Climbing guidebook

A Climbing Guide is a book or directory of climbing routes in a climbing area, which helps the climber to find individual routes or parts of zones, and to orient themselves in them. Climbing guides usually contain maps the location of the climbing peaks, the area or the rocks, as well as route sketches, which are technically known topos. Some leaders have only verbal descriptions of routes without a topos, others consist only of topos. Climbing guide, which consist only of topos are also referred to as topoguide.

Classification

Climbing guide can with smooth transition, are divided into alpine climbing guide and sports climbing guidebook. Another possibility is the classification division into topoguide and normal leader with text and additional topos. Kletterführer without a topos, which describe the routes exclusively with text, are no longer in use.

Kletterführer the incomplete selection will include at climbing areas or routes referred to as selection guides.

Content

The contents described here are mainly the difficulty level, the backup options, the quality of the rock, and stand options. In addition, also frequently the climb to the entrance, the Route and the descent from the end of the route is described in alpine climbing routes.

The drawn in topos information consists of the contours of the rocks and mountains and is registered as a line or dashed line route and shown schematically striking rock formations, such as overhangs, caves or intersections for orientation. Addition to this, different symbols are used, which are for example bolts, stand or key point.

The great advantage of Topoführern is to facilitate international understanding. In general, to keep it in the language skills of individual word translations. Often, these climbing guide specific word translations, the dictionary for Topo, already included in topoguide.

Symbols

On the topos of the artist use a variety of symbols. There are symbols that are more or less recognized internationally, and those who invent the authors for their topoguide. The Union Internationale des Associations d' Alpinisme ( UIAA ) provides a catalog of standardized symbols for the authors.

History

Oscar Schuster described since 1904 in his series of articles rock climbing in Saxon Switzerland in the journal mountains and valleys of the Saxon Switzerland the rocks and their trails. He wrote, in addition to the text, even topos. Based on that, already in 1908 by Rudolf Fehrmanns one of the first climbing guide for climbing peaks of the Saxon Switzerland has been compiled and published.

Since that time, thousands have been published by climbing guides. Until the eighties of the 20th century there were also pure text guide, which only describe the climbing routes, published (for example, the known SAC club leader ). This trend was, with the advent of sport climbing, replaced by a significant appreciation of topos and Topoführern.

From 1992 by Jürg von Känel issued Plaisir leader described for the first time exclusively with bolts well-secured alpine sport climbing in Switzerland. Thus, a change was triggered by a series of leaders and their slogan Plaisir, which continues today and long ago crossed the Swiss borders. This climbing guide are considered important contributions to modern development of climbing as a recreational sport.

As always new routes first climbed, climbing guide obsolete relatively quickly. At the present time a five- year-old climbing guide, therefore, is already outdated. Recently updated topoguide on the Internet are increasingly, mostly free, constantly being published.