The first print run of the popular North Wales Rock selected climbs guide, released two years ago, has almost sold out. V12 Outdoor has a few copies left, and elsewhere around the country you might find the odd copy lurking in a shop.

Here at Ground Up we have been busy working on the second edition which we hope to pack off to the printers soon. The guide has undergone some significant design improvements, plus we have sorted out a range of corrections and updates where routes have changed or access situations have altered. There is also a brand new cover design featuring a superb shot of The Axe on Cloggy by top climbing photographer, Alex Messenger.

The maps have been improved, particularly in the Dinorwig slate quarry section and for Gogarth. Most of the topos have had there size increased, and some, such as the admittedly tiny Red Wall topo has been upgraded to a full page slot to aid readability.

There are also some minor improvements in areas such as the grade tables at the start of each crag chapter. In the first edition these were listed in alphabetical order within each grade range; these have now been placed in order of difficulty which will reduce any confusion about relative toughness. The comprehensive graded list in the introduction section remains – it is our firm belief that tick lists are an essential part of any great guidebook!

The route lines on the topos have been slightly thickened to make them clearer and the route number symbols colour coded to indicate relative difficulty and style (i.e. trad or sport). OS grid references have been added for each crag; aside from clarifying crag locations, these should be quoted in any accident situations.

The route choice remains largely the same, although the odd easier route has been added (e.g. the criminally under rated, yet utterly superb Hail Bebe VD at Craig Bwlch y Moch, Tremadog) and the odd rockfall damaged route taken out (e.g. Arachnid in Flytrap Zawn, Gogarth, which was a good E4, but is now a rather nasty E5).

We are keen to hear about any errors or problems areas that owners of the first edition have spotted whilst using the guide. Please email in any comments asap and we will aim to include the amendments in the second edition.

Relevant links:
      review of 1st edition of North Wales Rock
      another review of 1st edition of North Wales Rock
      

news archive
home