Free Old NH Guidebooks

This is sort of an offshoot from the Southern NH Sport Climbing thread, but I feel at this point it deserves it's own. In the aforementioned thread there was discussion of a few guidebooks which are no longer in print- namely Pawtuckaway and Manchester areas.

Well Christopher was kind enough to scan the Manchester guide and send it my way, and I scanned a copy of Pawtuckaway.....

BUT WAIT!

As a bonus, I had some old copies of Rumney and Cannon guidebooks, so I copied those too.

The result? FOUR old guidebooks for free!

You can find them all right over here: mediafire.com/Basilisk613

Specifically, the books included are:
Manchester Rock Climbs in the Greater Manchester, NH Area By Paul Boissoneault and Dave & Marie Saball
1995's Comprehensive Guide to Pawtuckaway Rock Climbs By Paul Boissoneault and Dave & Marie Saball
Cannon Cliff By John Porter and Howard Peterson
Schist Another Hangout By Den Danna (this is the Rumney book, for those who need to brush up on their geology!)

As a general notice, please keep in mind that these are all at least 10 years out of date. Much of the information is out of date, and in some cases (especially Cannon Cliffs), routes don't even exist anymore. A prime example is that as I was scouting a Manchester area this weekend I had the cops called on me. Turns out the parking area described in the book is now a driveway, and the owner was not pleased.

Let me be the first to say thank you.

I know that there might be some out there with copyright concerns, but these are out of print and difficult to find. I've been looking for the Manchester book for 2 years. This isn't an attempt to get something for free, just an way to get the information in the first place. If any of the authors had a monetary issue with guidebooks being distributed this way, I'd happily pay for the book.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Thanks for mentioning that, I meant to include it in the original post.

Personally I have no problems with bootlegging something which has been discontinued. Honestly I'd would rather have the physical copy than these scans, and I feel that if the authors still wanted to make money off these they would publish a new edition. These digital copies do not cheapen the physical copy in anyway. If I ever found a physical copy I would likely pay an exorbitant price for it (and I think we all would, given how rare these are). In the case of Cannon it's just cool to see what the climbing used to be like and what used to be there. In others, such as Manchester I think it's important that the info is simply available. It all about getting the info out there when it comes down to it.
All that said, I'll obviously take these down if any authors/publishers request I do so.

Oh, and you're welcome!

This is incredible. I love climbing history! These will have to be printed and join my photocopied editions of the Vulgarian Digest on my book shelf. Thanks again!
-Erik

Thanks for making these old guides available. I grew up in Milford, NH and was always curious about the history of climbing in the area. I live out in Denver now, but still go home to visit my parents once a year.

HOLY SHIT ! I thought I was the only one still alive (other than Paul Ross ) who still even knew these people. Base is agreat freind and maybe the most underated climber from NH (Kurt is close).

Fucking awesome you have these !!!

john

Nice....

Something I was looking to do, as word got out that I had both the Base/Saball's guides to P-way and Manchester.

Thanks for getting the info.

As soon as I get my hands on the old 1975 UNH guide I'll get that out to you too.

Oh also I have the Todd Swain 1980's guide to southern NH if you want to post that one, too.

Sweet! You wouldn't happen to have any old (or new) guide books for Maine, would you?

Great stuff. Thanks!!!

christohper wrote:As soon as I get my hands on the old 1975 UNH guide I'll get that out to you too. Oh also I have the Todd Swain 1980's guide to southern NH if you want to post that one, too.

Would love to get those out too! I didn't even know about the Swain book. Let me know when you're ready.

Sorry Wood, don't have have any old guides to Maine. I have the current guides to Acadia and Clifton, but I don't feel right copying guides that are still in print. If you're looking for something specific from either I'd be glad to help though.

Next guide from me will probably be the Rockfax guide to Cathedral and Whitehorse.

If anyone else has something they'd like to contribute, regardless of state, please post up or email me at Basilisk613@gmail.com. I love climbing history, and I'm happy to share!

for the life of me, i can't figure out how to download these. i made an account, and have sent all 4 to the 'my files' tab, but can't seem to get any further. any tips?

slim wrote:for the life of me, i can't figure out how to download these. i made an account, and have sent all 4 to the 'my files' tab, but can't seem to get any further. any tips?

It should be fairly straightforward. Click the link in the OP, click on whatever guide you want, then click "Click here to start download." and choose "save file". Shouldn't need a membership or anything like that

Thanks so much Basilisk. It's great to see the history. I've linked the specific area pages of this site to this forum post. This way, more people will be able to access the guidebooks.

Thanks Jay, that was a great idea. Just for clarity's sake, I didn't scan the Rimmon/Manchester book, that was all Christopher. I don't deserve any credit for that one, I just uploaded it

Okay, I've made the change.

i have a friend who has an old guide to joe english reserve ill try and snag that for you too! :) this is sweet! thanks!

holy junk the rumney guide where the old man in the mountain has the caption "yo! slabmaster! need a change of pace? rumney is the place!" hahaha thats great!

Thanks ill add this to my collection of Out of Print Guide books ( :

Booty is good!

BONUS ROUND!

Christopher scanned the Base/Saball Pawtuckaway guide again, PLUS the all important Swain guide.

As before, everything can be found here: mediafire.com/Basilisk613
The second Base/Saball scan is labeled (Another Scan), and Swain is A Climber's Guide to Pawtuckaway State Park and Southeastern New Hampshire. I personally think the new Base/Saball scan is better than the one I did. The Swain guide is lacking a bit in quality, but is still plenty readable.

Thanks to everyone for checking this out. I'm glad so many people are enjoying these. The Cannon guide now has 100 downloads! Remember this isn't restricted to NH, if you have any old guidebooks at all we'd love to see them!

This is great. Thank you so much Basilisk. :)

The 1977 guide to Joe English has been added as well