Horse Pens 40 Bouldering Reviews

In the last couple days the new guidebook Horse Pens 40 Bouldering has received a couple of reviews on the web. The first one comes from Brian Runnells who runs Climbingnarc.com. Amongst other things, he says about the book:

Written by longtime local Adam Henry, the 184 page Horse Pens 40 Bouldering has everything one would expect from a guidebook in 2010 including full color maps, picture topos for many boulders and action photos all in an easy-to-read layout, and an exhaustive list of problems (including variations for many of them).  Instead of being superfluous or hard to follow, Henry draws on his vast knowledge of the area to carefully explain every problem (perhaps a little too well if you like figuring things out on your own).  Be forewarned though:  the grades given out are sandbagged not forgiving of any excuses about conditions weaknesses one might have when it comes to climbing on slopers and many problems have lower grades than what was shown in the Dr. Topo guide.  Go back and adjust your scorecards accordingly…

and:

One thing that cannot be ignored when reading the book is the infusion of Henry’s personality into all aspects of the guidebook.  Whether it is his take on the previously mentioned stiff grades (“Please feel free to whiteout whatever is written and put whatever you want”) or his fight to keep “The Southern Way” alive amidst today’s “cloud of internet spray, rankings, and the pursuit of menial level shoe sponsorship”, Henry is sure to let you know how he feels.  Despite living with my head in the aforementioned cloud of internet spray, and contributing to it on a near daily basis, I didn’t really find Henry’s point of view overwhelming nor did it detract from the overall quality of the book.

Overall a nice and fair review, and one which we are happy for. The second review comes from Jamie Emerson of B3Bouldering.com, who also helped out the process of the guide by contributing a couple of pictures for use within. Thanks Jamie! Here’s what he had to say:

Adam is an old timer who has lost a bit of a step, slowly becoming out-of-touch with todays modern bouldering scene. Nevertheless, he probably knows what he is talking about more than anyone when it comes to bouldering in the Deep South. His book is filled with hilarious stories and wonderful testimonies from many climbers (including Fontainebleau local Stephan Denys) who have fallen in love with the absolutely perfect rock in Alabama. Adam tells it like it is, and his new guidebook is definitely worth a buy. HP40 is a very special place, and his book does an excellent job of getting that across. Well done!

If you’ve seen the book and would like to contribute something to the above reviews, please feel free to do so in the comments section below. Thanks!