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Overall, the best climbing guide to the High Sierra. Still a bit misleading in places, e.g., Southwest Slope route on Mt. Humphreys is better entered via start of the Huthinson route. Addition of GPS UTM waypoints is useful, but could be improved by adding more digits and more waypoints now that GPS accuracy is better and more users carry GPS units.
it shows the difficulty of a pass, its location with respect to other geological features, and mentions key difficult steps, if any. I am not a climber, so I kept it simple at class 2-3 passes and peaks. I've used the book to plan several 3-7 day long cross-country treks in the High Sierras. The book assumes that you know how to travel on rough ground and how to use a compass. It required doing my own homework with a USGS map. The information is kept to the minimum, i.e. It leaves the rest for your to figure it out on your own, but this is where the all the fun is anyway. If I had to revise it I would improve the maps which currently are mere sketches.
People are reviewing a 500 page book, packed with useful info, pictures, and maps on every page, and they want more detailed info. But if you use the book correctly it is. If you are already experienced hiking and backpacking in the sierras, this book will make perfect sense to you.
You can't ask for an encyclopedia. This book is for adventurers, and those wanting to get off the trail. I think they are being unrealistic.
If you are just thinking about getting started in the sierras, and don't have much mountaineering experience, then you should probably start with some more entry level material, like your cookie cutter books on yosemite etc. This book is great for generating new ideas, or looking up info for peaks you hear about. If you are planning on climbing something, you may want to draw on multiple resources beyond this book.
Some people complain that all the info you need is not here. You need to understand maps and the topography the book is talking about to get the most from the abbreviated text (abbreviated so it is ONLY 500 pages), and refer to text earlier in the section to get info about the approach.
Very nice to have newest edition (third edition, 2009, much added) of a truly encyclopedic volume in which every word counts. I've been using previous edition for years, very valuable.
Secor's The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, Trails is an indispensable reference book for any hiker or climber interested in this area. He opens the chapter on Northen Yosemite by declaring that it is, "not as visually stunning as other regions of the range." Anybody who has hiked the stunning canyons of this region would beg to differ.Inexplicably, Secor writes almost nothing of the big wall climbs in Yosemite Valley and does not address the area around Hetch Hetchy.Other niggles and observations: - Secor's route descriptions continue to be verbose, but he has made a real effort to be precise and his openness to corrections is obvious and appreciated. Solomons Pass will always be Solomons Pass to me, not Nietzsche Col.- Secor tends to bring a climber's bias to the work. Photos, though, are the best way to show a route, and this book does a great job of that in many cases.- Stop renaming peaks and passes after your friends. The poor quality of paper used means that the beautiful photos are not well reproduced. It is a treat for the armchair adventurer and a great tool for anybody planning a backpacking or climbing trip.One change from previous editions, which will take getting used to, but which I think I will grow to like, is that all cross country passes are now listed with the peaks, arranged south to north, whereas in previous editions they were listed separately at the beginning of each chapter.
This edition is larger in format from the previous editions, but the binding and quality of paper are inferior. I worry the binding won't hold up to intensive use. The 2009 revision of R.J. Describing one easy Goddard route, he says: "This is an interesting route on an otherwise dull mountain." This comment, left over from the earliest edition, is curious in that Goddard is in fact a beautiful peak, set off from the main Sierra crest, with one of the nicest views of any peak in the Sierras. It is clear Secor is more familiar with the southern Sierras and less appreciative of the areas north of Mammoth. Roper was wonderfully succinct in his route descriptions and the contrast between the two authors is striking. But he discounts it because the easy route up is a rock hop.
But the tomb continues to be a little too "L.A.-centric" -- there is a lot more data here about the southern Sierras than about the northern Sierras. This edition includes a great deal of new material and, happily, many new photographs showing climbing and high country routes in detail. He disparages a beautiful mountain like Mt. This is inexcusible in a book that retails for $32.95.Secor's work in compiling this treasure of backcountry information is laudable. It is clear Secor tried to address this -- he's added quite of bit of information to the Northern Yosemite section (the last chapter), but a full 13 pages of this new material covers climbing routes on one mountain (The Incredible Hulk). Goddard because it has few difficult technical routes. All in all, a worthwhile addition to my library.
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