Climbing California's Fourteeners: The Route Guide to the Fifteen Highest Peaks

Unfortunately, the book is sorely lacking in route description details. The authors say to use both the pictures and descriptions of the routes to make your way up the mountain, but there are cases of descriptions without pictures. The book is most dangerous for beginning to intermediate climbers for its lack of approximate times to each location degree of difficulty, and lack of attention to detail on the "lesser" routes.

Take Mt. Tyndall's Northwest Ridge. It takes a strong hiker about 8 hours just to reach the base. The description describes the route as "easy" and up a twisting rocky trail. In fact, the trail doesn't exist and most of the climb up this ridge requires negotiating large, unstable boulders. The authors do admit the summit ridge is exposed, but do not mention there are some class 3 moves at this point. Without approximate times to the summit there is no way of knowing how long or how difficult the climb is. Furthermore, there is only a description of the climb and not a clear picture of the route. I actually told friends that climbing Mt. Illimani (6400 meters), which required some technical ice climbing, and 4 days of climbing was easier than climbing Mt. Tyndall (approximately 18 hours).

Lack of details are also evident in their poor description of the West Face route of Mt. Williamson. There is no mention of good spots to camp after reaching Shepherds pass. Williamson bowl requires fairly strenuous hiking since it is largely boulder field between several moraines. Porcella and co., describe crossing this as "entering the Williamson bowl from the north," which, judging from the topo quad and this description, makes it sound like an easy walk. The description fails to describe the route correctly, with the description sounding like you continue up the mountain when the picture shows a turn to the south. Finally the authors chose to take a picture of the climb from an angle that most climbers would not see from the southern approach.

Porcella and Burn's rating system often seems haphazard. One climb on Mt. Shasta was rated as Class 3-4, but I found this climb to be far easier than the Class 2 climbing on Mt. Tyndall.

There is a lot to cover here, but the easier routes certainly could use more description and approximate times. Yes mountaineering is dangerous, difficult, and strenuous, but lack of detail is not an excuse for the "c'est la vie" attitude Porcella and Burns use for their descriptions. In fact more description would help climbers be more prepared for the routes they choose.


Needs work!!   July 10, 2001
 27 out of 28 found this review helpful

After moving to CA from CO, and having used Colorado 14er guidebooks by Dawson and Roach, I was disappointed by this book. While there are many fine photographs, wonderful climbing history of the peaks, a slew of routes, and many routes superimposed on photographs, there were many elements that I find essential, that were missing. Topographic maps of the areas in question (with routes drawn on them), round trip distance information, elevation gain, and an estimated (conservative) completion time are essential pieces of information when planning a trip, and are not included here. While the difficulties of the various routes are described well, these other descriptors would make the book twice as good as it is now. Dawson's format, at the beginning of each route description, listing the aforementioned deficiencies (with the exception of the maps) is excellent. From the guidebooks I've looked at though, this is the best available.


Fourteener Book   January 30, 2001
 2 out of 11 found this review helpful

Simply an incredible book. I will never look at California's fourteeners the same way again. The daring ascents, so beautifully mapped and photographed, make for a rock-climber's delight. The lush mountain photography is only one bettered by the incisive and informative route descriptions. Having lived in California for many years, I thought that I knew these peaks well. Not so in the wake of this small gem. I recommend this book for novice and expert alike.