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All known climbing guides to the Midwest

Original Post
Double J · · Sandy, UT · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 4,284

Below is a copy/paste from Excel of all the guidebooks to the Midwest (MN, IA, WI, MI, IL, OH, IN, and eastern SD.  I am leaving out MO this go around) that I know about. Don't mind the highlighted yellow cells, as those are the guides that I do not have currently, unless you have a copy that you would like to sell ;)

So, my question to the internet is, what is missing from this list?  please help me out.  My life goal is to make a complete collection of every known published guide to the Midwest.

Double J · · Sandy, UT · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 4,284

Well, the excel list didn't transpose all that well.  DM me for the list and I'll email it to you. 

Cole Crawford · · Somerville, MA · Joined Sep 2017 · Points: 161

Putting it in Google Sheets would probably be the easiest to share?

Double J · · Sandy, UT · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 4,284
Cole Crawford wrote:

Putting it in Google Sheets would probably be the easiest to share?

Thx. I’ll try that in the am.  I am not a sheets guy, so didn’t think of that. 

Tradiban · · 951-527-7959 · Joined Jul 2020 · Points: 212
Double J wrote:

Below is a copy/paste from Excel of all the guidebooks to the Midwest (MN, IA, WI, MI, IL, OH, IN, and eastern SD.  I am leaving out MO this go around) that I know about. Don't mind the highlighted yellow cells, as those are the guides that I do not have currently, unless you have a copy that you would like to sell ;)

So, my question to the internet is, what is missing from this list?  please help me out.  My life goal is to make a complete collection of every known published guide to the Midwest.

StateYearTitleAuthorAuthorAuthor Notes

Regional 197850 Short climbs in the MidwestAlan Bagg

Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
1998Climber's Guide to the Midwest's Metamorphic Forms Marcus Floyd

Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Oklamoma, Kansas
2000Superior IceEric Landmann

A Compendium-Ice Climbs of the Lake Superior Region 

Illinois1965Guide to Mississippi PalisadesJames Kolocotronis

1967Mississippi Palisades 1967 addendumJames Kolocotronis

different from the '65 how?
1971The Sandstone ClimberCraig Barnes

1976The Gritstone Climber Adam Grosowsky

1981Climbers Guide to the Mid SouthJim Detterline

1981Southern RockChris Hall

What does this cover? 
1983Mississippi River RockGary TaylorWilliam Collett

1983Dixie Crystals Roid Waddle

What does this all cover? 
1989Jackson FallsMichael Simpson

1st edition
1990Shades of GreyJim Detterline

Ice climbing guidebook to the SE, including Ill?
1990Jackson FallsMichael Simpson

2nd edition 
1991S.I.C RoutesJim Thurmond

?  What is this guide? 
1991Mississippi River Rock Gary TaylorWilliam Collett
2nd Edition (revised) 
1993Vertical HeartlandEric Ulner

1st Edition 
1994Vertical HeartlandEric Ulner

1st Edition, Second Printing
1995Jackson FallsMichael Simpson

3rd edition 
1996Vertical HeartlandEric Ulner

2nd Edition 
2005Vertical HeartlandEric Ulner

3rd Editon.  
2009Sandstone WarriorMatt Bliss

1st edition.  Bouldering Guide 
2014Jackson FallsYusef Daneshyar

Iowa?Wild Iowa ?

1st Edition
?Wild Iowa ?

2nd Edition
2012Pictured Rocks County ParkJoe Stark

ring bound 

Wisconsin

1963First CMC guide to DL. Few copies.  I don’t have one. 

1965Guidebook to the Local Practice Climbing AreasWiliam Primak

Preliminary Edition, Devils Lake Section.     CMC. #39 of ??
70'sA Climbers Guide to Devils Lake -IV East Bluff Erol Morris Hoofers
Typed, early 70s.  Hoofer guide.  
1970Climbers and Hikers Guide to Devils LakeDavid Smith Roger Zimmerman
red, small book 
1970Climbers and Hikers Guide to Devils LakeDavid Smith Roger Zimmerman
yellow, paper cover 
1971Devils Lake climbing notes-East Bluff W. Widule 

CMC notes to the first Swartling guide 
1971?Devils Lake climbing notes-West Bluff W. Widule 

CMC notes to the first Swartling guide 
1972Climber's and Fisherman's Guide to Gibraltar Rock Wiegand

2nd edition 
1979Climber's Guide to Devil's Lake William Widule Sven Olaf Swartling
1st editoin, first printing?
1979Climber's Guide to Devil's Lake William Widule Sven Olaf Swartling
1st edition, second Printing 
1985Extremists guide to devil's lake new climbs Leo hermacinski

DLFA guide 
1987A Climber's Guide to Gibralter RockEric LandmannDon Hynek
1st Edition
1993A Climber's Guide to Gibralter RockEric LandmannDon Hynek
2nd edition 
1995Climber's Guide to Devil's Lake Sven Olaf Swartling

Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged
1999Get On ItEric Zschiesche

1st edition.  Bouldering guide to DL
2007Pete's climbing Guide to High CliffPeter Dodge

printed copy, paperclip 
2008Climber's Guide to Devil's Lake Sven Olaf SwartlingPeter Mayer
3rd Edition 
2016Devil's Lake. A Climbing GuideJay Knower

necedah & Hillbilly Hollow
2016Wisconsin Bouldering GuidebookPeter Bonamici 

2017Divil's Lake BoulderingIan Cotter-Brown

?Midwest Mountaineering-Taylors Falls Guide??
?
?Close to the Edge, down by the River 

1st edition 
?Superior ClimbsDave PagleRick Kollath 
2nd editon Minnesota1989Close to the Edge, down by the River Peter VonGrossmanPeter Scott
2nd Edition
1984Super Climbs. A climbers Guide to the North ShoreDave Pagle

I have 2 copies
1989Prairie WallsDon HynekEric Landmann
first edition, first printing 
1989A Rock Climbing Guidebook to Blue Mounds State Park Scott Wurdinger

1990Barnyard BoogieNate Postma 

1993Prairie WallsDon HynekEric Landmann
First Edition, Second Printing 
1994Bonce and Swim-Taylors FallsChris Eckland 

First Edition, don’t believe there was a second 
1995Minnesota Rock . Selected Climbes Mike Ferris

I have 2 copies
2000Rock Climbing-Minnesota & WisconsinMike Ferris

1st edition 
2002Taylors Falls (soft cover) Duane Frerich? 

2004Prairie WallsDon HynekEric Landmann
3rd Printing-
2011Peter's Guide to Duluth Bouldering Peter Dodge

2011Willow Climbing GuideJeff Engel Anthony Vicino

2012Rock Climbing-Minnesota & WisconsinMike Ferris

2nd Edition
2013A Field Guide to Minnesota Bouldering CargillOklobzijaCraft & Marek

2014The Dirty 30  Guide to Spirit Lake area D'toolin & MixedAaron Gustafson

only printing? 18 of 36
2005Duluth's Urban CraggerLaura PetersonJosh Wiese

17-2018Sandtsone ice park Climbing GuideCarter Stritch 

small printed folder paper. V. 1.31

2002 ? 2011 ? Taylor's Falls (Cover has September 1976 Military Mountaineering ? ) - signed by Duane Frerichs. Soft cover

What is this?  From Bob

Michiganpre 19988Keweenaw Rock A Climbers GuideNo Author? MTU Ridge Romers 

1998Michigan Ice!Bill Thompson

First Edition 
2010Maruette County Rock Climbing Jason Schneider

beta version 10.1.10
2006A guide to Munisng (ice)Jon Jugenheimer

comb bound, "fed ex printed" 
2010A guide to Munisng (ice)Jon JugenheimerKendra Stritch
Condensed Third Edition
2012An ice climbers guide to Munising Michigan Jon JugenheimerBill Thompson 
"3rd Edition"
2019An ice climbers guide to Michigan's Upper PeninsulaMatt AbbottsJon JugenheimerBill Thompson"4th edition"
2021A Rock Climber's Guide to Michigan's Upper PeninsulaMatt AbbottsJason SchneiderBill Thompson

1970"s? Palisades rock guide ??

South Dakota (eastern)1984Rocks Climbers guide to Palisades State Park

1st editon 
2002Rocks Climbers guide to Palisades State ParkFossumOlsonNesheim

2014Palisades State Park A Climber's GuideJeff JohnsonSam Smolnisky

Ohio

2013Springfield Gorge Climbers Guide Joshua Hellstrom

1st real printed guide I believe 

Quoting for posterity.

Jake wander · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2014 · Points: 195

just do a snip (screen grab) of the table you made and post it as a pic in this thread

Alex Buisse · · Halifax, NS, CA · Joined Mar 2011 · Points: 88

Here it is reimported in google sheets: docs.google.com/spreadsheet…

Doug Hemken · · Delta, CO · Joined Oct 2004 · Points: 13,698

You should probably look for Tim Toula's "Rock 'N' Road" (two editions)

Tim McCabe · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 130

I can't see what you have and don't have.  This is the first guide I ever purchased. 

Anton Verščaj · · Minneapolis, MN · Joined Oct 2014 · Points: 10

S.I.C Routes must be "Southern Illinois Climbing Routes," right?? I have never found any info on that one, though Jim Thurmond also wrote a couple guidebooks for Missouri (Granite Climbs of Missouri: The Silver Mines, Millstream Gardens, and Amidon (c) 2013 and Rock Climbs of Johnson Shut-Ins State Park (c) 2015.)

The other books that I know you could add are Climber's Guide to Kankakee River State Park by Matthew and Andrew Nicodemus (c) 1979 from Illinois and Climbers Guide to the Mid South by Jim Detterline (c) 1982. Detterline's covers a bit in IL (Ghost Dance Canyon) but I'm not sure of the extent beyond that. Also the more recent and digital only Climbing on the Gunflint Trail by Carter Stritch (c) 2016, and Silver Creek Cliff Guidebook (unknown author and publishing date) for Minnesota,

After adding all your research to my own library/want list (THANK YOU to you and Alex Buisse), I think I found some info on Dixie Crystals and Southern Rock:

Dixie Crystals by Roid Waddle only covers North Carolina per this site.

Dixie Crystals A Climber's Guide to Stone Mountain North Carolina by Roid Waddle. 1970's (estimate). Unpublished, photocopied. Unavailable.

This early guide was a hand produced item distributed among a very limited group. Few copies remain. Despite it's vintage, it remains an excellent description of the routes and climbing even to this day. It also represents an archive of early climbing history in the southeast.

As far as I know, it is completely unavailable.

They also mention Southern Rock by Chris Hall covering mainly Southeast states

Southern Rock A Climber's Guide by Chris Hall. 1985, Published by East Woods Press Books, Fast & McMillan Publishers Inc. 820 East Boulevard, Charlotte, NC. Second Printing. Most likely, currently out of print.

This comprehensive pocket sized guidebook can still be found in climbing shops, bookstores, and libraries across the south. It lists routes in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and both North and South Carolina. Though dated, the routes have not changed, and the book remains a useful guide to the classics.

I also think Wild Iowa on your list is Wild Iowa Sport Climbs Of The Central Maquoketa by Shawn Kintzle (c) 1997 if you need that extra info. Not sure which edition is 1997 though.

Some of the ones on your list and mine are available digitally for anyone who wants them, including Climber's and Fishermans Guide to Gibraltar Rock by Roger Wiegand (c) 1971, 50 Short Climbs in the Midwest by Alan Bagg (c) 1978, Extremist's Guide to Devil's Lake New Climbing by Leo Hermacinski (c) 1985, GIT ON IT! by Eric Zschiesche (c) 1999, Rock Climbing: Minnesota and Wisconsin by Mike Farris (c) 2000, Duluth's Urban Cragger by Laura Peterson and Josh Wiese (c) 2004, Peter's Guide to Duluth Bouldering Peter Dodge (c) 2011,  and A Guide to the Sandstone Ice Park by Carter Stritch (c) 2016. Climb Duluth put many up online.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Midwest
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