Iphone & Android 'Stone' Guide

Iphone & Android Bowderstone guide 'Smart Phone Aps' now fully functioning and available for free here....

http://www.thesend.co.uk/apps/bowderstone.php
http://lakesbloc.com/crags/north-west/81-bowderstone.html

21st Century Guiding!

New Langdale Boulders Guide

I've knocked up a new topo/guide for the Langdale Boulders. I toyed with the idea of doing a photo-topo guide for the blocks but in the end, having used the Rockfax (photo-topo) and FRCC (overview) topos I figured that the overview method was more than adequate to purvey the information for the pure lines and worthwhile traverses at the area.

I find it a little bizarre that the Rockfax guide actually has such a level detail and inclusion of eliminates for this crag, when 90% of the other crags featured are fairly selectively/vaguely described? The contrast in accuracy and inclusion between this crag and the Bowderstone, for example, is staggering.

Any who, here is my simple new Langdale topo...
http://lakesbloc.com/guides/langdale-boulders-guide.pdf

Bowderstone Guide Updated

In line with the numerous recent guide updates, I have given the Bowderstone guide a bit of a makeover. As with all the modern LB guides it now has the split Font/V grading system, as well as a few grade tweaks and a new cover....

Bowderstone Aug-2010 Update (PDF 4.81mb)

Updated Guides

The following guides have been updated:

Gillercombe & Sour Milk Ghyll (Major)
St. Bees Head - South (Minor)
Sampson's Stones (Minor)
Trowbarrow Quarry (Major)

Most Popular Crags List

Ok so we all love a good list; so here is a list of the most popular crags (in terms of number of guides downloaded) in the LakesBloc region so far this year...

1. Woodell
2. Kentmere
3. Limestone Link (Farleton, Hutton Roof, Dalton)
4. Carrock Fell
5. St. Bees South
6. Bowderstone
7. St Bees North
8. Windy Clough
9. Trowbarrow Quarry
10. Thorn Crag
11. Langdale Boulders
12. Fairy Steps
13. Old Buoys Circuit (St. Bees)
14. Warton Crag
15. Rakerigg
16. Gillercombe
17. Thirlmere
18. Armathwaite
    
19. Sampson's Stones
20. Fleswick Boulders (St. Bees)
21. Shucks Lair (Fairy Steps)
22. Cringlebarrow
23. Settle Earth Boulders (Longsleddale)
24. Blake Rigg Boulders
25. Red Wall Eliminates (Trowbarrow)
26. Lad Stones
27. Langstrath
28. Honister Pass
29. Heysham Head
30. Duddon Valley Boulders
    
31. Eskdale Granite
32. Cam Crag
33. Hyning Wood
34. High Rock (Honister Pass)
35. Black Crag
36. Gouther Crag
37. Long Crag
38. Rolling Rock (Patterdale)
39. Virtual Crag
40. Stirrup Stones
41. Clough Pike
42. Heron Stones

Not sure if there's much, if anything, to learn from that, but one thing I do know: with Sampson's Stones ranking in the top 5 LakesBloc venues, in terms of quality, more people should be making the effort to get up there!

Dry Tooling at Farleton!

With reference to GCW's post a month or two back, I yesterday got the chance to see, first hand, the damage at Farleton.

This is has blatantly been caused by someone - a complete novice judging by the damage - dry tooling on the crag, which is just plain out of order. To add insult to injury, presumably the same person or persons has inscribed 'FPC' at the base of the Family Planning Centre sector, which is as perplexing as it is outrageous. I am reliably informed that something similar has occurred on the 'Nicks Traverse' sector at Hutton Roof, which is an equally idyllic unspoilt (not to mention SSSI) crag where this should not be happening.

I hope this is just some misguided individual/s getting it all wrong, and not a malicious act. In either case, if you are the individuals involved please stop.

Woodwell Wet

Looked in at Woodwell- Tom's and Not Bad Dave areas- and it was pretty wet. Also a fair bit of seepage from the usual places. All in all I suspect it will need quite a few dry days to dry things up again. Is this the end of Summer?