Gerry Roach's Book - Fourth Edition

[susanjoypaul]

Don't think this is or should be a competition. There are many internet resources on mountains besides this one. All of the resources provide value in their own way.

I do wish Gerry would have GPX files for all of the routes in his books. Would save a lot of time rather than needing to recreate them.

Have you asked him? I save all the original tracks and waypoints - and the cleaned up, labeled ones - from every hike, every chapter, of every book I write. They may be spread across several laptops and hard drives, but I have them all somewhere - roughly 350 total. My publisher used to sell them to sites like Trails.com but I think they stopped doing that. I have to provide mine (and my own "handmade" topo maps with the routes shown and every thing labeled, and a map manuscript) to my publisher so that their mapmaker, with the help of NatGeo maps, can use them to create more "user-friendly" maps for the books. Gerry has a different publisher but he probably has to do the same thing, so he should have those files lying around somewhere.

[CheapCigarMan]

Don't think this is or should be a competition. There are many internet resources on mountains besides this one. All of the resources provide value in their own way.

I do wish Gerry would have GPX files for all of the routes in his books. Would save a lot of time rather than needing to recreate them.

Have you asked him? I save all the original tracks and waypoints - and the cleaned up, labeled ones - from every hike, every chapter, of every book I write. They may be spread across several laptops and hard drives, but I have them all somewhere - roughly 350 total. My publisher used to sell them to sites like Trails.com but I think they stopped doing that. I have to provide mine (and my own "handmade" topo maps with the routes shown and every thing labeled, and a map manuscript) to my publisher so that their mapmaker, with the help of NatGeo maps, can use them to create more "user-friendly" maps for the books. Gerry has a different publisher but he probably has to do the same thing, so he should have those files lying around somewhere.

Would you provide the names of your books? I'd love to see them.

I figured he wouldn't provide the digital files. There wouldn't be a need to purchase his book or less of a need. Though, I thought he might even sell me them but he wouldn't be able to control what I did with them, if I gave them away or sold them. But maybe you're right. It's worth a shot to ask

[susanjoypaul]

Don't think this is or should be a competition. There are many internet resources on mountains besides this one. All of the resources provide value in their own way.

I do wish Gerry would have GPX files for all of the routes in his books. Would save a lot of time rather than needing to recreate them.

Have you asked him? I save all the original tracks and waypoints - and the cleaned up, labeled ones - from every hike, every chapter, of every book I write. They may be spread across several laptops and hard drives, but I have them all somewhere - roughly 350 total. My publisher used to sell them to sites like Trails.com but I think they stopped doing that. I have to provide mine (and my own "handmade" topo maps with the routes shown and every thing labeled, and a map manuscript) to my publisher so that their mapmaker, with the help of NatGeo maps, can use them to create more "user-friendly" maps for the books. Gerry has a different publisher but he probably has to do the same thing, so he should have those files lying around somewhere.

Would you provide the names of your books? I'd love to see them.

I figured he wouldn't provide the digital files. There wouldn't be a need to purchase his book or less of a need. Though, I thought he might even sell me them but he wouldn't be able to control what I did with them, if I gave them away or sold them. But maybe you're right. It's worth a shot to ask

Hi there, I honor Bill's request to refrain from marketing products on here so I won't list them, but if you go to Amazon and search on Susan Joy Paul, you'll find them. They're also at REI, Barnes & Noble, and lots of other places.

I always tell people that if they want a track, just ask. I'm probably not allowed to post them all on a website (again, contracts), but if somebody pings me, I send them everything I have. Most guidebook authors don't write books for the money - they just like doing s**t and writing about it, and if someone is willing to throw them a few bucks and publish all their writing in a book, that's cool too. I can't see charging somebody for a track Like most other authors I know, I just get a kick out of knowing I've helped someone visit a beautiful place safely, responsibly, and without getting lost.

[Bale]

Yeah, the net has made guidebooks obsolete, but damn is it nice for us 40+ year olds to open “The Good, the Great, and the Awesome”, by Croft or “Shuting Gallery” by Andrew McLean or any of Dawson’s or Roach’s works. Encyclopedias made me yearn to hike Walter’s Wiggles in Zion and climb Rainier. I am willing to accept change, but the www has made EVERYTHING available, for better and for worse.

[greenonion]

Have you asked him? I save all the original tracks and waypoints - and the cleaned up, labeled ones - from every hike, every chapter, of every book I write. They may be spread across several laptops and hard drives, but I have them all somewhere - roughly 350 total. My publisher used to sell them to sites like Trails.com but I think they stopped doing that. I have to provide mine (and my own "handmade" topo maps with the routes shown and every thing labeled, and a map manuscript) to my publisher so that their mapmaker, with the help of NatGeo maps, can use them to create more "user-friendly" maps for the books. Gerry has a different publisher but he probably has to do the same thing, so he should have those files lying around somewhere.

Would you provide the names of your books? I'd love to see them.

I figured he wouldn't provide the digital files. There wouldn't be a need to purchase his book or less of a need. Though, I thought he might even sell me them but he wouldn't be able to control what I did with them, if I gave them away or sold them. But maybe you're right. It's worth a shot to ask

Hi there, I honor Bill's request to refrain from marketing products on here so I won't list them, but if you go to Amazon and search on Susan Joy Paul, you'll find them. They're also at REI, Barnes & Noble, and lots of other places.

I always tell people that if they want a track, just ask. I'm probably not allowed to post them all on a website (again, contracts), but if somebody pings me, I send them everything I have. Most guidebook authors don't write books for the money - they just like doing s**t and writing about it, and if someone is willing to throw them a few bucks and publish all their writing in a book, that's cool too. I can't see charging somebody for a track Like most other authors I know, I just get a kick out of knowing I've helped someone visit a beautiful place safely, responsibly, and without getting lost.

Bingo - you seriously rock!

[Old Hickory]

Other than that, I hope he removed from his list of Classic Commandments of Mountaineering the item "Surfer Girl is not in the mountains". Because she definitely is.

But the Girl in a Green Subaru still isn't. Don't know what to do, now that pink has turned to blue.

In that amusing list, I have never understood the "Surfer Girl" one. Most of his Commandments are true and amusing (my favorite: "Geologic time includes now"), but what was he getting at with "Surfer Girl is not in the mountains." It seems that Cedica and Marcos understand perfectly. Please enlighten me.

[RadioJay]

14ers.com is a better source and the app is useful when you are actually on the trail. Who wants to bring an entire book on the hike? Roach has some routes Bill doesn’t have, but that might be on purpose. Bill’s site is aimed at non-technical climbers which is a good way to go for safety reasons. I used Roach for years before joining 14ers.com in 2010 or 2011. I did get a kick out of Roach’s lack of detail as if he was bored, “... at tree line, pick your route.” This was in the old days when there weren’t always established trails. I remember those days.

[justiner]

Surfer Girl is a song from the Beach Boys about pining for the perfect love. Don't fall in love with the mountains more than a real love.

Mountains can't love you back.

[XterraRob]

Surfer Girl is a song from the Beach Boys about pining for the perfect love. Don't fall in love with the mountains more than a real love.

Mountains can't love you back.

Do you have a Surfer Girl?

[nunns]

“Updated with all the newest information, this is the guide to bring with you to peaks website guides can't reach."

It reads to me more like: "There's no internet access in the mountains, take this book with you!"
Still a bit out of date, but not totally incorrect either.

Hahahahaha, I remember climbing DeCaliBron in 2002, and carrying "the book" with me, the whole book, the whole way. Dumb people do dumb things. (It was only my second climb though.)

Sean Nunn

[justiner]

Do you have a Surfer Girl?

My Higher Power, in a very 12 Step way, is Green Mountain.

[Wildernessjane]

Who wants to bring an entire book on the hike?

Wait…what!?! Let’s talk about old school. You take pictures of the relevant pages with your phone and leave the book in your car. If you want paper copies, then print them out. Simple.