Climbing guidebook

Database of climbing routes

Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies (2016), by Alan Kane.

Climbing guidebooks are used by mountaineers, alpinists, ice climbers, and rock climbers to locate, grade, and navigate climbing routes on mountains or crags. Many guidebooks also offer condensed information about local restaurants, bars, and camping areas; often include sections on geology and local climbing history; and may contain many pictures to inspire climbers. Guidebooks may range in size from pamphlets detailing dozens of routes up to tomes that document thousands of routes. The library of the American Alpine Club contains over 20,000 books and videos, a majority of which are such guidebooks.[1] In the Alps the Alpine Club Guide series is very comprehensive.

## Content and information[edit]

Main article: Climbing route § Details

Topo image of cliff Toix Est in the Costa Blanca region of Spain, by climber Chris Craggs from a Rockfax guidebook

Guidebooks can indicate locations of the route by verbal descriptions (for example: " start in the third left-facing corner below the large, orange roof, left of the route "Something Interesting"). Starting in the 1980s, a diagram style was developed, with detailed diagrams (or photographs) of the routes with the key obstacles and challenges encountered explicitly marked/overlaid, which came to be called "topos" (see image opposite).[2][3]

Modern guidebooks include a range of standard details for each specific route, including the length of a route and its climbing grade. The description can also include varying amounts of information about how to climb the route, such as the location of the crux and any special techniques needed (i.e. bridging, laybacking, or need for aid climbing)—when the information on 'how to climb' a route is very detailed it is collectively known as beta. The guidebook may also include the type of equipment needed and particularly for climbing protection. In a definitive guide, the route's history (e.g. credits for first free ascents) would also be included.[4]

In 2022, two Austrian climbers published Klimafreundlich Klettern (or Sustainable Climbing), which was a guidebook on the Tyrol whose climbing routes could be accessed via public transport or bicycle, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the climbers.[5]

## Publication and authorship[edit]

Guidebooks may be compilations of selected popular or well-regarded routes (e.g. Fifty Classic Climbs of North America), or exhaustive references and databases of all known climbing routes in a region (e.g. the 512-page Lancashire Rock in Britain). The books may be published by national/regional mountaineering bodies (e.g. the British Mountaineering Council in Britain, the Club Alpino Italiano in Italy, or the Sierra Club in the US), by commercial publishers (e.g. Rockfax and Cicerone in Europe or Falcon Guides in the US), or self-published by local enthusiasts, which is how climbing areas get started.[6]

Regardless of publication, in many cases, the authorship of the climbing guidebook will explicitly (i.e. named on the front cover), or implicitly (listed as contributors/advisors), include well-regarded climbers who are associated with the climbing area in question. There are however notable climbing guidebook authors who are not specifically associated with an area, but whose authorship and climbing insights are equally well-regarded, examples being Britain's Ken Wilson and America's Steve Roper, who wrote many notable climbing guidebooks for a wide range of locations.[2]

As a climbing area develops, new editions of the guidebook for the area will be published to capture the details of new climbing routes, to update details for existing routes, and in particular to show any change in the consensus grade of existing climbing routes.[7] The task of re-grading existing climbs, and ensuring that the guidebook accurately and fairly reflects the assessments of respected climbers in the area, can be lengthy—and can lead to many heated debates amongst climbers,[6] which need to be 'consensus-driven'.[4] Between editions, 'new routes updates' are often held online.[2]

In recent years, many climbing guidebooks have been published in digital format, often for display in smartphone applications as apps.[8] This medium offers the benefit of continuous updates, as well as rapid searching, and in some cases, GPS navigation and three dimensional diagrams.[2][9] There are now several major online climbing route databases including 'theCrag.com' and 'MountainProject.com', however, climbing authors note that the need for 'physical guidebooks' that can be carried by climbers to (often) remote crags remains.[3][10]

## Libraries and collections[edit]

Several mountaineering organizations maintain extensive libraries and collections of current and historical climbing guidebooks, including the British Mountaineering Council, who have been compiling an updated Bibliography of British and Irish Guidebooks (from 1894).[11][12] The library of the American Alpine Club is also noted for its collection of climbing guidebooks.[10] A noted online database of information on climbing routes is the late Elizabeth Hawley's, The Himalayan Database.

## Influence and notable books[edit]

Climbing guidebooks are important to the culture of climbing, transmitting history and stories of climbing areas and individual climbing routes down through the ages, and delineating what is considered good and acceptable style in a particular area.[3]

Several climbing guidebooks are historically notable for their role in promoting a given climbing area, and include:

### British Isles[edit]

* Some Gritstone Climbs

### Continental European[edit]

* Alpine Club Guide (German: Alpenvereinsführer, commonly shortened to AV Führer or AVF).
* Guida dei Monti d'Italia (in English Guidebook to the Italian mountains).

### North American[edit]

* A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range.[10]
* Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.
* Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies.

## Awards[edit]

The Banff Mountain Book Festival has at times given a 'Best Guidebook Award' for outstanding guidebooks.[13]

## See also[edit]

* Climbing route
* Climbing technique

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Henry S. Hall Jr. American Alpine Club Library - American Alpine Club". Archived from the original on 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
2. ^ a b c d Adamson, Michael (6 February 2009). "The Guidebook Odyssey – Unearthing the epic task of writing a guidebook". Climbing. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
3. ^ a b c Robinson, Doug (23 March 2023). "Guidebooks Are Still a Problem". Climbing. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
4. ^ a b Ryan, Mick; James, Alan (July 2002). How to write ... a MiniGuide (PDF). RockFax. pp. 1–15. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
5. ^ "Sustainable climbing. The guidebook to Tyrol, Austria by Lena Müller, Deniz Scheerer". PlanetMountain. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
6. ^ a b Grimes, Niall (12 December 2010). "How the BMC produces guidebooks". British Mountaineering Council. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
7. ^ Ward, Meghan (3 November 2010). "Kevin McLane's Canadian Rock: What It Takes to Write a Guidebook". Alpinist. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
8. ^ Gerry, Aaron (29 September 2023). "The Best Climbing Apps of 2023". Climbing. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
9. ^ Pardy, Aaron (17 July 2023). "Has the Future of Climbing Guidebooks Arrived in Squamish?". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
10. ^ a b c Leonard, Brendan (12 April 2016). "Semi-Rad: In Praise of Guidebooks". Climbing. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
11. ^ Moss, Alan (8 February 2012). "Are you a Fanatical Guidebook Collector?". British Mountaineering Council. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
12. ^ Grimes, Niall (12 June 2014). "British and Irish Climbing guidebooks – The 2013 Supplement". British Mountaineering Council. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
13. ^ Chua, Steve (30 November 2018). "Squamish Rockclimbs wins best guidebook award". Pique Newsmagazine. Retrieved 5 May 2024.

## External links[edit]

* theCrag, Europe's largest online rock climbing route database
* MountainProject, North America's largest online rock and ice climbing route database
* VIDEO: How to use a climbing guide book, British Mountaineering Council (2017)

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