UKC

What is/are the biggest (page count) guidebook/s ever printed?

Two I know of and own are the famous Lancashire 'Brick' and the more recent North Wales Bouldering Vol 1.

So how many pages have they got? I own neither.

The new Costa Balanca guide by Robert Lopez is preety heavy duty, sits nicely next to my Lancashire " brick".

And the thinnest guide--- could either be Duddon Valley from years ago or an old topo of Chuilla.Bancrofts recent developments is quite thick in comparison.

971 pages for the Thum guide to the Northern Frankenjura.

Sorry yeah my Lancs guide is in a box somewhere but it is notoriously big. The Nw Bouldering book is 704.

The Lancashire brick would make an excellent chock on Aladinsane.

Wow 971!

can anyone beat that?

A newish Yosemite selective guidebook was physically the largest I've ever seen. Some near continuous areas these days have multiple volumes (Pembroke most notably). The smallest physical guide I know of is to  Wappy Spring.

I've got a copy of Leicestershire Climbs which is about as thick as you'd expect...

680 pages, so not as big as NW Bouldering. Oddly, when it was reissued, it was much thinner although I think it had much the same content.

Alan

Thinner paper? I seem to remember the paper of the original being pretty 'solid'.

The Standedge, Whitbarrow and Furness Areas are missing from the condensed version as far as I can tell.

I'm sure the brick would have been split into volumes if there was much multi-pitch in the area. Someone once drew my attention to how skinny Scottish guidebooks are. Must be paired down to the bear minimum.

The YMC Yorkshire Gritstone is over 1400 pages, split into two volumes.

Has to be either the GU Parisella's Pamphlet, or if you don't want to count that then the Nesscliffe guide. Admittedly both quite specific. The central Wales guide is also pretty slender.

It was quite a bit smaller in dimensions as well although I haven't got the new one to see if the contents are the same.

Alan

I had set a self-imposed limit of 500 pages on my books.
https://www.redrocksguidebook.com/index.html
https://www.mojavelimestone.com
https://www.northconwayrockclimbs.com
Though I'm not sure what to do with new editions, since with all 3 books I'm at the point where either I break the rule or split into two volumes?
At the moment leaning towards 2 volumes. I'd be curious what people think are the pros and cons.

Not quite "a" guidebook then! The Sachsiche Schwietz is six or seven volumes and god knows how many pages altogether.

The Bible?  All the beta on how to dyno past temptation, turn the other cheek (clearly a metaphor for back and footing up a grit chimney), suffer under the yolk of one's burden (carry your rack up to the Cromlech) and ascend to Heaven.

My Pembroke CC guide although it's split into 2 books encased in a single binder, the page numbers continue from part one into part two, 414 - 830 so this must count!?

Northern Rock is being printed as we speak - 608 pages. Chunky but perhaps not "brick" proportions. I think Scottish Rock will be a few pages more. I was livid when I found out 😀

There's a joke in there somewhere.

Northern Rock: too big to fail!

Sorry yes meant to say single volume.

No sorry, no 'fantasy' books.

The CC "Meirionnydd" guidebook is 512 pages, - quite chunky.

Presume you mean either the yellow 70's guide or the earlier red one. The 90's guide is a reasonable thickness requiring a binding rather than just staples.

Encyclopedia Britannica?

762 for Vol. 1 of the Röker guide to Frankenjura, I think around 650 for Vol. 2

Up to the last edition it used to be on volume before splitting North and South with probably around 1000 pages as well.

The six volumes of Kletterführer Sächsische Schweiz contain 2248 pages all together, but they have topos for only very few of the routes, mainly it is a list rather than an actual guide. I much prefered the topo guides, but there you only got a fraction of the routes.

CB

Firstly Kletterführer Sächsische Schweiz  are  definitive guides with full descriptions of all routes. If you are that desperate for topos, we recommend the topo kletterfuhrer guides from Reike Rassbach. Unfortunately for many the topos are only for the harder routes.

Tony & Sarah

I have both several of the topo guides and all six of the regular guides, Even the local topo guides, e.g. for Bielatal or Steinegebiet are nothing like the Frankenjura topos.

CB