UKC

The best select guides?

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 Dave Flanagan 25 Aug 2013
I know select guides are a hot topic at the moment but I was hoping somone could point me towards some of the best select guides? I'm about to start work on a select guide and am looking for inspiration. Any advice would be most welcome.
 popebenedictus 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Dave Flanagan:

Personally I am a huge fan of definitive guides. You could take the time and trouble to produce a true masterpiece such as the BMC definitive peak guides.
Over The Moors is especially epic!
 abarro81 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Dave Flanagan: Lleida and Tarragona Pod/Andrada guides are pretty decent
 Mick Ward 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Dave Flanagan:

> I'm about to start work on a select guide...

An update to 'Rock Climbing in Ireland' (which occupies pride of place on my bookshelves)? Hopefully so.

Mick

 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Mick Ward:

I have thought for years that a Rockfax to the whole of Ireland would be cracker,


Chris
 Robert Durran 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Chris Craggs:

> I have thought for years that a Rockfax to the whole of Ireland would be cracker.

I agree. Get on with it then!
OP Dave Flanagan 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Mick Ward:

Spot on Mick. Big boots to fill.
 remus Global Crag Moderator 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Dave Flanagan: Bit old school in terms of layout but I really like the writing in Littejohn's Southwest Climbs and Paul William's north wales select.
 Tom Last 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Chris Craggs:
> (In reply to Mick Ward)
>
> I have thought for years that a Rockfax to the whole of Ireland would be cracker,
>
>
> Chris

<hijack> Why is there no Rockfax Selected Chamonix or similar title? </hijack>
 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 25 Aug 2013
In reply to Tom Last:
>

> <hijack> Why is there no Rockfax Selected Chamonix or similar title? </hijack>

I think there was/might be one in the pipeline, though I am out of the loop on it.


Chris
 Tom Last 26 Aug 2013
In reply to Chris Craggs:

Thanks Chris
OP Dave Flanagan 26 Aug 2013
In reply to Chris Craggs:
Thanks Chris, I will pick up a few of those. I understand from the thread about the North Wales guide that Rockfax select guides are select in terms of crags and sectors rather than routes, is that right? Would that be the approach of most select guides?
In reply to Dave Flanagan:

Gary Latter's Scottish Rock books are amazing for getting inspired by. Actually using them to find your desired route isn't always that easy though...
 Chris Craggs Global Crag Moderator 26 Aug 2013
In reply to Dave Flanagan:
>
> Thanks Chris, I will pick up a few of those. I understand from the thread about the North Wales guide that Rockfax select guides are select in terms of crags and sectors rather than routes, is that right? Would that be the approach of most select guides?

We try to include the best buttresses, then all of the decent routes on those. Ideally I like to try to include all the routes that an occasional and fairly regular visitor might be interested in, leaving the rest of the (non and some 1 star) routes for the 'Definitive'.

Of course it depends on the crag, if it is the kind of place people only visit once, you might want to include more to routes to cover the grade spread.

Hope this helps,


Chris



 Ramblin dave 27 Aug 2013
In reply to Chris Craggs:
> (In reply to Dave Flanagan)
> [...]

> Of course it depends on the crag, if it is the kind of place people only visit once, you might want to include more to routes to cover the grade spread.

For my money it'd depend entirely on the crag - if it's a cragging venue where you'll want to bash out lots of similarly graded routes in a day, then it makes sense to be selective on crags rather than routes, whereas for a big mountain crag where you'll do maybe one or two routes in a visit it makes sense to be much more selective on routes, and thus be able to include more crags even if some of them only have one worthwhile route on...
 nniff 27 Aug 2013
In reply to Dave Flanagan:

To my mind, the key to any selective guidebook is being able to find and follow your chosen route without any prior knowledge of the topography of the place. I think the key is good illustrations that enable you to identify the right features, at the right scale and from the right viewpoint, supported by text that helps you to pick out the salient features. A significant number of first rate routes follow a decent line and so the art of the selective guidebook lies not in choosing the routes, but in guiding a bewildered climber to the right spot - a single line on a substantial crag perhaps.
 Lukem6 27 Aug 2013
In reply to Dave Flanagan:
My favourite Guide book is Falaises de Corse, They managed to do a tri-lingual guide book with tons of info and everything you could ever want to know about a crag.
 Offwidth 27 Aug 2013
In reply to Chris Craggs:

"Ideally I like to try to include all the routes that an occasional and fairly regular visitor might be interested in, leaving the rest of the (non and some 1 star) routes for the 'Definitive'."

So, around 95% of Stanage Popular End?

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