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Showing posts from July, 2008

Graffiti World

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Travellling the world looking for climbing and bouldering leads you to some fine cities which are always colourful stopovers on the way to the mountains. I've got plenty of pictures of high mountains, remote boulders and wildlife, but we've seen all that and sometimes the city provides a jungle of different hues and colours. Here are some shots of my favourite Graffiti art I've come across, inspired by a rather surprised return to Dumbarton Rock which has had something of an upgrade in terms of the usual graffiti! I consider Graffiti any human mark on the landscape, something that just says 'I wuz here' in some form...sometimes it's elegant, sometimes spiritual, sometimes plain ugly, and sometimes a little too clever for its own good (cairn-kickers unite!), whatever or wherever, it springs from the same human desire to scribble something down... Graffiti World

Scottish Rock Vol. 1 by Gary Latter

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I must admit that, as a publisher, when the complimentary copy of Scottish Rock Vol. 1 dropped through my letterbox I had to reappraise my ideas as to what a guidebook should be... the quality of the production is immediately stunning, the layout is colourful and clear with apt and well-chosen photography, along with excellent photo-topos of the crags and simple clear maps. What's more, the 480 pages make this an incredible value-for-money book (£23.00) and shame a lot of other publishers as to what can be packed into a pound of publishing (myself included!). The glossy cover shot of a bronzed, sunglassed Julian Lines soloing on Erraid's pink granite above peppermint seas might make you think this a Peleponnesian guide, but in reality we do get days like this in Scotland and it is a mouth-watering advert for the remote pleasure of climbing in Highland Scotland and what lies within the guide. And this is what this first volume of two is designed to represent - the best of the cl

Bouldering in Scotland Summer Report 1

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Farr Side Facet Despite the weather breaking down somewhat into heavy showers typical of July now, some folk have managed to get out bouldering, with some cool NE winds in May and June providing better conditions for pebble-wrestling. Jamie Murray showed Richie Betts and Mike Lee the 'Jamie' b oulder near Farr in Inverness, which is a clean gneiss boulder revealed from the cleared forest with plenty of mid-grade lines on it. The big face project was completed by Mike before he has to start som ething called 'work'! Farr Side Facet (sit start) Font 7c 'I was close to doing it the other week but my foot popped at the crucial moment and then my skin wore out. Couldn't get a lift out and I'm starting a job ne xt week so decided to cycle out. I'm telling you it's not fun with a boulder pad, so many hills, so many funny looks. I felt like having a snooze rather than climbing when I got there. .. I'd like to say It was really hard, but compared t