|
|
Climbing in Sydney is laden in history and bursting with activity. How many places can you climb a sea cliff with nothing but the roar of ocean below and pants-filling climbing above, all within minutes from a good beer and chips at a nearby pub or a surf at Bondi Beach?
The new guidebook Sydney Climbing: Selected Climbs by Neil Monteith and Simon Carter features 1142 routes across 24 of the best crags, from Barrenjoey in the North, Blue Bell in the South, and the Junkyard to the West. You will be spoiled by choice with numerous crags on both sides of the Bridge. Jeez, you can climb that too (professionally of course).
It has been too long since this major Australian city has had a climbing guide that serves both the local climbers and opens up its charms for the many visitors to the city. Neil Monteith and Simon Carter have climbed widely, but Sydney is the city that has anchored them. This experience results in a guidebook that not only features the local climbing but also the climbers who have shaped it.
Sydney Climbing: Selected Climbs begins by acknowledging the First Peoples to discover and utilise these cliffs. It then moves into key players who opened up many of the areas found within the covers, me included. Mike Law receives high praise for his contribution and rightly so. Mike has established no end of quality routes, and as the Homer Simpson of Australian climbing, has had us guessing at grades for generations. Mike made Sydney crags a chain of "Moe’s Taverns" - which he continues to frequent.
The guide also makes substantial efforts to protect crags and the future of climbing with insight into the flora and fauna that bless this place. Access is a salty part of modern climbing and current issues are clearly stated so you can make good decisions for yourselves and for your community. The guide even provides a "heads-up" of places to park and city emergency information if your climbing outing goes pear shape.
Climbers tend to be pictorial people and this guide does not disappoint, with beautiful photography, first class cliff topos, and area maps. The guide uses an icon system that makes finding the right crag for you, your family, and/or your dog easy.
The new guidebook Sydney Climbing: Selected Climbs by Neil Monteith and Simon Carter features 1142 routes across 24 of the best crags, from Barrenjoey in the North, Blue Bell in the South, and the Junkyard to the West. You will be spoiled by choice with numerous crags on both sides of the Bridge. Jeez, you can climb that too (professionally of course).
It has been too long since this major Australian city has had a climbing guide that serves both the local climbers and opens up its charms for the many visitors to the city. Neil Monteith and Simon Carter have climbed widely, but Sydney is the city that has anchored them. This experience results in a guidebook that not only features the local climbing but also the climbers who have shaped it.
Sydney Climbing: Selected Climbs begins by acknowledging the First Peoples to discover and utilise these cliffs. It then moves into key players who opened up many of the areas found within the covers, me included. Mike Law receives high praise for his contribution and rightly so. Mike has established no end of quality routes, and as the Homer Simpson of Australian climbing, has had us guessing at grades for generations. Mike made Sydney crags a chain of "Moe’s Taverns" - which he continues to frequent.
The guide also makes substantial efforts to protect crags and the future of climbing with insight into the flora and fauna that bless this place. Access is a salty part of modern climbing and current issues are clearly stated so you can make good decisions for yourselves and for your community. The guide even provides a "heads-up" of places to park and city emergency information if your climbing outing goes pear shape.
Climbers tend to be pictorial people and this guide does not disappoint, with beautiful photography, first class cliff topos, and area maps. The guide uses an icon system that makes finding the right crag for you, your family, and/or your dog easy.
|
Simon told me that Neil spent countless hours bush-bashing to determine the accuracy of tracks, proximity of climbs, timings of walk-ins, but also by digging through old guides and magazines to cross check information. That, with Simon’s extensive guidebook publication experience, enhances the layout of data.
Each climb description has a number which corresponds to a clear image of the wall and uses colours show at-a-glance what type of climbing you will find on each climb: Red being fully bolted, blue being a mixed route, and black being a traditional route. Each crag has an introduction with a table showing how many of these climbs are in each. Depending on your preferred style you can quickly determine if this is the place for your next visit. There are also symbols of a carabiner with a number next to the route descriptions. If you see the carabiner with a number 3, that means three bolts will be found on route. This saves space for more climb descriptions. Many routes in Sydney are old, so if a bolt hanger (aka. carrot) is required there is an icon for that too. Clever. In the old-school tradition, Sydney climbs have tended to be sandbagged. Although sandbagging and different grading criteria were part of Sydney's culture in previous generations, this too has been given a makeover in Sydney Climbing: Selected Climbs. Grades listed in the book reflect reality now, not egos. All of these points are an indicator of the research that has gone into the work. The guide is available in hard copy only at present (well, it becomes available in mid-to-late November 2021) and updates will be made via Simon’s webpage, www.onsight.com.au/sydney-update |
|
If any bolts or dangers are identified at a Sydney crag, please contact the Sydney Rock Climbing Club, which has a rebolting crew to address issues. Information on these efforts can also be found within the covers. When I saw this, I donated right away to make compensation for my wayward youthful bash-ins.
As a person who spent many years enjoying and developing climbing in the Sydney region, I was pleased to see that this guide mentions the FA information and snippets of history and attributes of climbs.
My only concern about Sydney Climbing: Selected Climbs is that, as a select climbing guide, many other areas are overlooked - there are great climbs to be had outside of the covers. Neil and Simon do mention guides and websites that provide information about these other areas, so all is not lost. Don’t be shy to go beyond the fence (as long as it is legal). There is lots more to explore. Simon says in the future there are plans to cover more areas.
In sum, there is a concerted effort to appreciate the past and to make this a climbing guide that will have current, and future climbers, frothing over some nearby plaything. Throw down your tie and your textbooks and get away for a while from the business of citylife. Whilst in Sydney, appreciate the beautiful and sometimes eccentric nature of urban climbing in one of the most climbing blessed cities on Earth.
To Neil and Simon, thanks for making a safe welcome to new generations of climbers getting sunburned and stoked on many of Sydney’s sandstone cliffs and grottos.
The guide is scheduled to be released mid-to-late November 2021 and is available for $49.95AU and can be ordered directly from Simon’s website. The website also provides a list of businesses that stock the book.
As a person who spent many years enjoying and developing climbing in the Sydney region, I was pleased to see that this guide mentions the FA information and snippets of history and attributes of climbs.
My only concern about Sydney Climbing: Selected Climbs is that, as a select climbing guide, many other areas are overlooked - there are great climbs to be had outside of the covers. Neil and Simon do mention guides and websites that provide information about these other areas, so all is not lost. Don’t be shy to go beyond the fence (as long as it is legal). There is lots more to explore. Simon says in the future there are plans to cover more areas.
In sum, there is a concerted effort to appreciate the past and to make this a climbing guide that will have current, and future climbers, frothing over some nearby plaything. Throw down your tie and your textbooks and get away for a while from the business of citylife. Whilst in Sydney, appreciate the beautiful and sometimes eccentric nature of urban climbing in one of the most climbing blessed cities on Earth.
To Neil and Simon, thanks for making a safe welcome to new generations of climbers getting sunburned and stoked on many of Sydney’s sandstone cliffs and grottos.
The guide is scheduled to be released mid-to-late November 2021 and is available for $49.95AU and can be ordered directly from Simon’s website. The website also provides a list of businesses that stock the book.