Climbing guidebook

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Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies (2016), by Alan Kane. Scrambles CR hires-500x630.jpg
Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies (2016), by Alan Kane.

Climbing guidebooks are used by mountaineers, alpinists, ice climbers, and rock climbers to locate, grade, and navigate climbing routes on mountains, climbing crags, or bouldering areas. Modern route guidebooks include detailed information on each climbing route, including topo diagrams, route beta, protection requirements, and the ethics and style that are in place for a given climbing area (i.e can sport climbing bolts be used).

Contents

Modern climbing guidebooks are increasingly available in digital format, and even as searchable smartphone apps with extensive beta and three-dimensional diagrams of routes. Extensive online 'opensource' climbing databases of routes now exist, however, the publication of 'physical guidebooks' for technical climbing routes is still ongoing given the unique demands of climbing (with many having both a physical and online edition).

Climbing route guidebooks began to proliferate at the turn of the 20th century in Europe and became an important chronicle of the history and stories of climbing areas and routes (e.g. who made the first free ascent) and played an important part in promoting the sport of climbing and the attractiveness of particular areas. Certain notable guidebooks played an important role in standardizing the grading systems that are in use today.

Content and information

Topo image of the cliff Toix Est in Costa Blanca in Spain, by climber Chris Craggs from a Rockfax guidebook Toix Est Topo.jpg
Topo image of the cliff Toix Est in Costa Blanca in Spain, by climber Chris Craggs from a Rockfax guidebook

Before discussing individual routes, a climbing guidebook will outline the history and current status of climbing ethics applicable for the location including for example whether the use of bolts for sport climbing is allowed, and other local customs (e.g. use if non-clean aid climbing techniques), and the legal position around access to the location. [1]

Guidebooks can locate a given route by verbal description (for example: " start in the third left-facing corner below the large, orange roof, left of the route "Something Interesting"). Starting in the 1980s, a diagram style was developed, with detailed diagrams (or photographs) of the routes with the key obstacles and challenges encountered explicitly marked/overlaid, which came to be called "topos" (see image opposite). [2] [3]

Modern guidebooks include a range of standard details for each specific route, including the length of a route and its climbing grade. The description can also include varying amounts of information about how to climb the route, such as the location of the crux and any special techniques needed (i.e. bridging, laybacking, or the need for aid climbing)—when the information on 'how to climb' a route is very detailed it is collectively known as beta , and can affect the style of the ascent (i.e. onsighting). The guidebook may also include the type of equipment needed and particularly for climbing protection. In a definitive guide, the route's history (e.g. credits for first free ascents) would also be included. [1]

In 2022, two Austrian climbers published Klimafreundlich Klettern (or Sustainable Climbing), a guidebook on the Tyrol whose climbing routes could be accessed via public transport or bicycle, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the climbers. [4]

Sandbagging

The grading of modern climbing routes is increasingly concentrated around a small number of dominant systems, such as the Yosemite Decimal System and the V-scale in North America, and the French sport system and Font-scale in Europe. An aspect of climbing guidebooks is the consistency of applying these dominant grading systems with that of other climbing areas and guidebooks so that visiting climbers to an area can accurately assess the scale of a route's challenge. Where a guidebook's grades are materially 'easier' than what they should be so that the listed grades underestimate the challenge and difficulty of the routes, it is known as 'sandbagging'. [5] [6]

'Sandbagging' is a source of debate amongst climbers, some consider it a source of unnecessary danger to visiting climbers, while others consider 'sandbagging' a reflection of local customs and historical grading that should be preserved in guidebook grades. [5] [7] Certain climbing areas are notable for systemic sandbagging (i.e. most of the grades in their guidebooks understate the true difficulty of their routes), with examples in North America being Yosemite, Shawangunk Ridge (the "Gunks"), and Eldorado Canyon. [8] [9] Some guidebooks will try to alert the reader on sandbagged routes (e.g. "often considered sandbagged at the grade"), or with more subtle wordings to avoid upsetting local climbers such as "stiff at the grade". [10] [11]

Publication and authorship

Climber consulting a 'physical' climbing guidebook at the top of a route at Sennen Cove Climber reading guidebook.jpg
Climber consulting a 'physical' climbing guidebook at the top of a route at Sennen Cove

Guidebooks may be compilations of selected popular or well-regarded routes (e.g. Fifty Classic Climbs of North America or Hard Rock ), or exhaustive compilations of all known climbing routes in a region (e.g. the 512-page Lancashire Rock in Britain). The books may be published by national/regional mountaineering bodies (e.g. the British Mountaineering Council and Climbers' Club in Britain, the Club Alpino Italiano in Italy, or the Sierra Club in the US), by commercial publishers (e.g. Rockfax and Cicerone in Europe or Falcon Guides, Wolverine, and SuperTopo in the US), or self-published by local enthusiasts, which is how climbing areas get started. [12]

Regardless of publication, in many cases, the authorship of the climbing guidebook will explicitly (i.e. named on the front cover), or implicitly (listed as contributors/advisors), include well-regarded climbers who are associated with the climbing area in question. There are however notable climbing guidebook authors who are not specifically associated with an area, but whose authorship and climbing insights are equally well-regarded, examples being Britain's Ken Wilson and America's Steve Roper, who wrote many notable climbing guidebooks for a wide range of locations and types of rock in their respective countries. [2]

As a climbing area develops, new editions of the guidebook for the area will be published to capture the details of new climbing routes, to update details for existing routes, and in particular to show any change in the consensus grade of existing climbing routes. [13] The task of re-grading existing climbs, and ensuring that the guidebook accurately and fairly reflects the assessments of respected climbers in the area, can be lengthy—and can lead to many heated debates amongst climbers, [12] which need to be 'consensus-driven'. [1] Between editions, 'new routes updates' are often held online. [2]

Climbing databases

In recent years, many climbing guidebooks have been published in digital format, often for display in smartphone applications as apps. [14] This medium offers the benefit of continuous updates, as well as rapid searching, and in some cases, GPS navigation and three dimensional diagrams. [2] [15] There are now several major online climbing route databases including 'theCrag.com' and 'MountainProject.com', however, climbing authors note that the need for 'physical guidebooks' that can be carried by climbers to (often) remote crags remains (many have physical and online editions). [3] [11]

Influence and notable books

Title page from Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers (1859), edited by John Ball, first president of the Alpine Club Houghton Swi 688.59 - Alpine Club.jpg
Title page from Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers (1859), edited by John Ball, first president of the Alpine Club

Some of the earliest dedicated climbing guidebooks can be dated back to the mid-19th century and the Golden Age of Alpinism, with the British Alpine Club's Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers in 1859 being arguably being one of the earliest published guidebooks dedicated to climbing. Climbing guidebooks became an important part of developing the culture of climbing, and the promotion of the activity as a sport, and they became increasingly common by the turn of the 20th century in Europe and after World War Two in North America. [3]

As well as promoting an area to outside climbers, guidebooks chronicle the history and stories of climbing areas and individual climbing routes, and delineate what is considered to be good and/or acceptable style in a particular area and what is not acceptable (e.g use of sport climbing bolts). [3] There have been instances where local climbers have strongly objected to the publication of a guidebook due to differences in opinion on local climbing ethics, and/or the prospect of attracting increased visitors (e.g. at Pike's Peak in Colorado). [16] [17]

Certain guidebooks had a significant impact on the standardization of climbing and the adoption of grading systems in particular. For example, Steve Roper's 1964 big wall climbing guidebook, A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley, cemented the nascent Yosemite Decimal System as the dominant grading system in North America. [18] Similarly, John Sherman's 1991 bouldering guidebook Hueco Tanks Climbing and Bouldering Guide introduced the V-scale to American bouldering, where it became the dominant system. [19]

Climbing guidebooks that are considered historically notable include:

British Isles

Continental European

North American

Libraries and collections

Several mountaineering organizations maintain extensive libraries and collections of current and historical climbing guidebooks, [24] including the British Mountaineering Council, who have been compiling an updated Bibliography of British and Irish Guidebooks (from 1894). [25] [26] The library of the American Alpine Club is also noted for its collection of climbing guidebooks. [11] A noted online database of information on climbing routes—including verified ascensionists—is the late Elizabeth Hawley's, The Himalayan Database.

Awards

The Banff Mountain Book Festival has at times given a 'Best Guidebook Award' for outstanding guidebooks. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climbing</span> Activity to ascend a steep object

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains to small boulders. Climbing is done for locomotion, sporting recreation, for competition, and is also done in trades that rely on ascension, such as construction and military operations. Climbing is done indoors and outdoors, on natural surfaces, and on artificial surfaces

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grade (climbing)</span> Degree of difficulty of a climbing route

Many climbing routes have a grade that reflects the technical difficulty—and in some cases the risks and commitment level—of the route. The first ascensionist can suggest a grade, but it will be amended to reflect the consensus view of subsequent ascents. While many countries with a strong tradition of climbing developed grading systems, a small number of grading systems have become internationally dominant for each type of climbing, which has contributed to the standardization of grades worldwide. Over the years, grades have consistently risen in all forms of climbing, helped by improvements in climbing technique and equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrambling</span> Walk up steep terrain involving the use of ones hands

Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance. "A scramble" is a related term, denoting terrain that could be ascended in this way. It can be described as being between hiking and rock climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional climbing</span> Type of rock climbing

Traditional climbing is a type of free climbing in rock climbing where the lead climber places the protection equipment while ascending the route; when the lead climber has completed the route, the second climber then removes the protection equipment while climbing the route. Traditional climbing differs from sport climbing where the protection equipment is pre-drilled into the rock in the form of bolts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climbing route</span> Path to scale a mountain, rock, or ice wall

A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, a rock face or an ice-covered obstacle. The details of a climbing route are recorded in a climbing guidebook and/or in an online climbing-route database. Details recorded will include elements such as the type of climbing route, the difficulty grade of the route–and beta on its crux(es)–and any risk or commitment grade, the length and number of pitches of the route, and the climbing equipment that is needed to complete the route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of climbing terms</span>

Glossary of climbing terms relates to rock climbing, mountaineering, and to ice climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First ascent</span> Mountaineering and climbing term

In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent, is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers and climbers focused on reaching the tops of iconic mountains and climbing routes by whatever means possible, often using considerable amounts of aid climbing, and/or with large expedition style support teams that laid "siege" to the climb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solo climbing</span> Style of climbing performed alone

Solo climbing is a style of climbing in which the climber ascends a climbing route alone and deliberatly without the assistance of a belayer, or being part of any rope team. By its very nature, solo climbing presents a higher degree of risk to the climber as they are entirely relient on their own skills and equipment and any problems may require a self-rescue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport climbing</span> Type of rock climbing

Sport climbing is a type of free climbing in rock climbing where the lead climber clips into pre-drilled permanent bolts for their protection while ascending a route. Sport climbing differs from the riskier traditional climbing where the lead climber has to insert temporary protection equipment while ascending.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock climbing</span> Type of sport

Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are chronicled in guidebooks, and on online databases, with the details of how to climb the route, and who made the first ascent and the coveted first free ascent. Climbers will try to ascend a route onsight, however, a climber can spend years projecting a route before they make a redpoint ascent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-pitch climbing</span> Type of climbing

Multi-pitch climbing is a type of climbing that typically takes place on routes that are more than a single rope length in height, and thus where the lead climber cannot complete the climb as a single pitch. Where the number of pitches exceeds 6–10, it can become big wall climbing, or where the pitches are in a mixed rock and ice mountain environment, it can become alpine climbing. Multi-pitch rock climbs can come in traditional, sport, and aid formats. Some have free soloed multi-pitch routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Head</span> Dolerite mountain cliff, Northern Ireland

Fair Head or Benmore is a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) long, 200-metre (660 ft) high, mountain cliff, close to the sea, at the north-eastern corner of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The cliff's sheer and vertical 100-metre (330 ft) high dolerite rock face is shaped into distinctive vertical columns like organ pipes, which formed 60 million years ago when a sill of igneous rock was injected between horizontal Carboniferous sediments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Caldwell</span> American rock climber

Tommy Caldwell is an American rock climber who has set records in sport climbing, traditional climbing, and in big-wall climbing. Caldwell made the first free ascents of several major routes on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

John Sherman, nicknamed Verm is an American rock climber and a pioneer in the promotion and development of the climbing discipline of bouldering. He is also a climbing writer and outdoor photographer, and the originator of the V-grade system, for grading the technical difficulty of boulder problems, which has since become one of the dominant grading systems worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beta (climbing)</span> Climbing term for route information

Beta is a climbing term that designates information about how to ascend a climbing route, and the specific climbing techniques required—and how to apply them—to overcome the key challenges encountered. Traditionally sourced in climbing guidebooks, online databases and apps now provide detailed climbing beta. The term is attributed to Texan climber Jack Mileski, and originates from watching Betamax recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topo (climbing)</span> Graphical representation of a climbing route

In climbing, a topo is a graphical representation of a climbing route. Topos range from a photograph of the climb on which the line of the route is overlaid, to a detailed diagram of the key features and challenges of the climb, which are typically represented as standardized UIAA topo symbols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Separate Reality (climb)</span> Traditional climbing route in the USA

Separate Reality is a 66-foot (20 m) traditional climbing route in Yosemite National Park in California. The route is known for its exposed and dramatic crux that consists of a 20-foot (6.1 m) long crack in its horizontal roof. When it was first free-climbed by Ron Kauk in 1978, it was one of the first climbs in the world to have a grade of 7a+ (5.12a). In 1986, German climber Wolfgang Güllich free soloed the route, and the photographs by Austrian Heinz Zak became iconic in rock climbing history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traverse (climbing)</span> Section of lateral movement on a climbing route

In climbing and mountaineering, a traverse is a section of a climbing route where the climber moves laterally, as opposed to in an upward direction. The term has broad application, and its use can range from describing a brief section of lateral movement on a pitch of a climbing route, to large multi-pitch climbing routes that almost entirely consist of lateral movement such as girdle traverses that span the entire rock face of a crag, to mountain traverses that span entire ridges connecting chains of mountain peaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine climbing</span> Type of mountaineering

Alpine climbing is a type of mountaineering that uses any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large routes in an alpine environment. While alpine climbing began in the European Alps, it is used to refer to climbing in any remote mountainous area, including in the Himalayas and Patagonia. The derived term alpine style refers to the fashion of alpine climbing to be in small lightly equipped teams who carry their equipment, and do all of the climbing.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ryan, Mick; James, Alan (July 2002). How to write ... a MiniGuide (PDF). RockFax. pp. 1–15. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Adamson, Michael (6 February 2009). "The Guidebook Odyssey – Unearthing the epic task of writing a guidebook". Climbing . Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Robinson, Doug (23 March 2023). "Guidebooks Are Still a Problem". Climbing . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  4. ↑ "Sustainable climbing. The guidebook to Tyrol, Austria by Lena Müller, Deniz Scheerer". PlanetMountain. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 "What Is A Sandbag In Climbing? – Climbing Jargon Explained". Climber. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Schermerhorn, Eddie (9 September 2013). "Get Sandbagged! 7 Notoriously Tougher-than-Advertised Routes". Climbing . Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  7. ↑ Wright, Cedar (27 June 2023). "Cedar Wright on 'The Value of a Good Sandbag'". Climbing . Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  8. ↑ Drummond, Liz (2 March 2023). "Numbers Game: Classic Sandbags at 4 Historic Crags". Climbing . Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  9. ↑ D, Zak (22 August 2023). "What does sandbagging mean in climbing". HardClimbs. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  10. ↑ Sagar, John (10 October 2019). "Guidebooks: What They Say vs. What They Mean Article". UKClimbing. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Leonard, Brendan (12 April 2016). "Semi-Rad: In Praise of Guidebooks". Climbing . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  12. 1 2 Grimes, Niall (12 December 2010). "How the BMC produces guidebooks". British Mountaineering Council . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  13. ↑ Ward, Meghan (3 November 2010). "Kevin McLane's Canadian Rock: What It Takes to Write a Guidebook". Alpinist . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  14. ↑ Gerry, Aaron (29 September 2023). "The Best Climbing Apps of 2023". Climbing . Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  15. ↑ Pardy, Aaron (17 July 2023). "Has the Future of Climbing Guidebooks Arrived in Squamish?". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  16. ↑ Buhay, Corey (23 August 2021). "From Climbing Partners to Bitter Enemies: In the Trenches of the Pikes Peak Bolt War". Climbing . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  17. ↑ Boster, Seth (24 May 2021). "Controversial Pikes Peak guidebook set to be published". The Gazette . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  18. 1 2 Kiester, Shey (12 June 2015). "A Climber's Guide to Yosemite Valley". Alpinist . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  19. 1 2 Samet, Matt (24 March 2022). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Bouldering Grades". Climbing . Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  20. ↑ Douglas, Ed (28 June 2016). "Ken Wilson obituary". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 May 2024. ... and in 1974 published Hard Rock, among the most influential climbing books of the 20th century.
  21. ↑ Gates, Zoe (22 May 2017). "The 50 Classic Climbs of North America". Climbing . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  22. ↑ "The Fifty Classic Climbs of North America List". Gripped Magazine. 29 October 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  23. ↑ Laeser, Luke (27 January 2006). "The Source – How Hueco and a guidebook gave birth to modern bouldering". Climbing . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  24. ↑ Johnston-Smith, David (2024). "A brief introduction to the collecting of climbing guidebooks". Mountain Heritage Trust. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  25. ↑ Moss, Alan (8 February 2012). "Are you a Fanatical Guidebook Collector?". British Mountaineering Council . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  26. ↑ Grimes, Niall (12 June 2014). "British and Irish Climbing guidebooks – The 2013 Supplement". British Mountaineering Council . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  27. ↑ Chua, Steve (30 November 2018). "Squamish Rockclimbs wins best guidebook award". Pique Newsmagazine . Retrieved 5 May 2024.
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