First off is North Wales Classics. UKClimbing.com Editor Jack Geldard has been fitting in some intense guidebook writing in his local area and is now putting the finishing touches to a pocket-sized A6 ‘Pokketz’ guidebook to the best routes in the mountains of North Wales. The book will cover from Tremadog to the Carneddau, including Llanberis, Cloggy, Idwal and Tryfan amongst others. The book is due in March.

Next up is another new book for us; West Country Climbs is Mark Glaister’s magnum opus for the south west of England. It may well end up being our biggest undertaking yet since the area it covers is vast: from Avon, through Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, including sea cliff routes, inland tors, sport climbing quarries and  limestone crags. The book will feature 800 superb routes in one of the country’s favorite locations.

Later in the year we will be bringing out our third new book of the year with part 2 of our France series. France : Cote d’Azure is being put together by Chris Craggs and will cover the brilliant and extensive area on the Mediterranean coast, between Marseille and Nice, venturing as far inland as the Verdon Gorge.

Our final scheduled production will be a new version of the amazingly popular Mallorca guide. This is due out in December 2010 and will cover a number of new crags since the 2006 book, plus enhanced coverage of the older venues. This book is being written by Alan James and Mark Glaister.

More about the book here

More about the area here

Free PDF map of the area here

Order the book here

The pre-ordered copies are being stuffed into packaging as I type and should all be sent out by Friday 11, although we did have a very good pre-order response so there are rather a lot to package up.

Cordee, the main distributors, have their stock as well and they should be getting copies out to the shops by this weekend. We hope that al major shops will have their stock next week.

Next year we have another four books planned although perhaps with the new sub-editor in position, we might be able to make it 5!

France : Haute Provence is the first in a series of books covering the superb climbing found in the south of France. The series is being managed by Adrian Berry who has spent all his time in France since finishing the Rockfax ‘plus’ series of performance books. He has managed to put together a magnificent set of crag and action shots that show these great crags in all their glory. For the travelling climber this book will be invaluable, introducing many to crags and areas they may never have heard of, and bringing together some of the more famous crags like Buoux, Céüse and Orpierre in the same publication.

The book is available now for pre-ordering from the Rockfax web. Those who commit to a pre-order will get a special offer price of £21.95; that’s £3 off the normal retail price and don’t forget that we offer free delivery for all UK orders. The offer will last until the book is published on 10 December. After this it will be available from all outlets for the RRP of £24.95.

The publication comes at a great time for Pembroke enthusiasts since the MOD announced last month that there would be significantly fewer restrictions on climbing in Range East this August, and no restrictions during the last 2 weeks of the month - UKC news item. With the bird restrictions also ending on 1 August there has never been more climbing available on these superb and much-loved cliffs.

If you wish to get hold of a copy then most outdoor retailers should have stock now. You may be able to get the book cheaper from non-outdoor websites like Amazon, but be aware that they don’t have stock so the book can take a long time to arrive. Please also consider supporting the UK outdoor trade when purchasing books - the prices may be higher but the service is better. The prices are not higher because the Outdoor Trade is profiteering, it is simply because we don’t shift the volume that Amazon do.

This book has required some incredibly hard work over the last few months by Mike Robertson and myself, not least because we have had to make some essential trips to Pembroke, and force ourselves up some of the routes. All our work has now finished - the last lines applied to the topos, the last action shot placed, the last text description proof-read.

Yesterday we got a look at the running sheets for the book (large printed sheets of all the pages) and, even if I do say so myself, it looks absolutely stunning. If you haven’t already seen it then take a look at the sample Mother Carey’s chapter here.

Pembroke has been a popular destination this year and the new that most of Range East will be open for all of August, including mid-week (UKC News Item), coupled with the bird ban coming off on 1 August, means that there has never been a better time to visit this fantastic area.

How to get hold of a copy

We are expecting stock to arrive in the week beginning 10 August. The quickest way to get hold of a copy is to pre-order now at a special offer price with free delivery within the UK - ORDER HERE

Your local retailer or favourite online retailer should have stock for around 15/16 August.

This is our second publication of the year and it is only May! Now it is on to Pembroke and Welsh Mountain Classics which are scheduled for July and October, then the first of the France books before Christmas.

Once again Chris Craggs has delivered the goods with a big effort. He spent much of the pretty dreadful summer last year trudging up to the far-flung corners of the Western Edges and has produced a set of shots that would make you think we had a heat wave. They look sensational and include some stunning photos of Wimberry taken at 5:30am one June morning - below.

ROCKFAX Shop

This book also marks the first stage launch of the new Rockfax shop. Initially the shop will just be dealing with the pre-orders for Western Grit but in future all Rockfax books and MiniGuides will go through it, with the possibility for bulk purchases and loyalty offers.

Pre-order your copy now so that you can get hold of the book as soon as it is available for a special offer price of £20.95 (RRP £21.95). We are also offering free postage for all UK orders.

- Order Winter CLIMBING + direct here

The book is the third in the ‘Plus’ series following on from the critically acclaimed Sport CLIMBING + and Trad CLIMBING +. As with the previous ‘Plus’ books, we have managed to track down the most accomplished exponents around and in Neil Gresham and Ian Parnell we found two winter climbers who are at the top of the game.

The book they have put together takes you from first steps onto snow and ice, right through to cutting edge ascents of mixed routes. The emphasis once again is on improving your climbing standard focussing on simple techiques you can use to make the most out of your ability, time and equipment.

- Download the preview chapter here

 The Next Rockfax Publication

Work is now finishing on the new edition of Western Grit which will be available in the last week of April.

Written by Neil Gresham and Ian Parnell, the book follows on from the very successful Trad Climbing + and Sport Climbing +. Once again the book main aim is to give advice and show you the techniques required to push your climbing to the next level.

The book is currently at the printers and is due to be published towards the end of January. We are expecting to get stock in the week beginning 26 January and will hold the special offer price of £17.95 until the end of January (RRP £19.95). Specialist retailers should have their stock by the weekend beginning 31 January.

• Order now
• Check out the sample Ice Chapter

Obviously we are dealing with the Christmas post however we hope that all UK online orders will arrive either by the weekend or early next week. UK shops should get their stock early next week. Online orders going further into Europe will probably take at least a week to arrive but these too will be sent out next week.

The book looks great and we are very happy with it. The main author Mark Glaister is currently back out in El Chorro, this time simply to enjoy the climbing. His mate is bringing some copies direct via EasyJetso there should een be a few copies in El Chorro by this weekend.

Thanks to the new printers - John Browns in Nottingham for sorting the books so quickly.

Now it is on with the new edition of Western Grit!