The only guidebook to climbing in Cuba is out-of-print as of April 2018.
Cuba Climbing covered Viñales, which is still the heart of climbing in Cuba. Today Viñales boast the longest and by far the largest concentration of routes in Cuba. Published a decade ago, the guidebook still covers 90 percent of the routes in the Valley of Viñales.
A new guidebook is in the works. Tito (Jorge Luis ) Pimentel, one of Cuba’s leading climbers and published photographer is putting the finishing touches on the new guidebook to all Cuba. Almost everything in Tito’s new guidebook has been from scratch.
A few options remain for climbers heading to Viñales.
– The guidebook publisher, Quickdraw Publications, still sells the guidebook as a full color, equally useful eBook.
-Topos to new areas within and outside of El Valle de Viñales are available only for those who donate to Bolts4Climbers.
– Finally a trove of collectors copies exist in Viñales. Each one has been autographed by both authors. These are the last remaining copies. Expect to pay much more than buying from any other source. You will pay dearly for one of these. These collectors copies can only be purchased from Armando Menocal at his casa in Viñales, or by writing directly to him.
It is ironic that the last guidebooks are only available in Cuba. Until recently, Cuba Climbing was available everywhere – except in Cuba. The guidebook was not for sale on the island. As the sole importer, the government chose not to make the book available. A few climbers were told that the guidebook was prohibited. None was ever confiscated. The only banned climbing guidebook, however, is a superior souvenir.
Cuba Climbing was distinct for other reasons as well.
It reflected the early history of commitment and devotion to climbing in Cuba. For a decade, the first American climbers to explore Cuba returned again and again, despite U.S. law threatening fines and imprisonment.
Its authors, Aníbal Fernández and Armando Menocal, were the first Cuban climber and the first foreigner, albeit a Cuban-American, to “discover” Cuba’s climbing potential. Passionate about Cuba, their commitment to Cuban climbing forced one author leave his country and the other to be excluded and declared inadmissible to Cuba.
Few if any guidebooks had so many contributors, and every one of them donated their images and labors. Images were contributed by the best professional photographers, such as Andy Burr, Jimmy Chin, Mickey Robertson, Fernando Nuñez and Beth Wald. Every photo, map, and topo was full color.
And unlike other guidebooks, Cuba Climbing included personal essays with intimate perspectives on Cuba by climbing’s best writers, Dan Duane, Neil Gresham, Craig Luebben, and Timmy O’Neil.
As one would expect following the initial decades of climbing in Cuba, the guidebook was much more than merely descriptions of routes and approaches.
DETAILS:
Cuba Climbing, Released: September, 2009 ISBN 978-0-9732593-6-0
Authors: Anibal Fernandez & Armando Menocal Dimensions: 5.875′′ wide by 8.25′′ tall
Pages: 204
Contents: Color
