Adirondack Climbing 4/10

I'm heading to the Adirondacks on Sunday and was wondering if anything is going to be dry enough to climb. The weather looks good Thursday-Saturday, Sunday is a chance of rain/snow, but if it turns better I hope to get on rock.

What is going to be my best bet for dry rock? I was thinking beer walls. What will the Chapel Pond Slabs be like?

i can't speak for the beer walls but in my experience chapel pond slabs tend to stay saturated for a good while after a heavy rain.

DWABS wrote:I'm heading to the Adirondacks on Sunday and was wondering if anything is going to be dry enough to climb. The weather looks good Thursday-Saturday, Sunday is a chance of rain/snow, but if it turns better I hope to get on rock. What is going to be my best bet for dry rock? I was thinking beer walls. What will the Chapel Pond Slabs be like?

Your best bets are the King Wall (perenially dry, at least on the first pitches of some routes), The Spider's Web (drys quickly and catches mid day and afternoon sun) though you may find the insides of some of the cracks seeping a bit), or Deadwater. Chapel Pond Slab will probably be running with nearly freezing water.

Still 3-6ft of snow on the ground in the back country and up high so the approach may suck. You could call the Mountaineer in Keene Valley and get a good report from them.

Definitely look into it before heading out. I know at least once person that was still climbing ice in the ADKs four days ago.

Another good option would be Chimney Cliff in Cascade Pass. I have climbed at this cliff many times in both early and late season. It gets tons of sun, and has a VERY short approach. If you have to bail, you are close to Lake Placid to kill time in.

Thanks for all the feedback. I have to go out there for a meeting in Saranac Lake anyway so any climbing done would be a bonus for the trip. I'm planning on scoping out all the close spots..Beer Walls, Jewels and Gem, Chapel Pond Slabs, Chimney Cliff, Creature Wall, all on my list.

DWABS wrote:Thanks for all the feedback. I have to go out there for a meeting in Saranac Lake anyway so any climbing done would be a bonus for the trip. I'm planning on scoping out all the close spots..Beer Walls, Jewels and Gem, Chapel Pond Slabs, Chimney Cliff, Creature Wall, all on my list.

It's Pitchoff Chimney Cliff, just to clarify, and yes, it can be a reasonable early season option, though Cascade Pass is high and often windy. The Slabs, Creature Wall, Jewels and Gems, and much of the Beer Walls will almost certainly be soaked. Washbowl catches lots of sun, but is closed for raptor nesting. The crags I listed earlier (the King Wall, the Web, and Deadwater) will be your best bets around Keene Valley / Chapel Pond, though as mentioned Pitchoff might work as well. It tends to dry quickly since very little water actually runs over it. I've climbed rock in a t-shirt at all of them in mid March many times. This is a rather cold and wet year, but you should certainly be able to find dry routes.

Thanks for the beta, I'll let everyone know what was good when I get back.

Deadwater was nice and dry, good approach.

Nice! the ADK rock season is on! I think you could have climbed either ice or rock last weekend...wait, we did!

Awesome, any recent feedback on what is going to be in good condition for rock climbing for Easter Weekend? Was hoping to get up Chapel Pond slab, but not keen on climbing through any waterfalls.

I found Chapel Pond Slab, Regular Route, goes well in the rain... Just plug in more gear than you would on a dry day.

Are there any updates on the current conditions? Looking for some Adk climbs over the long canadian easter weekend.

Thanks.