Have you ever used a climbing guidebook?
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The Polinski Guides
The Polinski Guides are out of print.
Climbing Guidebooks
Guidebooks exist for a variety of outdoor and adventure sports. Somewhat like the maps at ski resorts, these guidebooks can inform hikers, bikers and climbers of where different terrain can be found. The big difference is that the terrain at a ski resort is intended for skiing and snowboarding while climbing can be found in a variety of multi-use areas, such as Cooper’s Rock in West Virginia.
For better or for worse, guidebooks provide a lot of valuable information to outdoor users. In the case of climbing guidebooks, they usually include some amount of area information, climbing history and descriptions and maps of the established climbing areas. World-class climbing areas like the new River Gorge have guidebooks that rival the bible in width and include full-color pictures, local stories and advertisements.
Lesser known areas may see a slim guidebook or leaflet published, but often information about these areas is spread via word of mouth. Websites like Mountain Project have somewhat combined the traditional guidebook and word of mouth into a mixture of online guidebook and social media.
The value of publicity can become the subject of debate between different user groups or even amongst climbers. Some would argue that guidebooks get people where they want to go with as little impact on natural areas as possible.. However, the flip side is that the existences of guides bring more and more users to an area.
To say that this is the only argument would be an extreme understatement. There are a multitude of ecological, political and economic factors, not to mention multiple opinions on each topic. Often different types of users, types of climbers and even different generations view the use of natural areas differently.
Coopers Rock Cliff Notes, Comments 2013
by Adam Polinski
It is with the emotions of regret and interest that I look over this old guidebooklet, which I published in May, 1996. The sadness and regret is from the fact that, at that time, I had a 106-page unfinished manuscript, from which this booklet is excerpted, and that is now lost, seemingly permanently, deep inside some old computer. As long as I’m alive, I plan to finish that book! But it’ll have to be from scratch. And it is with interest that I look over this booklet – 17 years old now – and notice all that has since been done ‘in between the lines’ on these particular faces since then, and also recall the new knowledge that I’ve gained about other Coopers eras and climbers. I’ll note some of those below.
First, a note on the cover art. The art was done by Cat Dailey, originally from Kingwood, WV, then Morgantown, WV, and now of the outskirts of Boulder, CO. It is based on a photograph I took of Todd Wilson bouldering up The Axe Head, a First Ascent of mine on a striking boulder along Rattlesnake Trail. When viewed from below, and standing upon the trail, the boulder looks just as it does in this drawing, like a chipped axe head striking into the earth.
This was probably the first guidebook for Coopers Rock to use the V System.
The copyright text at the bottom of the intro page is particularly aimed at a climber from Kingwood who used my first guidebooklet in his guiding company’s advertising, along with the original owner of Adventure’s Edge, who shared that same advertising, and additionally the webmaster for a website called ‘Climb PA’, who lifted the entire text of my first guidebook and stuck it on his website (for Pennsylvania, no less!) without any permission. A store owner from Michigan did something similar on his store’s website. Plagiarism is not polite.
Under Entrance/Exit Problems, a sit-start has been added to Bizarro.
On The Butcher Block, the problem Hangover Helper was added by Scott Murphy, to the left of Local Color. The Ear was added by Mark Rhodes, up the left arête. The direct start “… a few challenges remain…/b” was done by “FBI Sean.” Variations a and c have probably also been done. There is a second downclimb, on the left, rear arête. Robbery was an FA by Rob Sauers, Local Color and Acromion were my FA’s, and The Mad Butcher was an FA by Todd Wilson.
Rotting Log Wall already needs to be renamed Rotted Log Wall! The 5.7 is actually a 5.7+. The right-most climb – to the right of the chimney – has become a very popular climb for instructional groups.
Haystack, Etc. – this was published many years before Haystack started moving, and moved 7’ in 2004! Climbing is still officially prohibited although the rock has now not moved in several years, although Dr. Steve Kite will probably check on that with his laser measurement devices sometime this year. A new overhanging arête boulder problem has been done near the base of Greenback (by Young Kim?), and a new problem has been done on the right-side Motorcycle Rock, to the right of the landing of ‘the jump problem’. Geoff Gutzwiller has repeated ‘the jump’ problem.
Colorful Corner – the person who climbed it in hiking boots and in Teva sandals was Tim Fortna. Tim Keenan partially freed the aid route to the right, at V10 up to the horizontal at ¾ height, from which one can either jump or traverse left to the arête, and finish there. Knife Fink, a FA of mine from the mid-80’s, has been re-discovered and had chalk on it last time I saw it, a week ago.
Between Apes Don’t Tape and Rugosity Wall is a top-rope that has been climbed by Chris Tolin, who believes it was Mike Artz who did the FA of this line I referred to as “Looks really cool.”
This booklet is all that remains of my unfinished 106-page manuscript.
