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Crag & Route Beta

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New Arapiles Select Guide

simey

1-Apr-2006
9:31:46 AM

On 31/03/2006 Richard wrote:
>alphabetical index..think this is a bit of a waste of space, *if* the climbs are in alphabetical order in each grade index .. then it doesn't take long to scan a few of the grade indexes to find the climb your looking for. I suspect the current araps slected guide has the climbs in front-to-back order as appearing in the guide .. not sure this is really needed as there's a page ref for the climb anyway.

Regarding indexes. The reason we have the numerical index listings in the same order that the climbs appear throughout the guide, is because its gives people a clearer picture of whether there are other similar grade climbs in the vicinity.

We had always intended to put an alphabetical index in the current guide, but the number of pages had already grown substantially from our original printing quote, so we decided to leave it out, which was a mistake in hindsight.


Spanky

3-Apr-2006
1:00:04 PM

Maybe a ribbon of some kind could be sewn in to the binding for use as a bookmark...


Sabu

3-Apr-2006
2:00:36 PM

^ good idea !!! handy to find the page when ur partner is hanging off crimpers with no idea where to go!!

mikl law

4-Apr-2006
6:42:56 AM

And maybe a 1900 number at $5 per minute to talk to " Betamatrix" when you are getting desperate

gtempest

11-Apr-2006
3:32:58 PM

On 29/03/2006 Dr Box wrote:
>Hey simey, what sort of price do you think the guide will be??
>or is it too early to ask?
>coz as a poor uni student, cheaper would be good,
>but, if the price is lower (say$20-30) will it hinder the making of another
>quality quide?

Thanks Dr Box. This is a good question. At Open Spaces Books (the publishers of the Arapiles and Grampians Selected Climbs guides) we avoid printing our books outside of Australia. We could save around 20% on our printing costs by going to China but I like to keep entire print projects within Australia. This is not just because of any technical or quality issues, I also feel quite strongly about keeping Aussies in printing jobs. Producing a guide (especially ones as labor intensive as ours) is not cheap. The guides are printed on very high quality paper (partly recycled stock) and are all stitch bound. The new Arapiles guide will also be printed in full colour - another increase in costs. The other issue is that we print only a limited number. Obviously this will not be a Dan Brown best seller and our unit costs tend to be fairly high (and our profit margin fairly low). I suspect that the guide will sell for around $49. Considering that the VCC Mt Buffalo guide is retailing for $60.00 I feel this to be reasonable price. Perhaps Simey and I can provide Chockstone Forum members with a special pre-release price. Then again, maybe Simey will want to keep the cash to put towards his Nati Cafe.

Glenn

stuart

11-Apr-2006
3:44:09 PM

Given the relatively specialist nature of the field you're working within, 49 bucks is a reasonable price. The fact that the book will be of the quality you've indicated, plus is being printed within sound pretty sound ethical boundaries, makes it extra-value. And by crikey, if you divide the cost of the book by the amount of times you'll reference it in its life-time, it starts to look like excellent value at the price.


Eduardo Slabofvic

11-Apr-2006
4:03:54 PM

You'll be up to your 10th edition of the guide before Simey get the cafe open

Nottobetaken

11-Apr-2006
4:21:14 PM

On 31/03/2006 Eduardo Slabofvic wrote:
>Simey,
>Can you print the guide on absorbent paper, so that when you’ve done all
>the routes on one page you can tear it out to wipe your bum with?

Surely that would mean using the 'double-sided technique' - reserved only for cheap bastards - or for those who have lost their contact lenses mid-procedure. Or maybe you just haven't climbed that many routes?

On 31/03/2006 Eduardo Slabofvic wrote:
>...or to take the list idea a bit further, how about themes. Like do all
>the Morehead '81 routes in a year

An impossible task surely... even doing the Moorhead 'Dec'81' routes in a month is a pretty big job!

dalai

11-Apr-2006
4:21:57 PM

Given the past record of Cafes in Nati, it will open after the 10th edition and be closed prior to the 11th...

estherrenita_

11-Apr-2006
5:14:39 PM

We could save around 20% on our printing
>costs by going to China but I like to keep entire print projects within
>Australia.

fantastic.
i'm with you on that one.
es


sticky

11-Apr-2006
6:12:35 PM

On 11/04/2006 gtempest wrote:
. The new Arapiles guide will also be printed in full
>colour - >
>Glenn

Awesome news. Will definitely buy it now.

duglash

30-Apr-2006
9:56:18 PM

You should definitely tell Sherman to own up and admit he stole the grading system from aus. And
maybe use it just to drop the V from it. Dick waggling indeed.

Yep i reckon a bookmark ribbon would be good.

I find both Scorpion Corner and Unrequited a bit scary. On Scorpion Corner though it's on the easy bit,
Unrequited it's still hard - i reckon it's maybe 23. Also I'm pretty sure I had hexes, and got one or some
good or ok (it's a while ago) placements in the middle, which would alleviate some anxiety.


The Good Dr

1-May-2006
9:56:01 PM

.... and Unrequited a bit scary....
>Unrequited it's still hard - i reckon it's maybe 23.

Unrequited 22, and I thought the gear was OK.

Poppies, on the other hand (19 Bard Butress), needs to have a more accurate description. The rock at the bottom is dangerous and some of the loosest that I have climbed on at the Mount, whilst falling off the crux on either pitches will hurt a lot. The route is not worth the star and is dangerous. Maybe it should not be in the select guide.

duglash

1-May-2006
9:58:07 PM

I agree. Poppies is one of the few worthless routes I have done at araps - apart from the short steep bit
off bard ledge. the rest is rubbish.

simey

2-May-2006
12:24:33 AM

On 1/05/2006 duglash wrote:
>I agree. Poppies is one of the few worthless routes I have done at araps - apart from the short steep bit off bard ledge. the rest is rubbish.

Claw has given me a revised description of Poppies as well as a topo of the route. His description and topo is substantially different to the way we presented it in the Select Guide. Hopefully it will prove to be a much better route.

Doug - I can give you Mikl's topo if you wish to climb it again.

kieranl

6-May-2006
8:57:05 PM

Could I suggest some other Tiger Wall Routes for the guide :

Skylark 16
I always thought this was good but with the Kestrel rap-anchor the first two pitches are now well cleaned up. I also thought the third pitch through the overhang was quite something

Lute first pitch 11
Very solid for 11 with excellent gear and you can easily move right to the Greasy Burritos rap point. The upper pitches are nondescript and abseiling off avoids them and gives another good easy pitch close to camp. GB needs a second bolt at the rap point and the hole is already there (12mm I think).

SFIAABB 15
aka Vegetarian Delight. I really enjoyed this climb, especially the first pitch, despite the seriously f***ed up name. Pitch three needs a bit of sorting out because there are a couple of possible lines and it depends on where you belay at end of (2) as to which is most obvious. Probably shouldn't be done in the second half of the year because of peregrine activity in that area of Tiger Wall.


Sabu

6-May-2006
10:47:54 PM

Don't know if this has already be asked/answered but do you guys have a rough idea on when it'll be released or is that still way off into the future?!


cruze

8-May-2006
9:27:06 AM

I was thinking this yesterday after I came within about 20 cm of stepping on a 2 foot baby brown in a slot canyon: might be an idea to devote a page or two to a very basic coverage (supplied by St Johns?) of first aid (snake bite, splinting, CPR, etc - ask a pro). Most people spend enough evening hours perusing the next day's outing that eventually someone will pause for more than a moment on the first aid to take heed. (i don't mean that someone falls from 5 m, breaks their leg, then their climbing partner gets out the guide for first aid...)


DaCrux

9-May-2006
1:30:38 AM

On 8/05/2006 cruze wrote:
>might be an idea to devote a page
>or two to a very basic coverage (supplied by St Johns?) of first aid (snake
>bite, splinting, CPR, etc - ask a pro).
Great idea A, trouble is, they change first aid rules, CPR rates etc, every couple of years and it can get a bit confusing unless you know what you're doing. A better option would be to go and do a first aid course – they’re not that expensive and you actually get to practice CPR, splinting limbs and applying bandages.

I’m not sure if anyone’s suggested this but would it be possible to have better maps of the tracks leading to climbing areas. Don’t get me wrong – the current guide describes access really well, but there still seem to be quite a few people bushbashing to get to climbs. I know that the tracks are often changed to allow regeneration of vegetation, but maybe it would be possible to have more signs indicating where the turn-offs to particular climbing areas are. This is just an idea – as erosion in some areas seems really bad.


mousey

9-May-2006
2:00:24 AM

i went and did a first aid course a few years ago but they made us practice our CPR on dummies... i was soo shot down eh

completely off topic, has anyone done the 10 day WFAC? thinking about doing it myself but wanted to get some feedback on the course before i go & splash out my pennies...

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