7 p.m., Wednesday, April 2, REI, 8300 W. Emerald St., Boise. Free. 322-1141.
When Boise and the Treasure Valley are touted as a great place to live for outdoors enthusiasts, part of the fervor is the abundance of rock climbing in and around the area.
"People in other cities travel hours and hours to climb, and here in Boise, we have climbing five minutes away," said Sandy Epeldi, author of "Boise Climbs" and a forthcoming book on bouldering on the Owyhee Front. "It's not Yosemite five minutes away, but we have a lot of rock accessible in our backyard.
"I think sometimes people take it for granted how good the climbing around here is."
Epeldi will lead a slideshow presentation on area rock climbing on Wednesday, April 2, at REI, 8300 W. Emerald St., Boise.
With information for both novice and experienced climbers, Epeldi will provide an overview of some of the popular and lesser-known places to climb here in town or a short drive away.
The area offers a diversity of climbing rare to a major metropolitan area: limestone to the north, granite to the northeast and local basalt and sandstone.
Among the areas covered in the presentation are the Black Cliffs, Table Rock, Mores Mountain, Leslie Gulch, Hells Canyon, the Sawtooth Mountains and City of Rocks.
Epeldi also will discuss the Swan Falls area south of Kuna in the Owyhee Mountains that is the main subject of his new book.
The author teamed up with Scott Bernstrom, a prolific local climber, to catalog bouldering routes - known as problems - in the Swan Falls area, which has become a popular place for year-round bouldering.
"Swan Falls didn't catch on until the late-'90s when the focus of climbing turned to bouldering," Epeldi said. "Oddly enough, you look at these areas that have thousands of boulders, and sometimes I'm out there and I'm the only one bouldering."
Now's the perfect time to learn more about the sport or find some new challenges.
"I try to climb year-round, but the best times to climb are definitely spring and fall," he said. "In the summertime, it can get awfully hot."
Epeldi plans to have his new bouldering book and "Boise Climbs," now in its third edition, available at the presentation.
Chad Dryden: 672-6734
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