guidebook writing and pre-recorded ascents

I remember when I was back in school and they taught us the basics of programs like microsoft word, publisher etc and I remember thinking that I either knew it all already or that there wasn't any point in teaching it to us because I wouldn't need it in life. It's generally times I remember this when I'm trying to work out how to do something simple on microsoft word that I have been taught before, but wasn't listening to and therefore couldn't remember. Being that I work in a school and spend a large majority of the time fielding questions from year 10 and 11 groups about "how will algebra be useful in later life? etc etc" I wish I could actually explain and make them see that education is important, and sometimes I wish I'd listened more.

Anyway writing a guidebook, however small seems to be quite hard. I don't think it helps that I've gone at it wrong. Instead of taking a sensible approach and recording everything we did down as and when we did it, stuff has been done days (and sometimes weeks) later. It was only this last trip that I started making concise and legible notes... while at the crag! The up shot is that I've had to almost start over and start gathering piece of paper after piece of paper with little lines, drawings and notes scribbled over them. On top of this I decided (and god only knows why?) to change the format of the little guide from portrait to landscape. This seemingly insignificant bring me back to my first paragraph, where I'm struggling to use the most basic features that word has to offer, like columns. 

Actually writing the guidebook takes time, most of which is spent deciphering my own scawl (known as handwriting) or reading through the already recorded routes off the Gogarth.wiki or the old guidebook. Considering that in the old guide the cliff has about a page worth of description it makes for pretty good reading. Sadly I can still only make where 8 out of 10 routes actually are, based on thier description. The wiki is another matter entirely. Because it's been set up like all wiki sites (and there for all the content is added by users and not extensively monitered) the content is a little jumbled, to say the least. There are not many pictures or decent descriptions to follow and this has given me real problem identifying some of the routes, and one in particular "the vipper". 

(The Viper, or Hydrophobia, depending on your views)

After the last trip we'd managed to explore pretty much the whole crag, which is no mean feat as although its small, its also complicated with several little areas with various points of access. I was sat in my lounge on the sunday night reading and re-reading the descriptions that I'd printed off the wiki in another vain attempt to work out where the routes lay when suddenly it all started to make sense. 

And what sense it all made. Suddenly I could see the shape of the crag that I was reading in the description, I could see which way round everything was and I could identify this clear line on the crag. My elation at finally working out where the route went was short lived as the realisation of what it meant dawned on me. The Vipper (or Viper as I'm reasonably sure it's a typo) takes a clear crackline finishing up a corner. This is the line that I've claimed as hydrophobia and being perfectly honest, I was gutted when I worked it all out. 

But as with all things, after thinking about it for sometime I came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter. I was getting a little obsessed with over a period of weeks. Being perfectly honest the first thing I should have done was make sure I knew where all the lines were at the crag, before setting myself up for a dissappointment like this. The thing is though is that I don't see it as a dissappointment. I never started new routing thing in an attempt to "make my mark" or anything similar, its just another part of the whole climbing game. 

I know most fo these lines have probably been climbed before, but no-one took the time to actaully name or grade them. Some of the lines at this cliff are excellent, some ok and so far there have only been two that have failed to meet expectations (one was a lead of Soames's which he thought was going to be harder than it was, one was a lead of mine where I decked as the quartzite snapped off), but thats not to say they are bad routes. 

I guess I just enjoy the climbing and new routing gives me a chance to let my imagination roll. I let my mind wander when I'me staring at the cliff looking for lines and try and find the biggest challenges. These might not be the most technical but that doesn't mean they won't be a mental challenge. I guess all I can say is watch this space, as there are a couple of lines I've got in mind that look really wild!