[ian h]

New Southern Sandstone guide out now. 

This time featuring all the bouldering , including all the lovely High rocks greatness and Eridge gems , Bowles circuits, and Harrisons rubbish. 

I'll get my coat 

[Jim]

link?

[duncan]

link?

Here

The new-style CC guides are looking good

[Fiend]

The only thing that could make southern sandstone look good is a load of dynamite, a fleet of JCBs, and a fast-track climbers-only lane to Dover or Hathersage.

[Jaspersharpe]

Looks really good. Good choice of area for the cover pic. 

Think I've spotted an error though as the first ascent of The Second Generation was done on 24/06/90 (I can remember because it was the day before my 16th birthday) and not in 1981 when I was seven.

The only thing that could make southern sandstone look good is a load of dynamite, a fleet of JCBs, and a fast-track climbers-only lane to Dover or Hathersage.

Have you climbed at High Rocks Fiend?

[chriss]

Bit harsh slagging off my local sandy stuff Fiend, its only the London indoor punters that make it look so shit.

[Pantontino]

I thought this was a curious comment:

"In common with some other bouldering areas it was decided not to give stars to boulder problems, although routes have been starred."

Why not star boulder problems? I realise that the BMC Peak guides don't.

Answering my own question: is this an attempt to limit erosion? If so, why not go the whole hog and leave the boulder problems out of the guide?

[dave]

Why not star boulder problems?

maybe they're all shit.


Seriously though, the not-ging-stars thing won't do anything for erosion. its not like you can rewrite all the pre-existing guides or media coverage to pretend that everything is the same quality. with no stars people will just stick to what they know are good problems from what they've seen in mags and on the tinternet. thus is existing trashed classics just get trashed even more.

[Pantontino]

 

Stars can also be used to influence people in a positive way, i.e. get them to visit satellite problems beyond the usual circuits. I'm not advocating bigging up average problems, just highlighting the good stuff.

Before I go off trekking to find problem X I want to know if the effort of getting there will be worth it. Basically the traditional 3 star system we've always used for routes works just as well for boulder problems.

[Jaspersharpe]

It does seem an odd decision when the bouldering is being promoted in the form of descriptions and photos.

[Fiend]

Blah blah blah negative karma whatever blah blah snore

The only thing that could make southern sandstone look good is a load of dynamite, a fleet of JCBs, and a fast-track climbers-only lane to Dover or Hathersage.

Have you climbed at High Rocks Fiend?

Ah, Southern Sandstone devotees getting wound up about their precious ""rock"". How quaintly UKC...

I learnt to climb on SS, spent most of my formative climbing years on it fairly often, including about 2 years climbing on it and little else. I've climbed regularly at all the major crags )including High Rocks a few times), and have probably done a few hundred "routes" (admittedly not all of them clean). Oh and some bouldering and I will grudgingly grant you that if that steep little wall at the left end of Bowels was the only rock for hundreds of miles then it might be worth a training session once every decade or so.

Suffice to say, I loathe it through experience, not ignorance

Sorry what was the question again??

[Houdini]

It does seem an odd decision when the bouldering is being promoted in the form of descriptions and photos.

Tsk Jasper!  You're forgetting that the CC are a bunch of crypto-nazi traditionalist OAP's w/ one foot in the grave whose collective idea of bouldering starts w/ Brown's Mantle and ends w/ the 6b traverse @ the RAC.

[Jaspersharpe]

Fiend it was your petty writing off of an entire area that smacked of Cocktalk ignorance. If you have done a few hundred routes on SS over a two year period but only climbed at what is by far the best crag "a few times" then I can see why your opinion is so sullied. Perhaps it was wet most of the time? I know this was a problem that is now meant to have been sorted out. Granted a lot of lower grade stuff on SS is pretty poor but some of harder routes at High Rocks are actually very good and stand up to comparison with stuff in other areas of the UK in terms of quality.

I've not climbed there for years and certainly wouldn't consider myself a devotee any more. I just think that until you've sampled the best an area has to offer then to suggest that the whole place should be demolished is a poor show.

Houd - point is that they do look to have done a pretty good job of documenting the bouldering so not including a starring system seems a strange choice. Know what you're saying mind.

[Yossarian]

Blah blah blah negative karma whatever blah blah snore

The only thing that could make southern sandstone look good is a load of dynamite, a fleet of JCBs, and a fast-track climbers-only lane to Dover or Hathersage.

Have you climbed at High Rocks Fiend?

Ah, Southern Sandstone devotees getting wound up about their precious ""rock"". How quaintly UKC...

I learnt to climb on SS, spent most of my formative climbing years on it fairly often, including about 2 years climbing on it and little else. I've climbed regularly at all the major crags )including High Rocks a few times), and have probably done a few hundred "routes" (admittedly not all of them clean).

exactly the same as me, but i look on it with a sense of affectionate appreciation. rather like reminiscing about the provider of a teenage blowjob. she may not have worn well, and her technique could be criticised as being somewhat unorthodox, but there were definitely some good moves there...

[ian h]

I thought this was a curious comment:

"In common with some other bouldering areas it was decided not to give stars to boulder problems, although routes have been starred."

Why not star boulder problems? I realise that the BMC Peak guides don't.

Answering my own question: is this an attempt to limit erosion? If so, why not go the whole hog and leave the boulder problems out of the guide?

It was indeed a attempt to limit erosion, i think the decision to include the problems at all was due the growth in popularity of the sport since the last guide. Whether this strategy will work is another matter and only time will tell  .

Why not star boulder problems?

maybe they're all shit.


Seriously though, the not-ging-stars thing won't do anything for erosion. its not like you can rewrite all the pre-existing guides or media coverage to pretend that everything is the same quality. with no stars people will just stick to what they know are good problems from what they've seen in mags and on the tinternet. thus is existing trashed classics just get trashed even more.

Allot of the bouldering on Southern Sandstone is really local knowledge , with only a relatively small percentage of problems being known to the majority.

Southern Sandstone does not really get much coverage at all either in the mags or on the internet

Stars can also be used to influence people in a positive way, i.e. get them to visit satellite problems beyond the usual circuits. I'm not advocating bigging up average problems, just highlighting the good stuff.

Before I go off trekking to find problem X I want to know if the effort of getting there will be worth it. Basically the traditional 3 star system we've always used for routes works just as well for boulder problems.

Southern Sandstone  is a really small area , there really is no need to go trekking anywhere , so very little effort would be required to try out some new problems.

It does seem an odd decision when the bouldering is being promoted in the form of descriptions and photos.

Tsk Jasper!  You're forgetting that the CC are a bunch of crypto-nazi traditionalist OAP's w/ one foot in the grave whose collective idea of bouldering starts w/ Brown's Mantle and ends w/ the 6b traverse @ the RAC.

Neither me or Ian Stronghill are involved with the climbers club or traditionalist oap's , however we checked all the bouldering route descriptions / grades for Robin Mazinke . We took a fair bit of time doing this to ensure there were no inaccurate descriptions or soft touches .

[chriss]

Got the new SS guide, not that anyone gives a f@#k heres my two bobs worth.
Thought there could of been a bit more bouldering in it, for example Bowles has tons more than shown in the guide, but then i guess it's not a bouldering guide.
Also though some grades were a bit out, I know grading is is subjective, but I'm a 5'7'' fatty, my mate is 6'1'' with a huge ape index & we both sat there giving it the 'no fuckin' way it gets that' when we sat down for a read.
Anyway I'm not to fussed as i know whats where etc...
Lastly on the subject of stars & trying to preserve routes & problems as I said in an earlier post the South East is so full of know all, know fuck all punters that turn up & thrash away at the same shit time after time that only a miracle will save this place....

[ian h]

Got the new SS guide, not that anyone gives a f@#k heres my two bobs worth.
Thought there could of been a bit more bouldering in it, for example Bowles has tons more than shown in the guide, but then i guess it's not a bouldering guide.
Also though some grades were a bit out, I know grading is is subjective, but I'm a 5'7'' fatty, my mate is 6'1'' with a huge ape index & we both sat there giving it the 'no fuckin' way it gets that' when we sat down for a read.
Anyway I'm not to fussed as i know whats where etc...
Lastly on the subject of stars & trying to preserve routes & problems as I said in an earlier post the South East is so full of know all, know fuck all punters that turn up & thrash away at the same shit time after time that only a miracle will save this place....

With regards to bowles it was decided that eliminates were not going to be included, i dont know if this accounts for lack of problems ( i have not actually seen the finished guide yet )

what problems / grades did you think were off the mark ?

[unclesomebody]

I have to ask. Do the route descriptions include info about the first solo ascent? Is my name next to Kraite Arete? I ask because I heard a rumour of something so ridiculous that I don't even want to post it...

[Jim]

don't be shy uncle, we're all adults on here

[richie0210]

The Guide seems really well done. Really easy to use with the short descriptions and the cross reference with the pictures and climbing lines. Cross between the old climbers guide and the jingo wobbly guide.
Shame some lines got chopped out or only get a very brief mention at the end of another description but then guess the guide can't be to thick lol
On the bouldering side of things seems to be a few mixs ups, especially with the font grading side of things. Brenva sit 7b for example I've seen people do this that cant climb 7a let alone 7b.
Either way this is only my opinion and over all the guide seems really good.
 Cheers to all those involved in getting it done finally, i know I'll definitely be using it

[Jaspersharpe]

Keith. Was this the fact that some locals didn't think it counted cos you used a mat or is it something even more ridiculous that you don't want to post? Can't see any reference to solo ascents in the example pages but as there is a first ascents list I would assume that they are included there or somewhere similar?

[unclesomebody]

I must stress that this is only a rumour that I heard regarding the guidebook, so it might be totally incorrect...BUT, I heard that they didn't want to include my solo ascent because I used 2 pads (1 of which was literally as thick as a carpet) and they decided instead to refer to it as "led with gear". You can see how ridiculous this is, so perhaps someone could have a look in the guidebook and clear it up.

[SA Chris]

If that is true it is almost funny.

[Jaspersharpe]

Sure is. Especially if you know the route.

[SA Chris]

I think I do. Cut my climbing teeth on the SSs and have been back occasionally when visiting relatives in Surrey or work down that way. Remember it being pointed out to me in a most revered way.