Hard Rock: Great British rock climbs from VS to E4

Excellent

It is very well done and I do like the colour photography. Unfortunately that means the amazing black and white photos of the original have had to be dropped. I’m fortunate, I’ve still got an original, bought on the day of publication!

Fab read

First published in 1974 (I would have been just 1 year old) this soon became the go-to classic, getting climbers inspired for a particular route or visiting a new climbing area. It is part guidebook / part coffee table showcase, which is a tricky feat to pull off. Thankfully Ken Wilson who first put this book together all that time ago, got it right.Original editions fetch high prices, hundreds of pounds in fact.Due to Hard Rock being out of print for some time, this is my first copy, although I have briefly glanced through the older versions. All I can say is, it is living up it the legendary reputation that surrounds it.Covering the whole of mainland UK with 69 routes on over 50 crags, there’s a decent choice and plenty to inspire most, if not all climbers. Many of the original essays are still here, but they are now joined by 13 more recent works to reflect the new eras of climbing and new areas of development. All photos are new, and there are some absolute stunners.Take the front cover for starters. A composed Mary Jenner on Central Buttress with mist swirling below, simply magnificent.My attention then turned north, to Scotland. I’ve never been to Pabbay, to be honest, it isn’t on my radar and does sound like quite a faff to reach. But having been drawn in by the photos and further won over by the flowing words of Eleanor Fuller, I’m sold on it. This particular piece flows so well, I felt like I was in Pabbay for a few minutes, teleported to a remote Scottish Isle, happy with that. Whether or not I’m up to leading E2 5c sea cliffs on remote Scottish islands is another matter, so the route described ‘Prophecy of Drowning’ may have to wait whilst a few slightly easier offerings are discovered. But the book is titled ‘Hard Rock’ so fair enough the routes should pack a punch.Another Scottish route included is probably the most famous sea stack in the world, The Old Man of Hoy. There is currently a video showing on the UK Climbing website UKC of French climber Catherine Destivelle soloing up this with a big pack on. It’s back in the 1980’s I think, and like the book, it transports us to these wild places in such a wonderful fashion. With text by Sir Chris Bonington and and some very cool photography, this route is now a bit higher up on my to-do list.

Hard Rock was one of the first ever climbing books I bought. A lucky purchase in a charity shop. I was captivated by the wonderful climb descriptions and the atmospheric grainy photos. However at the time I was not a good enough climber to attempt any of the climbs.I didnt realise it at the time but I'd picked up an absolute classic piece of climbing literature.Fast forward a few years and as my climbing got better I started to tick off the odd route in the book so was delighted to see a new edition had appeared with the well respected climber Ian Parnell taking over the reins.Fortunately Ian has had a fairly light touch on the original content.The grainy photos are gone but in their place are some wonderful crisp modern equivalents. I do miss the old photos with climbers in jumpers and boots but it makes the book feel up to date.Gone too are the old line drawings of the routes, I felt that this maybe was a strange omission given how detailed they were and have been replaced with a rather more simplified photo topo. A shame as they were as good as any mainstream climbing guide.This makes the book more of a coffee table book than a guidebook, a very good coffee table book though!Whats not changed are the wonderful route descriptions. These are small short stories in their own right and definitely deserved not to be tinkered with. They give you so much insight into the route and its history.The main significant addition to the book are some extra routes to replace ones that have fallen down or are no longer relevant nowadays. I felt they were sensibly chosen and fitted in well with Ken Wilsons original idea. I'd also done one of them so bonus!Overall if you want inspired to improve your climbing then theres no better place to look, its not a guidebook more of an inspiration to take your guidebook to new places.

An updating of a classic. Essential for any climbers coffee table.In a time when all the world is focused on the celebrity Hard Rock takes a welcome return focusing not on the climbers but on the routes and the adventures that they can bring. And adventures that many climbers can head out and do.This new edition of Hard Rock has all that the early editions still had, it loses non of its old charm which made its originals a classic. In the intro they comment how they wanted to the early style and while it is funny reading of pegs being hammered in to UK crags its all in the context of the early first ascents of these routes. Leaving them this way shows the heritage of climbing in the UK and how it's moved forward to today.Throughout the book there are many photos showing of the routes and the crags with big full page spreads, and complimented by great short essays by a range of climbers.Great to have on your coffee table for a midweek read, planning future adventures and trips across the UK, giving you details of OS Maps and nearby campsites.Overall well worth adding to your climbing bookshelf.