Lou’s News # 29 — Something Coming, Perhaps a Guidebook
Hi All,
“Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail…”
Hanshan wrote those words something like 1,200 years ago, likely inscribed on a rock or carved in tree bark.
I broke out my Kerouac the other day, got reminded of the hermit/poet. Seems Hanshan was a guidebook writer of sorts. His epigrams beg the question: how much information does one really need to ski or snowboard a cold mountain Colorado Fourteener?
Maybe a good photograph, a few words to guide the way? How about that, and some flesh in the form of history, anecdotes, and more? I’ve been working on such a book, and we’re at the editing stage! Publication this fall if all goes well.
Teaser: Based on my out-of-print guidebooks, I’ve included several ski/ride routes for every fourteener. And more, the new book boasts tales of my own adventures, loads of fascinating history, and interviews with fourteener project skiers Chris Davenport, Christy Mahon, Brittany Konsella, and Jarrett Luttrell. All that, and upwards of eighty images from various sources. I even threw in a few old-school maps, for the vibe.
Below is a small slice of my research library. Internet sources have been huge as well. That said, one might ask “why?” Isn’t 14ers.com enough? Middlebrook’s site is a good thing, and sure, you probably don’t need ink and paper to ski a fourteener. But there’s something about fitting a bunch of king-line routes under two covers, physical, to have and to hold. For to dream.
Colorado fourteener books
Stay tuned, cover reveal coming soon.
In the event you’re looking for alpine reading, this website’s homepage is the master shopping page for my memoir, Avalanche Dreams. Pick up a copy, I promise you’ll be amused. Or perhaps you’d like a personalized book? Vintage Ski World has the goods. Or contact me for a premium jacketed hardcover, inscribed per your request.
And, a request: Please, if you’ve already spent a few hours with my memoirs, please leave an honest review on the Amazon shopping page.
