An item on tv text, in Wales regional news, caught my eye today. I hope the BBC won't mind me quoting it here in full:
"The publisher of a book criticised at the inquest of a walker who fell in Snowdonia is reviewing its content.
An accidental death verdict was recorded on Christopher Parratt, 32, of Oxford, who died after he and his wife became confused in cloud on Tryfan.
A member of a mountain rescue team told the hearing the book was "misleading".
Gwasg Carreg Gwalch said later that Walks in the Snowdonia Mountains had warnings about Tryfan's dangers, but confirmed it was reassessing the book."
I don't have a copy of the book, so I can't judge it, and I'd be interested in hearing the views of anyone who does have it.
There is no doubt in my mind that books can be a bit sketchy on detail, making routes sound much easier than they in fact are. I recall following the wall northwards along the Rhinogs ridge till I unexpectedly came to the edge of the cliffs on the north of Y Llethr; nothing I had read had warned me to turn away from the wall, to take a steep route down the west side, before I reached the danger point. No book I have gives an indication of how extremely steep, and pathless, the start of the descent off the north side of Moel Lefn, in the Hebog hills, is.
On the other hand, the Snowdonia peaks are exceedingly complex places, and it would be impossible to describe and include every detail, and some writers who attempt this only succeed in making routes sound more difficult than they actually are.
Overall, it is difficult to judge beforehand whether the mention of a scramble means a precarious climb up slippery rocks overhanging a thousand foot drop, or a simple path up a rocky ramp where the use of hands might be necessary in a couple of places.