New Yorkshire Grit Bouldering Guide Preview

With a New Year on the horizon and piddling book launches like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows safely out of the way, the stage is set for the most eagerly anticipated guide book since Simon Panton's North Wales Bouldering Bible. As I write the freshly proofread and edited e-draft of the first volume of the NEW Yorkshire Grit bouldering guide is at the printers awaiting its allotted slot of the 14th January for final binding and then on to all discerning climbing shops, worthy of the name, sometime soon after.

The new guide is being written and produced by a newly setup company operating under the moniker of "Total Climbing". Total are headed up by bouldering stalwart and renowned strongman, Steve Dunning. This will be the company's first production, although having spoken to Steve, following the completion of the 2nd volume of Yorkshire Grit, they have some interesting ideas for their next project - watch this space.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, what about this first effort? Well, the first volume of the new Yorkshire guide will cover all the usual haunts and hangouts of Yorkshire finest, including a number of areas not included in its now well traveled predecessor, Rockfax: Yorkshire Grit Bouldering. These areas include the now uber classic venue of Slipstones along with the likes of of Scout Crag, White Houses and Mytholm Steeps, which (along with a number of other lesser known areas) have gained ever more popularity through the work of Jon Pearson and his superb Yorkshiregrit.com bouldering website. Inset: The new guide in all its glory and my thoroughly well used, note ridden, and bolstered with subsequent topo's edition of the previous Yorkshire grit bouldering guide.

One of the fine new additions in the guide - No Mercy Fb8a on Earl Crag's Hitching Stone.

The full complement of crags in the First Volume is as follows Almscliff, Brimham, Caley, Clattering Stones, Dove Stones, Chevin, Earl Crag, Gorple, Ilkley, Mytholm Steeps, Scout Hut Crag, Scout Crag, Shipley Glen, Slipstones, Swastika Stones, West Vale, White Houses, Widdop and Woodhouse.

It's certainly not overstating the importance and quality of the Yorkshiregrit.com site in saying that, by setting such a high standard, it has most certainly put the skids on any "Jack the Lad" publishing house cashing in on a nationally important area which, as we've seen with areas such as the Peak and North Wales, must be catered for by a passionate local group or individual, with a keen eye for detail and an anal knowledge of the area's hidden mystique. When the time finally did arrive for Steve and his team to put pen to parchment Yorkshiregrit.com has no doubt aided their task no end through it's vast archive of superb grade debate, route commentary and online area topo's.

Jon has recently added some great new features to the Yorkshiregrit.com site.

There appears to be an interesting omission from both volumes of the new guide.
The classic venue of Bridestones appears to have once and for all been wrestled back into the clutches of those most hated of adversary's, the Lancasterians. Consequently the area has been left out of the forthcoming manuscript. In truth I suspect the actual reason for it's omission is that of the ever increasing problem of both rock and soil erosion at the venue. Don't worry to much, if you have a hankering to visit and have access to computer and printer, Yorkshiregrit.com have produced a superb free topo which can be downloaded, perused or printed here - Bridestones PDF Topo.

Sample Page - this an incomplete extract and merely meant to show the layout style of the guide...

Yorkshire Gritstone Bouldering Volume 2:
This is due out (according to Total Climbing) in March 2008, giving you just enough time to have ticked the first volume. This next volume will include the following crags - Brandrith, Brown Beck, Crookrise, Deer Gallows, Eastby, Flasby Fell, Fairies Chest, Great Wolf Stones, Great Wolfrey, Goldsbrough Carr, Guiscliff, Hellifield, Lords Seat, Rhylstone, Simon Seat, Sypeland, Snowdon Crags and Thrus Cross.

The benefit of two volumes is obvious, more detail, better photos, less to lug to your alloted crag of the day. Unfortunately, however, the main downside will be having to shell out two lots of cash for each book (although the 2nd edition will be slightly cheaper than the £19.95 price tag of the 1st edition), lets hope they're worth it? That said, I'm sure, many climbers (especially none locals) will be happy just owning the first installment, as it covers all the better known and most easily accessed venues...