OUR ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Continuing the series in which the companies and organisations that
share our aims and values introduce themselves.
Based in Kendal, Cicerone are
a leading outdoor activities
guidebook publisher. Founded
in 1969 by the late Walt
Unsworth and Brian Evans,
Cicerone now have a range
of over 350 guidebooks to
walking, trekking, climbing,
mountaineering and cycling.
Since 1999, Cicerone has
been developing under the
ownership of Jonathan and
Lesley Williams. In 2019,
Cicerone celebrates 50 years of
outdoor publishing. Jonathan
takes up the tale...
W
e are sitting outside the
Cabane du Mont-Fort high
above Verbier, looking out
at the sunset over the Combin range
with Mont Blanc behind. Dinner
is coming soon and the trekkers’
thoughts have moved on from
today’s grinding 1650m climb to
tomorrow’s route over the wild and
remote Grand Désert. The question
goes out: ‘What does Kev say?’ and
half a dozen copies of the little blue
guidebook appear and are studied.
Of course, most of the trekkers have
read the book several times, but
this is the decision point – whether
to take the high
path over the
Col de la Chaux
with the chance
of late snow,
or the slightly
lower Sentier des
Chamois with
spectacular views
of the Combin and
the long drop to
Val de Bagnes.
Plans are made,
dinner is served,
beers are exchanged for wine,
and conversation flows in several
languages.
28 Outdoor focus | winter 2018
The scene is played out wherever
we go: in the Dolomites, the AV2
trekkers at Rifugio Pisciadù are
asking ‘What does Gillian say?’;
the GR20 trekkers at Ascu Stagnu
in Corsica are asking ‘What does
Paddy say?’; the Munroists at the
Killin B&B are studying Steve’s book
or Ronald’s, while the West Highland
Way walkers in Rowardennan ask
what Terry says. Much the same
scene happens from the Alps to
the Canaries, from Cornwall to the
north of Scotland, from Patagonia to
the Rockies. Grades are dissected,
times and distances computed
and checked, the ups and downs
investigated, the maps explored
for critical turns, the photographs
assessed for dodgy terrain. Every
word, every comma, matters.
This is what it is all about, why the
team works so hard on the guides.
The guide truly comes alive where,
to borrow from William Blake, ‘men
[and women] and mountains meet’.
We reflect on the responsibility of
helping so many adventurers achieve
their hills, treks and trips, and we
feel the pleasure of helping them
do so. In the feedback we receive
from walkers and trekkers, we see
how every aspect of our craft must
play its part, how the exactitude and
quality of our authors’ work and of
our own work must come together
perfectly; we see the importance of
the highest editorial standards and
great design, the best maps and
photographs, the constant effort to
stay as up to date as possible.
Then we look deeper and see
more. We see the importance of
finding inspiring new places, ranges
and routes; the importance of the
author’s love and passion and
desire to communicate it, which is
the foundation of all our work; the
importance of how we market and
present our guides; the importance
of our reputation – our brand, if you
like. We look deeper and see the
importance of working with great
people, of training the team and of
their learning; the importance of how
we look after customers and how we
answer the phone, how we handle
a sales visit, how we write a blog,
conduct an interview.
We see the relationships with
our partners, our distributors,
printers, copy-editors, sales teams.
We see the choice of paper, the
perfection of the printing, we see
the order turnaround times, the
delivery accuracy, the quality of
the packaging. Deeper still, we see
the importance of technology, of
managing cash, of good planning, of
our daily processes and interactions,
of running the business.
And especially we see how the
integrity and passion of the team
and of our authors, the ideas and
relationships, combine with the day-
to-day business and hard work to
help walkers have days to remember
with pleasure. And we reflect on how
fortunate we have been to work with
such great people for all these years.
‘What does Kev say?’ In those few
words spoken high in the Swiss Alps,
the whole of Cicerone is laid bare to
us and we see how everything works
together – all the moving parts we’ve
strived to perfect and the people
we’ve worked with for a good part of
a generation.
Are we proud? Maybe just a
little. Are we nervous about our
responsibilities? Absolutely. Do we
want to keep on doing it better?
Definitely.