A New Index Guidebook

[Viva Index]

Hi everybody,

 

I know I've been bopping around various forums over the last few months with lots of talk about this new guidebook. I wanted to let everybody know that the project is still a go, and that there is some very exciting news!

 

I found a photographer, and friend, to team up with for the project - and couldn't be happier with who I got. Matt Van Biene is a professional photographer, talented climber, and severe Index enthusiast. I can't wait to work with him on this project.

 

Matt and I will both be returning from separate trips to Patagonia in March, and are looking to rent a house in Index, or nearby. So if anybody has good beta on that front, we'd love to hear it! We will begin working on the new book in March, and are really hoping to have all the photography and route descriptions done by next fall. It may be ambitious, but our goal is to have a rakkup app downloadable by the end of the summer - and a full color book covering just Index on the market by Christmas of next year. Please note that these are goals, and while we hope to keep them, one never knows.

 

For information on Matt, visit http://vanbienephotography.com/; to find out about myself, go to http://www.chriskalman.com/. There is contact info for both of us there. To learn more about rakkup, and their smartphone apps, go to http://www.rakkup.com/

 

At this point, we are leaning towards self-publishing. That said, we want to provide the best product possible to Index climbers, and have a number of publishers in mind, and whom we have talked to, that are interested in the book if we fail to create the product we are hoping for ourselves.

 

Matt and I are both super-excited for spring to come, and open to suggestions and requests from Index climbers everywhere. Please feel free to contact either of us - but keep in mind that we will be starting work on the project in March.

 

Happy climbing, and Viva la Index!

-Chris Kalman

[rocketparrotlet]

This is awesome. Please try to include the obscure crags too! There are a lot of good climbs at Index that see very little traffic.

[glassgowkiss]

There would be no better time for photography then now, since the shrubbery would not be obscuring the views and cliff panoramas. Usually by March foliage will be pretty much sprouting, making the job so much harder. Winter high pressure systems (we already had a couple just recently) are ideal for such projects. Spring tends to be usually on wet side.

[Woodcutter]

Looking at your work, some of which is downright incredible, between the pair of you I reckon the photography's gonna be supreme.

[Viva Index]

Oh yes - this is one of the big goals of the book - to publicize some of the lesser-known classics (especially through tantalizing photos) and spread out climbers more evenly among all the walls (including upper pitches as well... let's not forget that the ltw is 4-5 pitches, and the upper wall is 5-6).

 

The more traffic spreads out, the better all the walls at Index will be!

[Viva Index]

And yes, Glasgow, this WOULD be a great time for the photos - we unfortunately just could not be there this winter. If we really can't get the shots we need until next winter, then that will be the last thing to get done on the book, and the book will come out in the Spring.

[boadman]

Ben Gilkison has bunch of really nice photos of index routes, you should contact him about using some for your book.

[CaleHoopes]

This is fantastic. For someone who's never been there for climbing, I'm looking for any beta just to get out there and try climbing there. :-)

[Woodcutter]

Ben Gilkison has bunch of really nice photos of index routes, you should contact him about using some for your book.

 

Truth

[ivan]

if there's not a picture of glass shards n' tweakers in the parking lot, i, for one, will be unimpressed

[layton]

ivan and I should write the introduction with a little story

[ivan]

naw, we should just write the introduction for the bum who should write the true introduction - but only after all of us have drunk a case of beast ice light a piece

 

that night showed my true colors - sure, i usually act the died-in-the-wool libtard pussy, but when push comes to confronting meth-heads, i show up to the party armed to the teeth w/ steak knives n' at least moderately sober

[Viva Index]

Ivan, et al.,

People with interesting stories and/or photos should feel free to send them to Matt or myself if they think it would be of interest to the guide. There wouldn't likely be monetary compensation for either - we just aren't in any kind of position to be doing that, which is part of why we are doing the work ourselves. That said, it is always good for a guide to have local color and flavor, especially from people who have been climbing there for years.