SCOTTISH CLIMBING GUIDE BOOKS

Scotland is well covered by climbing guides, thanks mainly to the tireless efforts of the Scottish Mountaineering Club. Some recent developments in Scotland can be found on their website, and new routes and comments should be emailed to Andy Nisbet.

There are also a handful of other climbing guide producers: as far as we know we stock all of these, but when it comes to walking guides there are innumerable possibilities, only a fraction of which are listed here.

Photo: Ian Grimshaw on the crux pitch of Astral Highway (V), Ben Nevis, Scotland.

NB Postage!: Due to the low mark up on books, maps, videos and DVDs we have had to charge a contribution towards UK postage on most of these items. This charge is 50p on very light books, £1 on most club style guides and DVDs, £2 on Rockfax and similar size guides and £3 for bigger books. These charges are waived for orders totalling over £60 and for Priority Orders. Overseas orders will be charged at cost.

Superb! Excellent full colour topos to nearly every crag, and loads of inspirational photographs plus descriptions of over 1200 routes from Orkney to Galloway - though it does not include the classic Cuillin Ridge Traverse, for which you will need Skye Scrambles (see below). The perfect selected climbs guidebook for anyone living south of the border who can't justify forking out for the full set of SMC guides. By Andy Nisbet and team. Plastic cover, marker ribbon, 480 pages.

This item attracts a UK £1 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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Kevin Howett's bumper fun book reissued and updated with much aditional material. Excellent value and gives good coverage of the whole of the Highlands and some Lowland areas too. Nearly 600 routes, Black and white diagrams and photos. Card cover, 506 pages.

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A good selection of winter snow and ice routes of all grades in the Highlands from Beinn Dearg to the Cobbler, including the popular venues of Ben Nevis, Anaoch Mor, Creag Meagaidh and the Northern Coires of the Cairngorms (but not the Cuillin Ridge for which you'll need the Skye guidebook - see below)). By Andy Nisbet and Rab Anderson. This is a 2006 reprint of the original in a card cover, and without photos. 326 pages.

This item attracts a UK £1 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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Superbly presented selected guide to Scottish bouldering by John Watson. In full colour with colour maps and photo-diagrams. Please click the image for a sample page.

Covers: Aberdeenshire, Inverness & Strathspey, East Coast, Trossachs, Clyde, South-West, Arrochar, Lochaber, West Coast, North-West and The Islands.

188 pages, card cover.

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Make a splash with this inspiring guide to the world of deep water soloing by Mike Robertson. The guide covers the UK, Europe and a few selected venues around the world. The first 200 pages cover the UK (Swanage, Lulworth, Portland, Devon!!, Cornwall, Pembroke, Scotland and other parts of the UK), and then Portugal, Costa Blanca and Mallorca get 80 pages of detailed coverage. Full colour photo topos and route descriptions. French grades and deep water "S" grades are included. Card cover, 320 pages - not one to tuck down your T-shirt!

This item attracts a UK £2 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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New "Bumper Fun" definitive edition of this guide to everything around Glasgow and Edinburgh and the south to the border, including incomparable Galloway. Now subtitled "Rock and Ice Climbs" due to the amount of winter routes described. Thousands of climbs are included, with a fourfold increase in new routes in some areas.

Covers major venues of the Trossachs, the Whangie, Dumbarton, Auchinstarry, Loudon Hill, the Galloway Hills and Seacliffs, Clifton, the Moffat Hills, Stirling, Fife, East Lothian and the Berwickshire Coast, and a host of minor ones.

By John Craven, Andrew Fraser, Bruce Kerr, Dave MacLeod, Grahame Nicoll, Adrian Plumb, Tom Prentice, Stephen Reid, Mark Robson, George Szuca, Michael Tweedley and John Watson, all ably pulled together by Tom Prentice and Brian Davison. Black and white crag diagrams and a some colour photos. Plastic cover, 464 pages. A must for anyone living in or near this incredibly diverse area.

This item attracts a UK £1 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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The Isle of Arran, The Cobbler and north to the edge of Glencoe.

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Glencoe, Glen Etive and Ardgour (north of Loch Lhinne).

By Ken Crocket, Rab Anderson & Dave Cuthbertson. Plastic backed. Black and white with some colour photos. 384 pages.

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Ben Nevis, Anaoch Mor, Creag Meagaidh and the Central Highlands (mountain crags only). A new guide with many new routes including 90 new winter climbs on Ben Nevis, and an extensive set of new diagrams. By Simon Richardson. 350 pages, plastic cover.

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The late Godefroy Perroux's homage to Nen Nevis. Worth getting for afficianados, though the route descriptions are a bit spartan, the grades French, and the superb photo topos probably wont be the slightest bit of use in the usual conditions you are likely to find on the Ben! Still, an excellent production, and an amazing achievement for Perroux, a Frenchman living in France, who just climbed two weeks a year on the Ben.

This item attracts a UK £1 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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Alan Kimber's much praised descriptions of his home turf (frozen that is, and ice). A new edition in full colour with excellent photos and crag diagrams and over 700 routes on/in Ben Nevis, Anaoch Mor and Glencoe.

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Covers a similar area to the Ben Nevis guide but detailing the low level crags in Glen Nevis, Creag Dubh and many other places.

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Over 600 problems in a beautiful setting - over 200 of them graded 4c and under - a guide for everyone whatever their ability. By Tom Ballard. Card cover, black and white line diagrams and maps. 40 pages. 

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The Northern Corries, Hell's Lum, Shelter Stone Crag and Braeirach, Lochnagar, Creag an Dubh-Loch, Beinn a' Bhuird, Glen Clova et al. Covers both summer and winter routes. Loads of colour phototopos and action shots. And all crammed into one volume in the latest SMC format. Fantastic!

By Andy Nisbet, Allen Fyffe, John Lyall, Simon Richardson and Wilson Moir. Plastic cover, marker ribbon, 492 pages.

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Allen Fyffe's years of experience are evident in this handy and up to date guide to the Cairngorms, Lochnagar and Creag Meagaidh.

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Covers the north-east of Scotland but only the outcrops (ie not the Cairngorms and no winter routes). Includes the Aberdeen, Moray & Banff sea-cliffs, Deeside, Glen Clova and the Angus Quarries and sea-cliffs plus sections on deepwater soloing and bouldering. In black and white with some colour photos. By a cast of thousands, edited by Neil Morrison. Plastic cover, 495 pages.

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Vol 1 covers Skye (including the Cuillin Ridge Traverse). Vol 2 covers the rest.

This item attracts a UK £2 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60.

Sorry out of print - a reprint of Vol 1 (Skye) is available.
 

Reprint of volume 1 only of the twin Skye and the Hebrides set. Covers the whole of Skye including full descriptions of the Cuillin Ridge Traverse in summer and winter, climbing in the Cuillins, and elswhere on Skye including Kilt Rock etc. By John McKenzie and Noel Williams. Black and white with no colour photos though bizarrely the photo headings are still included!. Card cover, 352 pages.

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Several square miles of wild boulderfields lie amongst scree slopes and moorland of the famous Cuillin Ridge.This fold out bouldering guide sheet in a clear plastic case includes accurate new maps at 1:2500 scale, with all the boulders plotted using GPS, and 39 diagrams showing the lines of 150 problems. By James Sutton. In black and white, with excellent detail. 28 "pages".
 

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Climbing, walking, and a visitor's guide in one.  

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Excellent looking guide in the new SMC format of colour photo-diagrams and action photos. Covers Knoydart, Glen Shiel and the Kyle of Lochalsh, Glen Carron, Apple Cross and the Torridons. By Andy Nsibet and Noel Williams. Plastic cover, marker ribbon, 396 pages.

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The central part of the far North of Scotland, from Gairloch to Inverness. Covers Kinlochewe, and Loch Maree, Gairloch, Poolewe and Tollaidh, Rubha Mor, Carnmore and Fisherfield, Gruinard, An Teallach, The Fannaichs, Glen Affric, Glen Cannich, Strathfarrar, Glen Orrin, Stathconon and Ben Wyvis. A definitive guide of both summer and winter climbs with colour photo topos and colour photos. This edition adds in over 900 rock routes on the smaller cliffs of Gairloch and Gruinard and many others near An Teallach and Strathconnon. By Andy Nisbet. Plastic cover, marker ribbon, 445 pages.

This item attracts a UK £1 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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The very far North of Scotland including Beinn Dearg and Seana Bhraigh, Ardmair, Coigach, Reiff, Assynt, Foinaven, Cape Wrath, Caithness, The Orkneys (including the Old Man of Hoy) and Shetland. By Dave Allan, Rob Christie, Andy Cunningham, Allen Fyffe, Anddy Long, John McKenzie, Andy Nisbet, Tom Prentice, Dave Turnbull & Neil Wilson. The only one of the three that doesn't have colour photo-diagrams. 496 pages, plastic cover, marker ribbon.

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A crag for the hardman with 13 routes of E3 and above, though there are a number of mid-grade climbs too. Situated not far from Jetty Crag in Gruinard. This guide consists of one A5 laminated topo sheet in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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A sunny crag near the coast in Gruinard Bay in the far North-West. This guide consists of two A5 laminated topo sheet in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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Covers Raven Crag, Fruity Crag, Veggie Crag, Sneaky Crag and Druid Rock - all near Badachro on Loch Gairloch. This guide consists of two A5 laminated topo sheet in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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Covers Lochan Dubh (Dome) Crag, Dog Crag and Fox Buttress - all in the Gruinard Bay area. This guide consists of one A4 laminated topo sheet folded into an A5 plastic wallet. 

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Covers Inverianvie Crag, and Gruinard Crag - all in the Gruinard Bay area. This guide consists of two A5 laminated topo sheets in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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A collection of great looking crags almost all within 15 minutes of the Gruinard Beach car park. This guide consists of two A5 laminated topo sheets in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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Quick drying sheltered craglets of excellent rock situated near Gairloch in the far North-West. Described as the Polldubh of Wester Ross. This guide consists of six A5 laminated topo sheets in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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An extensive collection of sunny crags. This guide consists of four A5 laminated topo sheets in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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Mainly VS to E2 climbs. This guide consists of one A5 laminated topo sheet in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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Bolted 20m sport climbs 5 minutes from the road on a sheltered quick-drying crag. Grades are 6b and above. This guide consists of one A5 laminated topo sheet in an A5 plastic wallet. 

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This item attracts a UK 50p postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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This item attracts a UK 50p postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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This item attracts a UK 50p postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

Quantity:  

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4

The only way to keep up with the new routes scene in Scotland is to peruse the SMC Journal. Here is what editor Charlie Orr says on the SMC Website.

The opening article in this year's Journal The Last Of The Grand Old Masters by Dennis Gray is a memoir built around the author’s friendship and climbing relationship with Tom Patey. It is a very personal and at times humorous piece written from a privileged perspective, in that Gray had a close relationship with the good doctor over a number of years. He concludes He was truly one of the last of the grand old masters who represented more than anyone else I have known the freedom to be found in the hills. This article as well as being well written and entertaining stands as a valuable addition to the historical archive of The Club.

It may come as a surprise to many that Graham Little one of the Club’s leading climbers over a number of years has started a hill-walking club - but it’s true! A Brief History Of The ‘IAS’Hill-Walking Club tells the tale and I won’t spoil the intrigue by going into details here of this most seemingly unlikely of ventures.

Folding foam mats and tooth brushes used to be simply added luxuries to a weekend away climbing and by no means essential, but in his excellent article Bouldering With Ghosts, John Watson shows us why, for an increasing cohort of the climbing fraternity, this is no longer the case. In this finely crafted short piece the author cleverly, and very poignantly in places, juxtaposes the current bouldering explosion with traces of the past both in terms of climbing itself and the landscape where bouldering can be a form of listening to deeper histories, to voices that ring like struck stones and too easily vanish into the clear air.

Needless to say this issue of the Journal contains a number of fulsome obituaries to the late Tom Weir and I have chosen to elevate one such to the articles section. Ken Crocket enjoyed a close relationship with Tom over a number of years and in his piece Close Encounters With Tom Weir he recalls visiting him at his home and seeking his advice on the compilation of his Ben Nevis history, while at the same time being introduced to the mysteries of ‘birding.’ The meat of the piece is taken up with Ken’s role (not as a volunteer!) of introducing Tom, then in his mid seventies, to this front pointing thingy. Hopes of an easy snow gully somewhere were dashed when Tom suggested ‘Crowberry Gully.’ This was carried off with aplomb but not without the author being aware of his responsibilities and doubtless the effect the outcome might have on any embryo presidential aspirations he might entertain. Not content with this, the bold Tom insisted on another outing the following year resulting in a new grade III on the Cobbler where he discovered that a pick in turf would hold an elephant. He romped up the route and soon enough we had a new Grade III in the bag.

Gavin Anderson in his ‘faction’ piece We Never Knew Her Name, narrating the circumstances of a fatal accident in the Northern Corries in the far off days of Jean's Hut, provides us with what President Paul Brian describes as "Exciting writing with a serious purpose". Anyone who has ever been involved in a mountain tragedy will recognise the feelings experienced by the writer, though few of us have the skills to express them so clearly and with such sensitivity.

The work of 16th Century gaelic poet Domnhall mac Fhionnlaigh nan Dan provides the impetus for a short piece by well known writer and recent dinner guest of The Club Ian Mitchell. In his essay Through The Eyes Of The Owl the author visits Creag Uanich in an attempt to test the visual memory of the poets of this era. The results were quite surprising.

Carl Schaschke’s chance encounter with American climber Conrad Anker - who discovered Mallory’s body on Everest provides the backdrop for a cleverly crafted piece of writing. Back In Gear finds the author recalling past glories on expedition with Anker and how their paths divided sharply thereafter – he to climbing fame and fortune, the author to family, domesticity and 9-5. This is just the jolt the bold Carl needs and here he recounts the tale of the successful Mount Lassen expedition.

In his essay Red Fly The Banners Oh! Iain Smart takes us on a trip down memory lane in a way only he can. In this unlikely mix of politics and climbing he provides an entertaining and at times thought provoking look at the old communism/capitalism argument. Under a Soviet system an off-beat organization like the SMC, full of difficult people who wont do what they are told and don’t like being led, would not have been allowed; the present membership would have been sent off to the Gulag for re-education. Ironically we would probably have found the Creag Dhu already there as even worse examples of incorrigible individualism. Concluding that "One day runaway Capitalism will collapse under the weight of its internal contradictions and drown in its own excrement" and that we should "get on with surfing the present wave of prosperity with all the originality we can muster . . . . before it hits the beach."

Alan Mullin a previous winner of the W.H. Murray Prize, died in tragic circumstances earlier this year. He wrote this article Death By Misadventure after his ascent of the groundbreaking Rolling Thunder on Lochnagar and it is offered here as a tribute to a climber of exceptional ability a complex character, never far from controversy, who climbed as he lived giving his all.

Time For Tea takes us on a trip to Southern Greenland where in the company of characters such as ‘Freefall’ and ‘McFrenzy’ we are taken on the ascent or rather descent (the summit is reached in the first paragraph) of somewhere big and crumbly!

In his short essay Who Needs The Himalayas? Brian Davison recounts his journey with Simon Richardson on their 12hr. Girdle traverse of The Ben.

Peter Biggar rounds things off nicely in his very distinctive style with his short story Untrodden Ways examining climbing and ageing using the age old model of the Master/Pupil relationship.

As well as the usual New Climbs section by Andy Nisbet, we have excellent, well researched and insightful narrative summaries of the 2006 cutting edge action, both winter and summer, by Simon Richardson and Dave Cuthbertson which includes comment from the climbers themselves. There are also a number of gems hidden away in the Miscellaneous notes section.

The cover shot this year shows Simon Richardson during the very imaginative Ben Nevis Girdle which he climbed with Brian Davison and the many colour plates inside are of a similar high quality.

NB Obtained to order only so expect to wait a week or two.

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Scrambles from all over the Northern Higlands (from Kintail northwards), including a few in the Outer Hebrides, but not including Skye which has a volume to itself. Hand drawn topos and colour photos. By Iain Thow. Plastic cover, marker ribbon, 264 pages.
 

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By far the best map now in print for anyone contemplating the Ridge Traverse or any of the major scrambles. 1:25000, double sided on waterproof paper with a detailed 1:12500 map of the Ridge itself and a diagramatic representation of the main features of the Ridge, together with a brief overview of useful information about the area.
 

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A guide that offers loads of good scrambling and could become the bible as far as the Cuillin Ridge is concerned. It covers the whole of the Cuillin, including the Ridge traverse, as well as the rest of Skye. By Noel Williams. This is the 2007 reprint with a card cover and no photos. 274 pages.

This item attracts a UK £1 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60.
 

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Attractive quite large format book which describes 48 classic ridge climbs in Scotland from Moderate scrambles through to VS Climbing on Arran's South Ridge Direct. Includes the Cuillin Ridge as well as many other classic well known routes and a few you may not have heard of. Some are described as winter outings, but most are summer climbs. The information given seems sensible and concise, and the book is filled with good colour photos. A bit large to be a pocket guide, but a great source of inspiration (with an appendix of a similar number of other ridges should you tick the first lot). By Dan Bailey. Card cover, 253 pages.

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Why this guide was published in a fairly large hardback form is a mystery - it would have been much better in traditional guidebook size and with a plastic cover. None the less it is a very useful guide for the occasional visitor giving a good selection of routes from easy grade 1s to climbs such as Tower Ridge.

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Covers numerous scrambles in the area of Ben Nevis and Glencoe. By Noel Williams. Black and white with a few colour photos. 191 pages. Plastic cover.

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Superb and substantial hardback book. Stuningly illustrated with maps and suggested routes up all the Munros (Scottish hills over 3000 feet). Edited by Donald Bennet. Hardback, 280 pages.

This item attracts a UK £3 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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A companion volume to the Corbetts (Scottish hills between 2500 and 3000 feet). Edited by Rob Milne and Hamish Brown. Hardback, 280 pages.

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Detailed tabular information on the Munros (and also the Corbetts, Donalds and Grahams), with clear and concise maps. Also includes a chapter on Gaelic pronounciation and meaning of the hill names. Edited by Derek Bearhop. Hardback, 168 pages.

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The alternative to the SMC title of the same name is equally nicely presented. By Cameron McNeish. Hardback, lots of colour illustrations, 228 pages.

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SMC District Guides cover the whole of Scotland and give a fantastic amount of information about the Scottish Hills. They are well illustrated with colour photographs and contain many descriptions of walks The Southern Uplands covers all of scotland south of Glasgow/Edinburgh (excluding the Isle of Arran). By KM Appleyard. Hardback, 181 pages.

This item attracts a UK £3 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60.

Sorry - out of print. 

From north of Glasgow/Edinburgh, north to Loch Rannoch. By DJ Bennett. Hardback, 214 pages.

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From Tyndrum north to Creag Meagaidh and east as far as Dalwhinnie. This includes Nen Nevis. By Peter Hodgkiss. Hardback, 210 pages.

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East of Dalwhinnie, south to Pitlochry and north to Ben Rinnes. By Adam Watson. Hardback, 262 pages.

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The first of a new series of District Guides, now called Hillwalkers' Guides. It is bigger, and better looking that its predecessors with beautiful illustrations and maps throughout. Covers everything north of the Great Glen except the islands. By Dave Broadhead, Alec Keith, & Ted Madden. Hardback, 352 pages.

This item attracts a UK £3 postal charge but this is waived for Priority Orders or if the Order Total is greater than £60. 

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