In reply to Alan James - Rockfax: If you're talking about me (I have worked at V12) then you misunderstand the situation totally; my only connection with GU is that I have bouldered with Simon Panton a few times and enjoy chatting with him, as I do with many climbing friends.
I have no agenda as a result of having worked in V12. My dislike of the lazy approach to guidebooks embodied by Rockfax is based solely on a desire for guides that are produced by climbers with passion, art and attention to detail such that magnificent climbing areas get the profile they merit. And, in some naive way, I would also like Rockfax to grab the bull by the horns, take ownership of their shortcomings and start doing something about it such that they produced guides commensurate with the areas being covered.
I remain confused about why my suggestion that Rockfax guides contain a significant number of errors was removed rather than refuted in what I think could and should have been a far more professional response. I am bemused at how you seem to be satisfied with or oblivious to a business whose quality too often falls short of what it should be.
I posted this earlier in the year under the discussion about Rockfax's approach in the context of Pete Harrison's North Wales Limestone guide, it illustrates exactly why I made the remark that was deleted:
"Yellow Wall is one of the easiest, most obvious and best known (non-LPT) walls around yet:
- Cornhollio gets a trad grade despite being a sport route (it's even 7b in the UKC logbook)
- there is no mention of wires (useful on both Pirates and String of Pearls for example)
- the description for String of Pearls utterly fails to capture any of the essence of what is the classic of that wall; from what the description says you'd think it was a wall climb and while it sort of is, its nature is more that of a slab with a steeper finish
- the line is wrong for Badger Badger
- there is no FA for Badger Badger or Cornholio
This is one small section, a section Rockfax choose to release as a sample yet there is so much wrong with it. This says everything you need to know about the level of effort Rockfax make, virtually none.
This is why Rockfax has zero right to undermine Pete's work / the definitive. Rockfax should also be ashamed at the level of basic errors in their production. This is a recurring theme and the apparent attitude of 'pile em high sell em cheap' falls very short of what the area deserves and the level of inspiration genuine guidebooks attain.
None of this even touches on the potential damage to North Wales Rock's market. Another guide produced with a level of detail and passion that Rockfax, based on all the evidence I've seen, can't come close to."