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Kartessa
May 6, 2013, 4:06 PM
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Anyone here from Southern Ontario knows: 22 years since the last full guidebook is a long ass freaking time.
Somebody has been promising a new guide since 2009 (or was it 2008, I can't keep track anymore), and it seems many people are afraid to step in and take over for this book that has been "in the works" for nearly half a decade.
Like people who red-tag a route for years at a time, can you red-tag your dibs to write a local guidebook?
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granite_grrl
May 6, 2013, 5:24 PM
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Kartessa wrote: Anyone here from Southern Ontario knows: 22 years since the last full guidebook is a long ass freaking time. Somebody has been promising a new guide since 2009 (or was it 2008, I can't keep track anymore), and it seems many people are afraid to step in and take over for this book that has been "in the works" for nearly half a decade. Like people who red-tag a route for years at a time, can you red-tag your dibs to write a local guidebook?
Guidebook publishing is more like a race. In this case there's only one participant though.
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dan2see
May 6, 2013, 5:29 PM
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I've met a few people who claim that it's easy to write a book. All you need is a concept, some facts, and voila! Literature!
And a guide-book is easy, because the facts are known, and they automatically organize themselves. Just list them, and voila! Guide-book!
And don't forget this one: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Ha ha ha!
We've got a similar problem here in the west. Lots of folks produce new guides for mountain adventures -- where to take the kids, how to fall off glaciers, etc.
But our best book, "Bow Valley Rock" is out of print, and nobody knows if anybody is willing to update it, or even to re-print the old version.
So meanwhile a lot of smaller guides are seeping into the landscape. But it's pretty chaotic and patchy. The last few times I was out climbing, it was because "somebody" knew "some crag", that he learned from a friend.
Recently I've been hiking around the ridges. Sometimes I'll see a bolt-hanger stuck on a rock somewhere, and I have no idea who did it. When I ask around, my friends say "Huh?"
"Can you red-tag a guidebook?" That's something like, "Can you red-tag the wind?"
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lena_chita
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May 6, 2013, 5:31 PM
Post #4 of 15
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Registered: Jun 27, 2006
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granite_grrl wrote: Kartessa wrote: Anyone here from Southern Ontario knows: 22 years since the last full guidebook is a long ass freaking time. Somebody has been promising a new guide since 2009 (or was it 2008, I can't keep track anymore), and it seems many people are afraid to step in and take over for this book that has been "in the works" for nearly half a decade. Like people who red-tag a route for years at a time, can you red-tag your dibs to write a local guidebook? Guidebook publishing is more like a race. In this case there's only one participant though.
I don't know anything about Southern Ontario, so I am only speaking in general terms to say that guidebook publishing is like national politics in a local teapot. You take the same amount of emotions, and condense it all into a REALLY big local shitstorm.
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dagibbs
May 6, 2013, 6:22 PM
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Kartessa wrote: Anyone here from Southern Ontario knows: 22 years since the last full guidebook is a long ass freaking time. Somebody has been promising a new guide since 2009 (or was it 2008, I can't keep track anymore), and it seems many people are afraid to step in and take over for this book that has been "in the works" for nearly half a decade. Like people who red-tag a route for years at a time, can you red-tag your dibs to write a local guidebook?
If they take too long, the internet may over-take them.
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rschap
May 7, 2013, 6:12 AM
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A guidebook could easily take 4-5 yrs or more to complete. I've been writing a guide book to a small local bouldering area for over a year now and I'm still a month or two from finishing. I've been considering writing a book to one of the big local areas but I'm not sure I want to be working on it for the next 3-4 years. Another thing to think about is there isn't a lot of money to made off a guidebook, it's more of a hobby.
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Kartessa
May 7, 2013, 12:33 PM
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I get that it's a major labour of love, but why would someone start the process when we keep being told "it'll be released this year"?
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dagibbs
May 7, 2013, 1:47 PM
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Kartessa wrote: I get that it's a major labour of love, but why would someone start the process when we keep being told "it'll be released this year"?
Because they think it will... and then it takes longer than expected... or this new information comes in... or a they figure out a neat new way to do something, that is way better, so they go back and start fixing things... or they want it to be perfect, and it isn't good enough yet...
Because they're fallible humans.
But, mostly, because they hate all of us Ontario climbers and are doing this to make us cry in despair.
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myusername
May 7, 2013, 2:50 PM
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Firstly it's debatable if Ontario actually needs a new guidebook. Would it be nice? Sure, I'd buy it just to support the effort involved.
Secondly by the way some talk, it's only a matter of time before most of the crags are closed. So why put out a book when a pamphlet will do? 
But to your point. If someone was serious about stepping up putting out a guide then they would be working on it or would have done it, regardless of the rumours. The only thing stopping them is lack of commitment. Like GG said there is only one person in the race, talking about wanting to race doesn't make you a racer.
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Gmburns2000
May 7, 2013, 5:01 PM
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Kartessa wrote: I get that it's a major labour of love, but why would someone start the process when we keep being told "it'll be released this year"?
Sounds like a pretty good strategy to keep the competition away to me.
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potreroed
May 7, 2013, 11:24 PM
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Of course not, what a silly question. What you can do is threaten a lawsuit if you believe that your info is being plagiarized like those California boys have been doing to keep the info about Baja from being published. Speaking of which, I wonder if Wolverine Press is going to be sued over their new Mexico guidebooks??
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rschap
May 8, 2013, 3:55 AM
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Another thought, have you considered offering to help whoever with the book? It's not like they owe you a new book. If you want it so bad go out and help get it done. I would have killed for more help with my book, I had a lot of support from local climbers after I got areas documented but very little before. Once it was on paper I was able to get comments but I still had to go out and find everything first. Just a thought.
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billcoe_
May 9, 2013, 2:21 AM
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Registered: Jun 30, 2002
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Southern Ontario has "climbing" !??(note parentheses).
Isn't that like saying that a Yugo is a "car". ...and you are pining for an updated "Owners Manual" for your "Car". Jus askin? LOL
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Kartessa
May 9, 2013, 5:28 AM
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billcoe_ wrote: Southern Ontario has "climbing" !??(note parentheses). Isn't that like saying that a Yugo is a "car". ...and you are pining for an updated "Owners Manual" for your "Car". Jus askin? LOL
Holy shit, you're so funny
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