UKC

Do people here have a go to book for North Wales for trad/trad multi-pitch?

Here in the peak I have Eastern Grit and it's great for what I do, I was hoping for similar for North Wales so if people can recommend a book or a couple i'd appreciate it, thanks.

There are two main guide books that cover 'most' of North Wales from Rockfax and Ground Up, both are good guides with decent descriptions on the whole, topo's are pretty similar in quality too.

Rockfax North Wales Classics is great for Ogwen, Llanberis Pass, Tremadog and a few of the other outlying crags, it's also a handy size as it easily fits in a trouser pocket, it's also cheaper.

Ground Up's North Wales Rock covers a wider area and in more detail but it's a much larger and heavier book (about the same weight as Eastern grit but a smaller page size for reference).

It's a bit of a trade off, obviously, but if you're looking to tick the classic routes in the "usual" haunts, I'd go for the Rockfax guide but if you're looking to get off the beaten path or hit Gogarth/Rhoscolyn as well then get the Ground Up guide.

In reply to Styx: Thanks for that

In reply to paul29uk: Ground uP's guide is far superior to Rockfax, IMO. it can be beneficial to have both though as some of the lines on the topos can be a little inaccurate and the descriptions for the routes can be subjective at best - though not quite as bad as the old guides!

In reply to paul29uk: and of course you also have all the definitive guides to the different areas as well. The newish Ogwen guide is brilliant.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:
I've had a couple of opportunities to compare the two, and have generally found that the Rockfax is a little better for bumblies whereas the Ground Up guide has significantly more stuff in mid to high grades.

I've got the Rockfax and am slowly accumulating the definitive guides as I go to the relevant areas more often.

In reply to paul29uk:

Just get the Rockfax as cheap and small enough to fit in a trouser pocket. Get the definative CC guides if you want better coverage.

In reply to paul29uk:
I don't take the Ground Up guide with me as it would not stand up to the wear and tear that I would give it.I do however peer through it for ideas and bedtime reading.
You could also look at the old and out of date Paul Williams Snowdonia guide.I still use that partly as it covers a wider area and also there is the sense of history with it.(It does not have the best of indices, and the topographical photos are black and white and not the best).
If I were you I would buy the CC Llanberris guide and the Ogwen one, as those are the areas I would go to when first going to Snowdonia and they are superb.Later you could add Tremadog for when the weather was not so good in the pass and environs.Then you could add Gogarth North for a peer at Holyhead Mountain and the sea cliffs, and Cloggy for when the weather is stable.
Rob

In reply to veteye:

I don't disagree that the full guides are better, but are you seriously suggesting that an occasional visitor should buy 5 guides (over £100) rather than £16-25 on a single book that covers enough routes to keep you busy for a long time, plus the info for outlying crags for when the weather in the hills is inevitably bad?

For my money, I would buy the Rockfax now. I have the Ground Up, and it is good, but very bulky to carry up a route. I can vouch for it being plenty tough enough though - mine has been thoroughly soaked at least once and is still doing fine!

In reply to Monk:
No I was suggesting that the best option for me would be to begin with two guides as they are the most heavily visited areas and the two guides cover a very wide area.Most people I know, then get hooked on the trad climbing in Wales,so I was suggesting an order for buying guides when one is a more frequent North Wales climber.
You obviously will have noticed that I don't mention the Carnedd guide which will be updated soon, and those areas covered are probably not quite as high on the list of most frequently visited crags.

In reply to veteye:
Although the flipside to that is that if your selected guide covers Ogwen and Llanberis quite well (or at least, has enough stuff in Ogwen and Llanberis to keep you busy for quite a while) then the definitives for the less central areas like Merionydd and Tremadog might be useful additions...

In reply to paul29uk: the rockfax guide is outrageously expensive considering its size! the topos are sometimes inaccurate too. Only get the rockfax guide if you're a flid and new to north wales.

Plus i dont get why they call it north wales classics when it includes tryfan bach (enough said), and no gogarth

In reply to paul29uk: My go to is definitely the Ground Up Select guide, great format, good descriptions generally and the topos are clear and well drawn lines. Have borrowed the Rockfax guide just once for when I went to Craig Yr Ogof and ended up on a alternate finish to Kirkus' Route as the line was wrong on the topo (though the description was correct I'm more of a visual person so went with the line) which was both annoying and a bit scary as there was a precarious loosish block encountered (busy day with lot's of people below). Have done around 200 routes in it now and can't think of a time when it's let me down. I think the newer version of the Ground Up guide has a few more easier routes in it but if you're operating around E1 there's more than enough to go at!

In reply to StuLade:

The CC guide for that area is no better really. I finished up completely lost on Kirkus direct trying to follow a line. The description wasn't much help either! But yeah, the RF guide is mostly pointless!

In reply to higherclimbingwales: I found the North Wales rock useful for Kirkus Direct on another visit, though it's not a super obvious line.