New Zion Climbing Guidebook Review

By Mike Schneiter

The long-rumored and long-awaited climbing guidebook to Zion National Park has finally hit the shelves. For years, there has been no real guide to this sandstone big wall mecca. Sure, sparse information could be gleaned from overview guidebooks such as Desert Rock, but McAfee’s Zion Rock wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on, and most ambitious climbers gathered beta by word-of-mouth, flipping through the route information binders at the Visitor Center, or finding an occasional topo online. Now, for the first time, climbers can purchase a legit source of information on more than 250 free climbs, including several relatively unknown routes that are sure to become popular.

About five years ago I met author Bryan Bird at an Access Fund trail project. The humble local quietly discussed the many amazing routes that he and his partners had been completing in the park. During an afternoon of climbing at the then-new Cragmont, Bryan described the work he was beginning on a possible guidebook, largely in response to the piss-poor quality of the McAfee guide. Tempered with a desire to provide good, quality information, Bryan also described the local ethic which seeks to keep the place adventurous and protected from unnecessary damage to the fragile sandstone. Hence, the character of the book.

Zion Climbing is 232 pages of full-color photos, well-written historical essays, and detailed topos. Zion climbers will appreciate the wealth of information found within its pages, including many routes and areas that most will have no prior knowledge of. If you’ve climbed in the area, you know that most climber traffic is focused on a handful trade routes in the inner canyon, often with a line of parties strung along the route. And, if you’ve climbed there long enough, you may have ventured on to some of the more obscure routes, sometimes with dubious results. With the introduction of this guide, climbers have ready and easy access to a multitude of quality climbs with detailed approach and route information.

However, if you’re accustomed to the super-detailed information found in other SuperTopo guidebooks, then you may be sorely disappointed. While the information found in Zion Climbing is more detailed than anything that’s come before, Bryan has left just enough out to ensure that there will be adventure when you travel off the beaten path, sure to prompt some scratching of heads while hacking your way through bushes and gullies. At the same time, overall the information is adequate and the topos detailed enough to convince you to not do Moonlight Buttress for a fifth time, and instead climb something else.

In an age of “coffee table” guidebooks, Zion Climbing will find its place in your living room. A wealth of beautiful, full-color photos by Eric Draper, Bryan Bird, Andrew Burr, and others fill the pages. Since I first downloaded the e-book version, I’ve been flipping through its pages, day dreaming with sweaty palms as I await the fall climbing season. The photos are inspiring, to say the least, but also highlight the abundance of climbing in Zion.

If there is any fault in the book, it is the lack of a star rating system or a seriousness rating scale. For all the problems with the McAfee book, it at least used a rating scale with four levels to describe what you were getting yourself into on a route, from BYM, Bring Your Mother, to PDW, Pretty Damn Western. While the lack of any rating system may maintain the adventure, I fear it may lead to unnecessary misadventures as people are led into the world of obscure Zion climbing, unaware of just how much more serious some of the climbing can be when compared to the Zion trade routes. At best, it will give people a better appreciation of the Zion climbing spirit but at worst, it could cause an increase in accidents and the involvement of search and rescue. In assisting with a search and rescue there last year, the park rangers described how they are rarely called for high angle rescues, particularly climbers, and that most climbers self-rescue (including myself with a broken leg on Tricks of the Trade).

My favorite part of the book is the description of the many obscure and relatively unknown climbs. From my afternoon at Cragmont with Bryan five years ago to the many adventures and misadventures on long free climbs with scant information, I have enjoyed and sought after the great climbs and solitude Zion has to offer. There’s a ton of rock there, and for those with an adventurous spirit, it’s a great place to be. While there may be some truth to the criticism that a guidebook will contribute to crowds and the environmental damage to a fragile climbing area, I would counter that it will have a positive impact on the area by spreading out the crowds and moving people away from the popular trade routes.

Zion Climbing is a worthy addition to the desert rat’s guidebook library and re-emphasizes Zion as a great place to visit for a fine adventure.