Well, here it is!
Pretty damn stoked to present to you the big new Blue Mountains Climbing guidebook for 2019 and beyond!
To straight up answer the first question you might have, starring on the cover of this tome we have Lucas Corroto leading, with Jason McCarthy belaying, on pitch four of Let Freedom Ring, a mega, relatively new, multi residing at Pierces Pass (pitches are 21, 25, 22, 24, 20 and 25).
The stats on this book are pretty crazy. It is 448 pages and covers 3421 routes (not counting projects) at 58 crags. There are maps for every area and these are all new since the 2015 edition. There are six excellent additional areas that were not in the 2015 edition. And there are heaps of new photos. But perhaps the most work has gone into things that are not so immediately obvious; general info, revised and new route descriptions, gear lists, sorting out info and details, details, details. And it has been thoroughly edited by quite the team.
There is a lot I could say about why I think this book is important, why I think it is important that people use it, the responsibility I feel in producing a permanent record of the climbing up here, the responsibility in producing the most reliable — and relied upon — source of information for climbers… the impossibility of keeping everybody happy whist doing the job and trying to keep focused in what’s most important… safety and access issues… the sleepless nights… Maybe I’ll get into some of that sometime but suffice to say it was not a job taken lightly and it was a massive amount of work. I really want to use this post to thank everyone who has been involved and helped make this book what it is.
Check it out and order it here. Available Tuesday.
