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*thriller*
Deleted
Jul 10, 2004, 3:54 AM
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Hey
I'm hoping to head out to the gunks for the first time soon, and I was hoping to get a guidebook beforehand at MEC in toronto, but the question is - which guidebook? now i know from experience that all stores don't have the best guidebook and that the most recent guidebook for an area isn't always the best - so what is the best for the gunks?
ian
(also to note before i get flamed i did check the gunks section on this site and it lists more than one book and i only feel like shelling out the cash for one)
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curt
Jul 10, 2004, 4:00 AM
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"A Climber's Guide to the Shawangunks" by Art Gran is my favorite.
Curt
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fear
Jul 10, 2004, 5:28 AM
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The current one is the "Black Dick". Or rather the black little books by Dick Williams. Get the ones for the Trapps and the Nears and you'll be set.
Swain also has another guide out that I believe is out of print.
You'll have a blast at the Gunks....
-Fear
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az_biner
Jul 10, 2004, 5:28 AM
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get the select guidebook by dick williams..small, easy to tote around..excellent. if you have never been to the gunks...you are in for a great time..AWESOME PLACE. have fun..climb safe..also, watch for copperheads! you should check out the gunks website...gunks.com. have fun.
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kuba
Jul 10, 2004, 6:04 AM
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rock and ice climbing store in new paltz (the town closest to the gunks) rents both guide books for about 3 or 4 bucks. last time i rented one they didn't even charge me. that way you have both the williams and the swain (both good; one has more routes with less descriptions, the other less routes with more descriptions). make sure you go to peterskill while you're there. beautiful single pitch trad.
-k
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tmarkie
Aug 27, 2004, 11:10 PM
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I'm in the same situation (heading to Gunks for first time in a few weeks), though someone told me there was a "select" routes guide or something that was better for someone not going up there too often. Any comments/recommendations?
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fredbob
Aug 28, 2004, 12:26 AM
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In reply to: "A Climber's Guide to the Shawangunks" by Art Gran is my favorite.
Ah, the era of hardbound guides, with quality printing and dust jackets!
But what about:
[Crowther, William], [Shawangunk Climbs List], nd (1964) 16pp., 8.5 x 11, S. Topos and drawings. Apparently the last in an ongoing series of informal guides to the Gunks. Grans guide was published in 1964.
I love these old mineo guides the best.
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ratherbe
Aug 28, 2004, 1:18 AM
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There's a discussion on www.gunks.com regarding guidebooks for the Gunks (search on their forums). Pretty much comes down to personal preference between Todd Swain's Gunks Guide and Dick Williams Select. If you're still unsure, I'd say rent from Rock and Snow (Main St, New Paltz).
I just (only hours ago) bought one of the last two Swain guides I could find in the Boston area. Apparently the Select is out of print. As is the one by Swain. And good luck finding the black Dick for the Trapps. That's out of print and tough to come by.
I climbed with Will Crowther a few weeks ago - he's been called the walking guidebook. Too bad he doesn't fit in my pocket! :)
Jen
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orangekyak
Aug 28, 2004, 1:30 AM
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i have the swain and find it to be lacking in info. get "the gunks select" by dick williams. if it's not in there, you won't want to do it in your first 30 trips to the gunks (unless you have a strange climbing fetish ... dirty chimneys, loose rope-cutting blocks, horizontal offwidth-technique traverses).
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curt
Aug 28, 2004, 1:43 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: "A Climber's Guide to the Shawangunks" by Art Gran is my favorite. Ah, the era of hardbound guides, with quality printing and dust jackets! But what about: [Crowther, William], [Shawangunk Climbs List], nd (1964) 16pp., 8.5 x 11, S. Topos and drawings. Apparently the last in an ongoing series of informal guides to the Gunks. Grans guide was published in 1964. I love these old mineo guides the best.
Wow, Willie Crowther. There's an old Gunks name you dont hear too often. He's probably best known for being John Stannard's mentor and (unlike Al Gore) he actually did invent the internet. 8^)
Curt
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cracklover
Aug 29, 2004, 8:06 PM
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Just an FYI: Dick Williams is supposedly pretty close to finishing his new guidebook. This is probably why it's so hard to find his current ones - they're not reprinting them.
GO
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