Cascade Alpine Guide; Stevens Pass to Rainy Pass: Climbing & High Routes (Cascade Alpine Guide; Climbing and High Routes)

This will be helpful on future hikes

These series of books cover a substantial volume of information about the Cascade mountain range that cannot be found anywhere else. I believe Fred Beckey is undisputedly one of the foremost experts on the Washington Cascades. This is a Mountaineers book, so if you are a member of the club and going on club climbs, this book (and the other books in the series) will be frequently referenced as the main guide book.The book provides detail on almost every peak, and almost every route. In many cases there are aerial photos of the range that point out the specific peaks, making it easy to locate smaller peaks that you may have never seen before. It also provides the first known ascent, navigation details and notes, and in many cases details about unmarked trails or roads. In some cases, these unmarked trails and roads are the only description of how to navigate. I wish there were more elevation references, distances, and even GPS coordinates provided for more effective navigation and trip planning.I recently went on a climb of South Early Winter Spire in the North Cascades, and couldn't find as much information about the route on the internet as I would have liked. This is what prompted me to order this book on Amazon, hoping it would spell out all the details. Unfortunately when I opened it I was disappointed that the entire climb is summed up in only a couple of paragraphs, and doesn't "begin" from the trail head. Since many peaks can be summited from the same trail head, I had to flip back and forth several pages to find out how to drive to the trail head and then how to get to the beginning of this climb. I had to reference other material for the trail head elevation and distances. Most "distances" in the book are only described in terms of the time it will take to travel the route, and that time (as another reviewer pointed out) is subjective on conditions and your own fitness level -- and Fred Beckey was clearly in great shape when he logged these numbers.While on this recent climb, another group of hikers and us got talking, and they joked that they were climbing the "Not Fred Beckey Route" of Liberty Bell. And yes, there is a Beckey Route up this peak!Overall, this book is a must have if you are a Cascade hiker or climber.

This is the hiking bible of the Cascades--it is for the mountaineer/avid hiker who wants to step it up a notch. Beckey always offers an in-depth historic perspective of each hike in the book (which is sometimes longer than the trail description). Harder technical routes have detailed directions, but the easier routes are sometimes lacking in detail (it would be obvious if you were Beckey). Although, I've found the lack of direction is sometimes nice for you are able to discover the hike on your own. I've also found that if there is a lack of direction, it usually doesn't matter what you do, you'll get to the top without much added danger.If you're a hard-core hiker looking for a challenge, this book is for you. If you plan on getting this book to JUST climb the direct route of Mt Baker or the Disappointment Cleaver route of Rainier, the Becky series would be overkill. His series really lets you explore every peak there is, not just the big 'classics'This book is not for the beginner. If you're not interested in mountaineering, alpine, or rock climbing, but still want to get outdoors, I HIGHLY Recommend the Foghorn Outdoors Wahington Hiking book instead of the "Beckey Bible". That is the best book, in my eyes, for Washington Dayhikes (plus many longer hikes too).Basically, if you call yourself a mountaineer in Washington, this book needs to be on your shelf.

It's a great resource as many of the other reviews have said.However, one thing to be addressed is the date and usefulness of this information; yes this edition is from 2003, but the most recent revisions to it were in 2016. So recent printings are still up to date enough to be usefull.

One of three installments of the Bible of climbing in the PNW. Becky is a legend, these books are priceless for climbers, hikers, and everyone who is interested in the outdoors.

Great book

A gift for my son.