All climbers boulder in the Peak District, or aspire to. Clouds of breath huddling beneath a golden chunk of grit, the snag of a sparkling crystal, looking west to a glowing pink sun over the frozen moors, crisp icy footprints in the peat to a pint and debrief in the warm pub; mist of bareback sweat shining in dappled rays of summer sun, wafts of wild garlic, elusive weightless moments in dales of slick limestone, then back in the GTI to the board. History. Moon, Moffatt, Allen, Dawes. The reasons are obvious – endless quality problems in an area of natural beauty. But how to get the most out of your time?
For those unfamiliar, this guide offers, according to the authors, an almost definitive guide to the bouldering found throughout the Peak National Park, from grade 3 to 8b+. This new guide supercedes the superlative 2004 previous guide from the same team. At first I found it hard to believe that there would be much call for an update after a mere 7 years in the “most developed area in the world”. With over 3,300 problems there are nearly twice as many as in the last, so how wrong can you be! And this isn’t just filler – there are numerous newly documented crags which open up the scope of this guide to a huge geographical area. Is any of it worthwhile? YES! For instance the Derwent Edges, high on the moors but much closer to Sheffield than many other venues is a major area which was a glaring omission from the last guide – now put right by comprehensive coverage sure to pour balm on your soul.
Three other regions now offer hugely expanded coverage which better reflect their real quality – what I call the “Southern” grit crags, stretching from Stanton Moor though the Amber Valley to Black Rocks has always been a treasure trove equal to the better known Northern crags for those in the know. Thanks to numerous extra crags (Stanton-In-The-Woods, Cocking Tor, Matlock Quarries, etc.) this now includes the readers of this guide - enjoy. The region North East of Manchester, once the sole preserve of that aloof King of Grit, Wimberry, is now joined by a legion of worthy courtiers in old favourites Hobson Moor and New Mills Tor and brand new areas Tintwistle Knarr and Black Tor. And the peerless Peak limestone has been rejuvenated to reflect the resurgence in interest in recent years, the wonderful climbing found in Blackwell Dale in particular justifying the reprint.
Other fresh content comes courtesy of a development which only really occurred since the last guide – highballing as a regular team pursuit. This innovation has opened up many of grit’s shorter routes to the bold-erer, so here we have stuff like The Block at Black Rocks capturing the zeitgeist. Its not all state of the art though, because on this basis the delightful juggy limestone of Harborough rocks gets seen through boulderer’s eyes, perfect for those in the 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s, and the magnificent highball circuit on Curbar crag for example (Fidget, Rise of The Robots, Unreachable Star, etc.) is now there for boulderers to consider.
In amongst all this new coverage don’t forget the originals, Stanage, Burbage, Curbar, Froggatt. These and the other famous crags have been updated, with the addition of numerous new problems and refinements of grades and descriptions. This guide now represents the most accurate coverage of these staples and must be close to definitive (famous last words!).
The other new addition is that of a starring system – a star for a great problem, a bold star for a true classic. I must admit that I am a fan of stars as they give the visitor a starting point from which to enjoy the best of Peak bouldering. I am sure that some will disagree but it is a personal matter so hey ho. Frankly though I take issue with the allocation of some – is Quine (Rowtor) really worth a star? The same as the utterly brilliant Fidget (Curbar)? Not in my book, but I suppose that on the plus side it does give us something beyond grades to argue with! A brief note on grades while we are on the subject - all are now correct. Discuss.
It sticks with the landscape format made popular by the iconic Font 7&8 guides. Although I prefer portrait as it is easier to flick through and just seems more robust, it must be said that it is easier to display at-a-glance information about the long gritstone edges in landscape.
In terms of layout, this guide is a triumph. Finding your problem has never been easier. Starting from the overall “road map” showing all crags, the guide is split into logical regions, each with a finer scale map at the section beginning, then into individual crags with another finer scale map on the intro page, then finally the crag topo. This simple point is a failing of most guidebooks – the guides that fail to guide (e.g. the Font 7&8’s). This book is not one of those. Crag information is displayed by just the right balance of problem description and clearly marked photo topos on the same page. When you throw the action shots into the pot, you have a flawless synthesis of style and substance.
It is well worth mentioning the aesthetics of this book. In my opinion, a guide should be more than plain facts. It should provide inspiration. It should tickle your pickle. The Peak has some of the finest climbing photographers in existence in Adam Long, John Coefield, Simon Wilson, POD, Nick Brown, Dave Parry, and numerous others glorified in the acknowledgements. This book is a showcase of their talents and left me slack jawed at the sheer quality of the images. You could strip out all the crag info and it would still make a great picture book. Adam’s shot of Trust (p360), John’s of Big Al Quaeda (p246), and Nick’s shot of Angel’s Share (p308, and left here) really say so much about Peak Bouldering that no amount of words ever could, and the efforts made to use such world class images must be applauded. The use of Heinz Zak’s old skool shots of Ben and Malcolm at Stoney add a rare and remarkable snapshot of how things were – another valuable addition.
This is the only book which documents all of Peak bouldering in one volume, and it is a simply brilliant book. So the facts are simply these; if you wish to boulder in the Peak District at any point in the rest of you life, you cannot afford not to buy this book.
Contributed by
Nigel
