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Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

Topic Date User

Guide Book Production 18-Aug-2016 At 12:02:31 AM simey

Message

On 7/08/2016 robbie wrote:
>Yep Simey, they are all fantastic publications and a great resource for
>ALL who visit this world class crag.
>
>A question if I may. What do you consider the Pros and Cons of the Arapiles
>Selected Guides?
>
>Have a look at the following URL to see what I am on about.
>https://www.mountaineers.org/volunteers/leader-resources/publications-style-guide

Hey Rob,
Interesting to check out that link and see some of the recommendations that they list.

The main thing is to be consistent throughout whatever book you are compiling. But keep in mind that you sometimes need to 'break the rules' when representing a different size cliff to communicate information clearly.

Certain guidebook styles and designs work for some cliffs and not others (ie. North American style drawn topos work great for showing long granite and desert sandstone routes, but would be hopeless on Arapiles quartzite). That is why I am a bit dubious about a one size fits all template.

As for some pros and cons of the Arapiles guide...

Pros - I reckon you could probably find the cliff and climb you want to do fairly easily without being able to read English due to the use of various topos and maps.

The detailed descriptions gives you a better feel for each route and its dangers as opposed to a symbol or grade.

Most of the topos list the route/grades/stars on the actual topo so you don't have to flip through numerous pages in the guidebook to find out that info.

Cons - Not being able to speak English (or even failing to understand Australian humour) might mean you miss out on some of the nuances of the climb in the description.

I reckon we could almost go to a two star system in the Arapiles guide as there is not much difference between the two and three star routes, but traditionally it has always been three stars. (BTW, I hate 5 star guidebooks!)

I really like the Point Perpendicular guidebook. I thought that used some great elements that we didn't use in our Arapiles guide, in particular the spider web symbol for rarely repeated routes and a warning symbol with a few words describing in detail what the warning refers to.

Happy to talk about lots of other stuff (ie. colour coding) and whether it has merit or not (depends on the nature of the cliff and its routes).

Good luck!