Bruce MacLachlan

It's kind of a hybrid between guidebook and journal. It's everywhere we've explored and climbed seeking moderate routes over the last eight years. It did indeed start out as a top rope endeavor because I couldn't lead , but then I committed to it and expanded the range.

No prob, some of the route setters made some good points, I concurred and made the changes they requested.

Okay, so the book arrived and it looks splendid (I've also been starting a new job which required a lot of onboarding), and now it's off to those who backed it and seeing as the facebook groups are having fun deleting things, and because the dogpiling was getting old and wasn't going anywhere, here we go with an update. I took the advice and Elk and Tectonic have no GPS or directions and are listed as under development and to be avoided until such time as the route fellows are done. Funcadia is listed as being small and so move on if there's a bunch of cars (as there have been when we've come down from it - we're early birds), also because of the spring, I explained why you should pack it in and out. Esmeralda, some are just listed as warnings because they are chossy and runout, the one good one gives people plenty of advice about what to expect from this gnarly fellow. Dichotomy. The guy invited me to it online. If it's a death trap, why send people there? If he wants to remove all the bolts in a fit of pique, well that seems excessive, as does referring to it's inclusion as 'a dark day for washington climbing' but that's up to him, he made it, he can demolish it. And Fossil lists the access issues. It's in earlier Falcon guides, it's online, and it's covered because if things change, the beta is good to go. Jayhawk is on youtube, it's been around for years, and every time we go it's full of people, it's not even remotely secret. The Tieton book has been out for about a decade and still Vantage is packed and Tieton is only ever really crowded at Lava Point, so fears of crowds seem a little baseless. Especially considering this book is online only and a limited run. Any areas that are crumbly or hazardous, I've pointed this out to help keep people aware and safe, but climbing is something where you gauge your own level of risk, it's up to people, not community overseers to determine that. That's my opinion, and it may of course not be shared, but having your own view on something is also a choice you get to make. I've made as many accommodations as I think are fair, not publishing it because I didn't ask permission or I'm not a proper climber or paid some sort of ephemeral 'dues' with the locals wasn't one of them. I had oodles of fun explaining my position and rationale in significant depth in this interview, so if you want to formulate an opinion and can endure my accent, give it a listen and then if you still disagree, that's fine. TTFN Bruce

I ran a kickstarter that was a roaring success (thanks for the amazing support and also the nice words privately messaged and emailed from so many). I made some of the requested changes regarding areas under development, had fun talking about it on the Becoming Human podcast, shipped copies to all the backers and now the book (drum roll) is available to all while stocks last, so if you fancy checking an utter ton of moderate friendly info on sport crags here, near here, and worth taking a trip to over there, well snag your copy via… https://letsrockwa.wordpress.com/ GPS for parking, camping, and the crag. Beta, grades, and bolt counts. Big friendly pictures from the base of climbs. Advice on areas that are crumbly or hazardous, those with access problems and those that are easy to find but are still under development and should be avoided for now. Magazine sized and spiral bound for ease of use at the crag and also so you can have it rebound into smaller chapters if you fancy With some areas of Washington being a four+ hour drive away, well Oregon and Squamish and Idaho are the same driving distance, so I chucked those in, and well, Vegas, Utah and California are just a quick plane hop away, so why not. And well, there were some other spots that we visited that were worth covering just because they were quite splendid. Here's the chapter guides so you know what's covered...

Kickstarter for my new guidebook for Washington and the surrounding area. Contribute to get your copy for the coming climbing season! .... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/letsrockwa/lets-rock