This week our in-house climbing expert and Ground Floor Supervisor George Woodward ( that’s him climbing Rose Coronary (7a) at Malham Cove in Yorkshire) takes us through five of the best bouldering guides.
Boulder Britain
An absolute must have for all aspiring and accomplished boulderers in the U.K. The only comprehensive guide to bouldering in the U.K. From the sandstone cliffs of Kent to the Basaltic Batholith of Dumbarton Rock, this guide has you covered with a plethora of graded problems.
With climbs ranging from Font 1 to 8C (plus a handy little grade conversion table) its sure to cater for all Bouldering abilities.
Boulder Britain by Niall Grimes £25.00
NYC Bouldering
Does your s/o not climb like mine? Have you been roped into a trip to the big apple? Do not fear, the NYC bouldering guide has got your back. With bouldering sites mapped throughout Central Park right up to Inwood Park, there’s every possibility you might accidentally have to spend a day climbing over the thrills of shopping.
NYC Bouldering by Gaz Leah £21.95
Alpen en bloc 1 – Bouldering in the Alps
Part 1 of a complete bouldering guide to the Alps. Here you will find a delightful guide to Magic Wood one of the world’s premier bouldering spots also home to five of the worlds hardest boulder problems, rated V15, if your that way inclined of course. For the rest of us mere mortals, the guide proves to be a paper leviathan with almost 450 pages of colour topos, photos and descriptions for some of the most amazing bouldering spots across the alps. Keep your eyes peeled for volume 2 which is coming soon!
Alpen en bloc 1 – Bouldering in the Alps by Florian Wenter and Lorenz Delago £29.95
Fontainebleau ‘Top Secret’
No top-picks of boulder guides would be complete without a guide to Fontainebleau. Font has proved to be a mecca for climbers for years and has remained one of the most popular locations for boulderers across Europe for many years. As such it comes as no surprise that Jingo Wobbly have released a ‘Top Secret’ guide. It is meant to serve as an alternative to the more popular areas of Font that often become crowded in the summer time, yet it still boasts some 9000+ blocs ranging from 1a-9a.
Fontainebleau ‘Top Secret’ by David Atchison-Jones £30.00
Mello Boulder
Although the Mello Valley features in the ‘Alpen en Bloc 1’ guidebook, this guide proves to be a just choice for this list. Within one of Europe’s most important climbing sites, Mello Valley, lies Val Masino to which this guide is dedicated. Val Masino is not just a choice location among climbing celebrities such as Chris Sharma and Adam Ondra, but is a firm favourite among many aspiring ascentionists.
Mello Boulder by Andrea Pavan £28.95
If you have any climbing questions for George, Tweet us @StanfordsTravel.