McLane's new guidebook wins Banff Mountain Festival prize

[squamish climber]

Kevin McLane's latest guidebook: Canadian Rock: Select Climbs of the West won best book in the Mountain Exposition category at the Banff Mountain Festivalthi week. Congratulations Kevin!

The book, The Stonemasters: California Climbing in the Seventies by John Long, Dean Fidelman claimed the grand prize

I thought the comments by jury member Geoff Powter were pretty interesting and revealing.

Never, ever, write a guidebook. I’ve heard that from every guidebook author I’ve ever spoken to. No matter how much research you do, how many times you go out on cold mornings to get a crag shot, how many times you climb slag heaps to get the details on climbs people haven’t done for years, no matter how many days of your own climbing you give, how many climbers you chase after to get route descriptions, you will piss someone off. You’ll put years of pretty much unpaid effort into your book, and then someone will send an email complaining that there are six, not seven, bolts on pitch 15 of that climb. Thankfully, because guidebooks are also often the most tangible threads that connect us as a community, there are people who continue to write guides despite their own best advice. We’re very happy to honour one author who took the risk of describing not just a crag, but half a country — and did a remarkable job. This wonderful book gives us new projects, new places, and new friends, for years to come…