Fifty Favorite Climbs: The U ltim ate N orth A m erican Tick List. M a r k K r o e s e . S e a t t l e : T h e M o u n t a i n e e r s B o o k s , 2001. 150 c o l o r p h o t o s . 224 p a g e s . $32.95.

My bet is that within a year Fifty Favorite Climbs (henceforth FFC) will be found next to Fifty Classic Climbs (FCC) on the book­shelves o f m ost clim bers in N orth America. W hile FCC was the inspiration for FFC, the two have little in com m on beyond “Fifty” and “Climbs.” Indeed, the contrast is more striking than the com ­parison, not surprising given the changes in the sport over the 22 years between their respective publications. Only about a Fifth o f the climbs in FCC were 5.9 or higher (a few, having been freed, were subsequently raised to 5.10), and an am bitiousyoung climber might aspire to repeat all o f the routes with the possible exception o f Mt. Logan’s H um m ingbird Ridge. Maybe there are those who contem plate ticking off the list in FFC, but not only will they have to climb at a higher standard (about a fifth o f the climbs are 5.12 o r 5.13), they will also have to be m asters o f an increasing range o f conditions and techniques, from big walls in alpine conditions to difficult rock clim bing with ice tools to the contorting dem ands o f sport clim bing. This said, FFC still presents m any climbs that today’s com petent climber could be inspired to attem pt, depending on his or her bent.

Instead o f updating FCC (as if “classic” could be updated), Kroese sought out fifty o f the m ost accom plished climbers o f the last 20 or so years and interviewed them on their favorite climbs. On the one hand, he follows a very strict form at for each climber/climb, and on the other he has selected climbers who pursue a wide variety o f styles, philosophies, playgrounds, and tech­niques. The result is a broad picture o f the great diversity o f the sport as well as specific accounts o f the trials and rewards that climbing offers— both panoram a and close-up if you will.

As to the form at, each unit consists o f four pages, starting with a full-page color photo o f a clim ber (usually, bu t not always, the featured clim ber) on the climb. The facing page has a small portrait and a brief bio o f the climber followed by the history o f the climb (if it isn’t a first ascent) and an account o f the clim ber’s ascent. Not all climbs, by the way, are first ascents or extremely difficult. The variety m entioned above also suggests that m any different qualities can make a climb a favorite one (“scared the shit ou t o f m e” som etim es seems to be one). The third page continues the account and also has another fairly large photo that shows the route. If need be, the account carries over to the fourth page and is followed by inform ation on first ascent, elevations, difficulty, tim e required, equipm ent, special considerations, references, and beta on how to get to the area, the route, the descent, and a detailed topo o f the route in case you want to give it a go.

The use o f large photos and the beta section necessarily restrict the am ount o f text, and

B o o k R e v i e w s

E d i t e d b y D a v id S t e v e n s o n

to my m ind this is an advantage. Kroese has decided to w rite the bio and account o f the climb himself, based on extensive interviews, rather than have the climbers do their own. While this may deprive us o f the clim ber’s voice, it results in a consistently high quality o f writing. In the m ain, Kroese’s prose is rem arkably efficient at getting the largest am oun t o f inform ation pos­sible in the space he has allotted himself, and, while he tries to be objective and avoid sweating palm histrionics, he also delights w ith the occasional tu rn o f phrase o r insight or image that makes one smile. The reader m ight note tha t in the biography section each o f the clim bers is presented as som ething o f a superperson, b u t then upon reading the account o f the clim b it seems quite likely that he or she really is, at least w ith respect to climbing.

I suspect that the names o f som ewhere between 40 and 45 o f the climbers will be famil­iar to m ost readers. Given the history o f the sport, m ost are men, bu t eight women grace these pages. M ost are A m erican, and all currently reside in the U.S. Jim D onini and Jim Bridwell appear to be the oldest climbers in the collection. M ost o f the others are seasoned veterans in their 30s o r 40s, along w ith a few young ho t shots. A few have highly honed egos, bu t m ost come across as desirable rope com panions. Are there accom plished, even prestigious climbers who are no t included? M ight one w onder why X was included bu t no t Y? O f course, bu t 50 is 50, and if it’s my bat it’s my rules.

As rem arked above, the diversity o f the routes is rem arkable, from Nabisco Wall in Yosemite (soloed by John Bachar) to Belligerence, a 36 pitch mixed route on Mt. C om batant (Greg Child); from Gorillas in the Mist, m odern mixed climbing in the Adirondacks (Jeff Lowe) to Hall o f M irrors on Glacier Point Apron (Johnny W oodward). As m ight be expected, Alaska and N orthern Canada are hom e to nine o f the climbs, the Canadian Rockies and Coast Range to ano ther nine, Yosemite to eight, b u t then we are treated to areas tha t have been developed since the days o f FCC: N ew foundland, Baffin Island, Red Rocks near Las Vegas, the Needles in the southern Sierra Nevada, Zion, and Canyonlands.

Two climbs especially appealed to my im agination, perhaps because both are imaginative in their conception. O ne is Ron Kauk’s traverse on M iddle C athedral Rock. If solo clim bing appeals to you, surely this is your route. Since you are never m ore than fifteen feet off the ground , if you don ’t feel up to the 5.12 tha t day, clim b dow n, walk on a little, resum e. If you w ant a longer climb, do laps. I should interject here that Kroese, and presum ably the climbers concerned, take a som ew hat relaxed approach to clim bing style. O ne w ould no t go to the Cookie Cliff w ith an aid rack, b u t on som e o f the longer, harder climbs one will find a rating like 5.9 A2, or 5.12b. If the climb is just rated at 5.12d, I guess you know w hat to expect. As to style, one climber also caught my attention when he was quoted as saying, “The first tim e I saw the Portrero, I saw about 150 lines I w anted to b o lt”— in o rder to p ro tect subsequent free ascents it tu rns out. More diversity.

The o ther clim b th a t fairly shouted (bu t sotto voce) “w hat a great day” is Peter C roft’s solo traverse o f nine sum m its spaced along an eight-m ile ridge in the Evolution Range o f the Sierra Nevada. Croft did it in a long day, bu t the beta suggests two to five days. O ne could do it w ith a partner. One could do just three or four sum mits. It is a wonderful place to be. My poin t­ing ou t these two routes should not be taken as slighting any o f the others. A num ber o f them are notable in their boldness, bu t then boldness is always notable. A num ber o f them seem quite challenging bu t also fun. And if you don’t w ant to do a particu lar climb, there are always the pleasures o f reading the account in this book.

J o e F it s c h e n