Doing Good In Your Backyard: Central New Hampshire Climbers' Association

Welcome back to our Doing Good in Your Backyard series! For our fifth spotlight, we are highlighting one of New Hampshire's newer local climbing organizations: The Central New Hampshire Climbers' Association (CNHCA). This climber-led non-profit came together out of necessity and a shared love for the crags of central New Hampshire. Their mission is simple--to make climbing more accessible while protecting the surrounding areas. They have big dreams and are already making progress in the future of New Hampshire climbing.

The Story Behind CNHCA

The Central New Hampshire Climbers' Association (CNHCA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that was born out of the love for climbing and the need to make climbing accessible to crags off Tripoli Road and Highway 49. After COVID, this once low-key zone started getting a lot more traffic. One area in particular that saw an uptick in use is Russell Crags at Merriam Woods. Some concerns developed with the local residents, as the area wasn't initially built to handle the high traffic of climbers. Parking is limited to roadside pull-offs, and when word got out about the amazing climbing there, those pull-offs filled up fast. With the increase in activity in the area, both neighbors and climbers had concerns about the complications with the road and parking. If popularity continued to increase, the current parking options would not be sustainable.

Shortly after that is when CNHCA was formed. With 12 board members and a crew of dedicated volunteers, they partnered with the Access Fund to secure a loan, purchase a 5 acre piece of land that sat adjacent to Merriam Woods, and started raising donations to create a permanent solution. Their first big project is to build a 25-car parking area to make Merriam Woods, Russel Forest, and Russel Pond more accessible with shorter approaches. This parking area will also serve as a jump off point to other outdoor recreation opportunities in the area.

Building a parking lot is not always a top priority for local climbing organizations like CNHCA. Fixed hardware maintenance & replacement, trail work and community events are more the norm...and far more fun! However, when a climbing area's future access could be in jeopardy, it requires some “outside of the box” thinking.

How You Can Get Involved

So far, they've raised about $50k of their $60k goal to build the parking lot. Donations are still needed to bring the project to life and continue making this area more accessible. For anyone who contributes, CNHCA offers some discounts to partner climbing companies as a thank-you. Rock Star Volumes happens to be one of them! Once the project gets on its way in late 2025 or early 2026, CNHCA will also be in need of volunteers to help clear the land and get it ready for construction. You can stay up to date through their socials on Instagram and Facebook.

Why it Matters

By working together in the climbing community and getting involved with local climbing organizations like CNHCA, we can keep the sport of climbing sustainable. When climbers step up for the community, we keep the crags open, the neighbors happy, and the areas safe. Learn more about how to get involved with the CNHCA here.

Learn More About CNHCA

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Featured Climbing Training Gear

Maverick: The on-the-go, bring it anywhere hangboard. On a family road trip to keep your fingers in shape. We like to bring this to the crag with us to keep our fingers warm—without losing skin on mediocre warm-ups—at that steep, thuggy sport crag.

Pinch Blocks: Don't let pinch strength stop you from sending! Use it while hanging, lifting, and even for one arm hangs; featuring various widths for pinching, a 20 mm edge, and a jug.

The Rock-Stah: Our handcrafted version of a traditional hangboard, with curving crimp rails to help alleviate unnecessary strain on your pulleys. Because ain’t no one got time for a finger injury…

The Rocket Wall: Available in 6’ and 8’ widths, it’s been tough for us to keep up with the demand for this innovative home climbing wall solution. Slightly overhanging, the Rocket Wall is big enough to set routes on, or to build a systems board.