Climbing by the book as Stanage guide is launched at Cliffhanger
Produced by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), the guidebook is called Stanage - the Definitive Guide as it contains all the routes and all the boulder problems at the popular gritstone climbing spot in the Peak District.
BMC CEO Dave Turnbull said "We wanted to produce a guidebook with a humorous touch which does this well loved crag justice. Stanage has over 1200 climbing routes and so it's taken a lot of time and effort from BMC volunteers to produce the new guide - but we're sure climbers will agree the result has been worth the wait."
The guide will be available to buy from the BMC stand at Cliffhanger.
Cliffhanger takes place in Graves Park where the BMC is also holding the British Bouldering Championships.
Dave Turnbull added: "We're excited to be part of the Cliffhanger festival. Sheffield is home to a massive climbing population and we hope to see a big crowd turn out to watch the best of British boulderers battle it out at the championships on a specially constructed climbing wall in Graves Park."
Stanage - the Definitive Guide follows the highly successful style of the recent Roaches and Burbage, Millstone and Beyond guides, also published by the BMC. It has detailed route descriptions, full-colour topos, handy maps, action photos, first ascent lists, graded lists and much more. Innovative features include bouldering circuits and My Favourite Five, where well-known climbers including Johnny Dawes and Steve McClure share their top routes.
There are plenty of routes for those starting out rock climbing. The guide also contains juicy anecdotes on the history of Stanage and how it helped shape climbing in the Peak, with contributions from Stanage pioneers including Ed Drummond and Ron Fawcett.
The guide is available to buy from the BMC website priced at £17 (BMC members), £18.99 (non-members). To get you in the mood, you can download a chapter for free from the BMC website http://www.thebmc.co.uk/. Find out just how much you need this guidebook.
Notes to editors
- To interview the Sheffield-based guidebook editor, Niall Grimes, please contact Niall on 0161 438 3301 / email niall@thebmc.co.uk or contact Tina Gardner, BMC Press & PR Officer on 0161 438 3337 or tina@thebmc.co.uk. Photographs and review copies are available to media on request.
- The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers in England and Wales and is recognised as such by government. The BMC is committed to promoting the interests of climbers, hill walker and mountaineers and good practice in all activities related to these pursuits.
- Stanage - the definitive guide has received glowing reviews, including:
"as a definitive guidebook in the UK this is as good as it gets" Mick Ryan, Ukclimbing.com
"get off to the shop and buy one quickly before they've all gone. Buy two. One for the bookshelf or the valuables safe and the other for the crag." guidebook veteran Dave Gregory, Ukclimbing.com
"Awesome" Planetfear.com
"Book of the month" Trail magazine
- Cliffhanger - The Outdoor event for outdoor people http://www.cliff-hanger.co.uk/
- Other BMC products include the British Mountain Map to the Dark Peak produced by Harvey in March 2007 http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id=1338
Tickets for the two-day Cliffhanger are £5 for adults - but kids, parking and programmes, are free.
Cliffhanger is organised by Sheffield City Council Parks and Countryside Department and Woodseats-based outdoor sports event consultants, Heason Events with backing from Decathlon, Spice Yorkshire, Fat Face, Alpkit.com, University of Derby, planetFear.com, Natives.co.uk, Climb Magazine, The Star, Real Radio, Dirty Stop Outs, The British Mountaineering Council, Sports Pulse, Arnold Laver, The Climbing Works, Yorkshire Forward and ERDF.
For further information, call Kevin Cheetham on: 0114 273 6433 or Matt Heason on: 0114 296 9114/0796 652 9219.
