UKC

The latest Rockfax guide to South Wales Sport Climbs has just been published and we have managed to get two reviews which complement each other nicely.

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In reply to UKC Gear:
Not sure that a "first impressions" review can ever provide much depth. Comments on the quality of the photos snd the sharpness of crag topos are all very well but slightly superficial.

That said, my copy is already on order but the issues that interest me are:
What's the overall grade distribution in the guide? How does it compare to the well established Dorset guidebook?
What's the route quality actually like, especially at the newer crags and those described for the first time? And more specific to the guidebook, how generous, or conservative is the star allocation, in particular in the lower (and highest) grades?
How accurate is the grading? Is it soft, hard, consistent, highly variable?
Out of the 1700+ routes, what percentage are likely to actually get regular traffic or in common with some definitive guides are there some that are 'filler' routes that are only included for completeness?
What's the graded list like? Accurate? Skewed to the middle grades?
Any extra ticklists (as per the latest Eastern Grit)?
Is there any historical information?

As I've said, not all of these questions can be answered immediately but I'd be interested in any opinions on them.

PS Any good recommendations for 7c routes to try in 2017?

In reply to UKC Gear:

It is a good guide that has certainly whetted my appetite for some new crags: Temple Bay, Sirhowy and Gilwern East are on the early 2017 hitlist.
The topos are great and there is certainly a good spread of grades in the guidebook area. In a previous thread on the guidebook I expressed slight disappointment with the cover shot (which is a minor quibble - the lighting is flat and the image doesn't really capture the essence of South Wales climbing). This led me to look more closely through the rest of the guide thinking "What would have made a better cover?" with this more critical eye I did reach the conclusion that the action photography is good, but not outstanding, some other recent guidebooks are clearly superior in this regard (Rockfax Dolomites springs to mind - the benefit of a dedicated photographer as author clearly apparent).
The better shots in SW Sport are all Landscape in format and would lose their impact cropped for a portrait format cover shot, and to be honest there is not really an absolutely stunning shot anywhere in the book. Still I would rather have the guidebook in hand and start planning ventures than wait another 6-8 months to allow superior photographs to be taken.
I guess as an Artist and consequently highly visual person I am likely to be more critical of this aspect than many, don't let it dissuade you from investing in a great guide.

In reply to UKC Gear:


Does that mean you've had just two reviews, which happen to complement each other nicely; or that you've had a larger number of reviews, from which you've selected two complementary ones? It could read either way. Not having a go - just curious

In reply to bpmclimb:


It means we received one which we had arranged and one unsolicited one. We don't normally receive reviews without asking for them.

Alan

In reply to The Ivanator:

This sort of qualitative comment whilst positive doesn't really add much. What would be more useful is a direct comparison between the SWS and Dorset guidebooks in terms of Green, Orange, Red and Black routes.

Dorset is amazing from 6b through to 7c and rather lacking below 6a and to some extent above 7c. If South Wales is potentially better at either end of the spectrum, it would be great to advertise this.

The rest of your comments about having the guidebook in your hand being far more important than delaying for better photos certainly echo my sentiments. Also, I think it's not uncommon for landscape climbing shots to be better than portrait shots. In my experience nearly all good portrait shots (especially magazine cover shots) are staged whereas when not on an abseil rope and just walking around the crag it's often easier to get a decent composition in landscape.

In reply to The Ex-Engineer:


The intros for all our books are available via the 'Intro' download link in the top right of the guidebook pages. This has the grade breakdown for all the crags. You can also get the grade breakdowns from the Route Database on the Rockfax site although there are some bugs in there at the moment that we need to sort.

SWSC Intro (PDF link) - http://www.rockfax.com/wp-content/uploads/intros/swsc-intro.pdf

This doesn't give you the comparison directly but does allow you to make the comparison if that is what you want.

Alan

In reply to Alan James - Rockfax:

Thank you for the link. It's answered a couple of my questions.

The graded list looks really good with a decent amount of routes at both ends.

The star allocation at lower and mid grades looks nicely conservative, however there might be the usual questions about whether the hardest routes attract more than their fair share of stars.