Hooked on Traprock: Rock Climbing in Central Connecticut

Publication Year: 1996.

Hooked on Traprock: Rock Climbing in Central Connecticut. Ken Nichols. Amereon House. Photos, cartoons. 504 pages. $27.95

Comment: Ken’s talents as a guidebook writer are less famous than his exploits in the “bolting wars.” His descriptions are limpid and his frequent jokes pretty funny. This book is rich in historical anecdote and sticks to the tradition that geology matters. Alas, the photographs are very inferior to those in his masterly Traprock (1982) and the fine line drawings of that edition have been dropped. Another difference: In 1982 Nichols had not yet made his unique contribution to protection technology, the skyhook tied down and secured with an 11 millimeter rope to an anchor 20 to 40 feet below at the base of the climb. These routes merit the new “H” rating. Nichols says he has taken some big whippers on those. Funny, they’ve not caught on outside Connecticut. (JT)