Vertebrate Publishing Releases New Edition of Hard Rock

A new edition of Hard Rock, the iconic celebration of British rock climbing will be published in March 2020.

First published by Ken Wilson in 1974, the inimitable guide-cum-coffee-table narrative features over fifty crags and sixty-nine routes in England, Scotland and Wales. Focusing on the routes, rather than the climber, the itineraries tackle big mountain walls, gritstone outcrops and epic sea cliffs with a grade range of VS to E2 and traditional routes at E3 and E4 including The Bat on Ben Nevis, The Old Man of Hoy and the Cenotaph Corner on Dinas Cromlech in the Llanberis Pass. 

Like for many, when editor Ian Parnell started climbing, Ken's original text was his climbing bible, 'Ken Wilson's iconic book opened my eyes to the wealth of traditional climbing we have in Britain. Hard Rock wasn't just a collection of dream routes, but its mixture of lavish images and compelling writing described an approach to adventure that would go on to shape my life. With this fourth edition of the book we have tried to retain the core values of Ken's original vision while revitalising Hard Rock for a new generation of climbers, who I hope will discover the same joy from these pages and then out on the crags as I did.'

Alongside many of the original essays by eminent climbers including Ed Drummond, Chris Bonington and Hamish MacInnes, the new edition features thirteen new routes and contributions by Eleanor Fuller, Stephen Reid, Emma Alsford and many more and is illustrated with all-new colour photography throughout.