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VIC Arapiles	(General)	(General)	(General)	[ Arapiles Guide \| Arapiles Images ]

Author

new small-format Araps guidebook, 444 of the best.

onsight

22-May-2013
10:04:36 PM

Hi everyone,

We have a new guidebook at the printers which will be available in late June. It's a small-format book called Arapiles, 444 of the Best, authored by Gordon Poultney, 132 pages, and will sell for a very reasonable $19.95.

I've written a bunch more about it on my blog here and you can also check the specs and see some sample pages here.

Cheers!

23-May-2013
9:21:43 AM

Gordons 'mainly bolts' guide to victoria is a classic!


BlankSlab

23-May-2013
12:30:13 PM

It will probably be along time before i ever make it to climb there but at that price i couldn't say no.


Duang Daunk

23-May-2013
9:06:22 PM

>Arapiles, 444 of the Best, authored by Gordon Poultney, 132 pages, and will sell for a very reasonable $19.95.

444?
What a rip off, as it is only 2/3 of the beast, er, best.

gfdonc

24-May-2013
9:06:15 AM

Not really a strategic move to attract the Japanese climbers is it?


The good Dr

24-May-2013
9:50:55 AM

Wont sell too many to the Chinese as 444 is a number associated with death as the pronunciation is similar.


Superstu

24-May-2013
10:30:53 AM

words of enlightenment from http://www.ridingthebeast.com/numbers/nu444.php
(the first few pages are waffle so skip to "General" and then to the Comments for everything you need to know about the number 444 and its relevance to the sport climbing zombie apocalypse)

pecheur

24-May-2013
1:47:51 PM

On 24/05/2013 The good Dr wrote:
>Wont sell too many to the Chinese as 444 is a number associated with death
>as the pronunciation is similar.

Actually it's just 4 that the pronunciation is similar. 444 sounds like Die, die, die.

But whatever, it is a consideration to Chinese and Japanese.


Miguel75

24-May-2013
3:33:09 PM

On 24/05/2013 gfdonc wrote:
>Not really a strategic move to attract the Japanese climbers is it?

You should be fine with 444 for the Japanese. It's usually only the number 4 (Shi) they worry about...

gfdonc

24-May-2013
5:04:45 PM

I just figured 444 was a way of saying "Die! Die! Die!".

I'll be less subtle next time.


ryguy

26-May-2013
2:59:06 PM

the format is clean, it works great...but the stampeding application of this same exact format to every new guidebook in eastern australia is a bit characterless. To me, it's taking the fun out of exploring a new crag since the book I'm holding is so similarly designed to the others.


ambyeok

27-May-2013
12:43:48 PM

>You should be fine with 444 for the Japanese. It's usually only the number 4 (Shi) they worry about...

I am more concerned about the impact to nerds, what with 444 being the web error code for "no response", which in turn could vaguely indicate death.

My guess is that no Japanese nerds are going to buy this book.


Grinder

27-May-2013
1:05:44 PM

The Italian version of "C'mon" is Dai, pronounced Die.
I never got used to people yelling that at me when I was under the pump.


Miguel75

27-May-2013
1:23:08 PM

On 24/05/2013 gfdonc wrote:
>I just figured 444 was a way of saying "Die! Die! Die!".
>
>I'll be less subtle next time.

Touche :)

kieranl

27-May-2013
2:12:39 PM

I'm just waiting to find out where this "new small-format Araps" is.


Eduardo Slabofvic

27-May-2013
3:06:51 PM

Could someone please write a guide book to all these guide books

onsight

28-Jun-2013
1:04:10 PM

Hi everyone. Well... it is here! Our shipment was delivered a few days ago. It's a small book (that was the idea) and I'm very happy with how it has all turned out. You can get a preview here.

Everyone who has placed mail-orders, and all the shops which have ordered, will likely receive their orders today as we sent out all the orders out two days ago. Many thanks!

Yes, that is a drilled hole in the top left corner. The book is small enough to fit in pocket (170x120mm) but this gives you an option to thread it with cord to hang off your harness, if you want. Maybe you could even use it for pro if you get desperate!?

onsight

28-Jun-2013
1:07:43 PM

On 26/05/2013 ryguy wrote:
>the format is clean, it works great...but the stampeding application of
>this same exact format to every new guidebook in eastern australia is a
>bit characterless. To me, it's taking the fun out of exploring a new crag
>since the book I'm holding is so similarly designed to the others.

Ryan, thanks for this feedback. It's a very interesting point and I very much take it on board. Of course we haven't quite produced every recent guidebook in Easter Australia, and there are still a few guidebooks like the Nowra one if you're looking for something with a really special character... Also with this Araps book you'll see there are some differences with the other books we've produced (besides the obvious size difference), for example, it has minimal use of icons -- in part because that was the authors preference but also because we decided on what we thought was appropriate for this area and for this book. That all said -- I do take your point.

I'd like to take this opportunity to explain some of the things we've been doing with these guidebooks; because yes, this new Araps book does have some similarities with the Grampians, Queensland and Blue Mtns books we've previously produced. Some of the similarities have been deliberate -- and these are the things that I wouldn't change from the other books we've produced: Firstly, colour coding to indicate trad/mixed/sport, I think this is the fastest and best way to convey this info, and I wouldn't want to confuse people by changing this between areas/books now (that said, note that since the Blue Mtns books we have done away with the yellow "Sport on Carrots" colour and added a separate carrot symbol instead). Secondly, colouring to indicate different areas, this could be more subtle and applied in different ways but I do believe this significantly speeds up use of the book (faster when flipping between areas, contents, and maps -- and re-finding a page when you re-open the book). Thirdly, design, there is certainly room for some differences/changes there but the thing I will always aim for is "tight" design -- and by that I mean: minimal use of white space, generally keeping the size of action photos small (at the end of the day of it's a guidebook), and keeping graphics clean and not unnecessarily complicated -- basically maximising usability whilst ensuring there isn't unnecessary pages (unnecessary page turning, weight and bulk, and wasted paper) added. I hope that explains some of the similarities.

Anyway, I'm thinking ahead to the next Blue Mtns edition, which might get some big changes, and I'll definitely be keeping your point in mind. Thanks again.


grantoss

28-Jun-2013
1:41:54 PM

On 28/06/2013 onsight wrote:
there are still a few guidebooks like
>the Nowra one if you're looking for something with a really special character...

Special is one word for it!


Cool Hand Lock

4-Jul-2013
11:04:55 PM

On 23/05/2013 kp wrote:
>Gordons 'mainly bolts' guide to victoria is a classic!

A guide written by someone who has actually climbed the hard routes... is this a first?

There are 29 messages in this topic.