This is not the way I was hoping to start my day:
The website DrTopo.com is now closed.
Yes, after nearly a decade of providing free topos to some of the most popular climbing areas in the country, Dr. Topo is shutting down. Not surprisingly, running the website was costing more in time and money than the operators were getting out of it, and they pulled the plug a few days ago.
Any submitted guidebooks are still available for download, but this apparently does not include the guides to areas like Bishop, HP40, So Ill and Rocktown that were made by the guys at Dr. Topo themselves. I know I’ve been searching through my computer all morning to see if I still have copies of some of these. Fortunately, there are high quality (but not free) guidebooks to many of these areas now, and a new HP40 guidebook should be out soon (stay tuned for more on that).
I’d personally like to thank the guys at Dr. Topo, especially Alex, for all they’ve done over the years. I’ve used their books religiously and Alex was invaluable in helping me get the Devil’s Lake West Bluff bouldering mini guide up and running. I think they’ve left an indelible mark on the entire climbing community with their hard work and vision over the years.
If you want to share your thoughts with the guys at Dr. Topo you can leave a message in their Guestbook or feel free to comment on this post as well.
