colorado", while it covers a couple 14ers, it also covers lower elevation peaks that can be just as fun and challenging. And while places like 14ers.com, and summitpost.com are useful tools, it is hard to take them with you.

What I think is lacking in the way of guidebooks are ones on the lower peaks such as 13ers, 12ers, etc. Surely there is an interest in route information on those, especially for those of us who get tired of hiking a 14er with our 300 closest friends. Awhile back I did Mt. Edwards. I was atop this all by myself, but I could look out over Stevens Gulch and the trail up Grays and Torreys and there was a solid line of people making the trek up those. I was glad to be were I was and not down there. With more guidebooks, I would hope it would get people interested in doing other equally fun, beautiful, and sometimes more challenging hikes than just 14ers.
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SnowAlien
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by SnowAlien »

SarahT wrote:Furthermore & I kicked around the idea of teaming up to publish 13er guidebooks over a year ago and after speaking with a few CO guidebook authors and potental customers more or less concluded it'd be a wasted effort. Bottom line, people ain't gonna pay for what they already get for free. This site has at least 1 trip report for nearly every 13er. Roach claims his High 13ers book is no longer in print because of lack of demand.
I agree with Brian - I'd love to see a guidebook from you and Furthermore. I don't think there are nearly enough TRs on 13ers. I like the concept of how Ben/Brian did it (or how Cooper did it with his Scrambles/Snow Climbs books) - picked the best 50 lines in their opinion. With 13ers, since there are so many, maybe pick the "best" 50/75/100. Not by elevation (Roach did it already for Centennials), but the hardest ones, the ones not to miss, most scenic ones, etc. Since you and Derek did all of them you have a much better idea what are the best 13ers in the state. It is nearly impossible to get the same view from just reading random TRs that's out there. I know you have a website and Derek wrote many TRs on 14ers but it would be great to have the highlights from both of you to be summarized in a guidebook.
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ChrisRoberts
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by ChrisRoberts »

What happened to looking at a mountain and figuring your own way up?
Some rise, some fall, some climb to get to terrapin
NoCoChris: Now with less Colorado!
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ameristrat
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by ameristrat »

You can't do that at home - half the fun of guidebooks is learning about a new route and the excitement building up to getting there. 90% of my guidebook use is at home.
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. - Rene Daumal
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jmanner
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by jmanner »

ChrisRoberts wrote:What happened to looking at a mountain and figuring your own way up?
Well... You end up not summiting as much. So its easier for us working slubs to maximize our success by taking a standard route. Saying that I've attempted two standards routes in the last month in perfect weather and failed to summit either... #-o
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

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"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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jdorje
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Re: The Guidebook of the Future

Post by jdorje »

What pisses me off about distribution today is that you have to choose between ebook or physical book. I would like to buy a physical book and have it come with a copy of the ebook (which, after all, costs the distributor almost nothing extra).
"I don't think about the past, and the future is a mystery. Only the present matters."
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