Judge This Book by its Cover

What if we held a beauty contest for climbing guidebooks? With 430 full-color pages of good looks, the second edition of Bishop Bouldering ($37.50, wolverinepublishing.com) might make Miss America. That is, if Miss A could find her way blindfolded to every bloc from Rock Creek to the Druids and pull down like a fiend. The action photos are mostly by coauthor Wills Young, and stand shoulder to shoulder with additions from celebrated shooters including Stephan Denys, Simon Carter, Jim Thornburg, and Tim Kemple. Your palms will sweat. But it’s not just pretty. Young and Mick Ryan bring to bear vast knowledge of the area, many contributions to Bishop’s list of classics, and more than 60 years of combined bouldering experience. The history section is deep and rich, covering Smoke Blanchard’s scrambles in the 1940s to Dale Bard’s late-1970s classics to the modern doubledigits highballs by international rock stars. Yet for all its smarts and stunning beauty, the book is easy. Pick it up and you’re soon intimate with cheap camping, hot springs, town amenities — and almost 2,000 problems in one of the world’s sweetest bouldering destinations. — Jeff Achey