Toproping in the Adirondacks

Hi all,

I'm going on a trip up to the Adirondacks with a friend this weekend. He is a beginning climber and I was looking to find a spot with some easy (5.6-5.9) toproping routes. Does anyone know any good locations? It looks like Keene Valley might be a good place to start? Any other recommendations?

Also, I don't have any trad or sport gear, so I would need routes where you could walk around to the top with bolted anchors/trees/boulders around.

Thanks a lot.

Billy

Try the Beer Walls. The approach is short and easy, it is right near chapel pond, and you can top rope some high quality easy and moderate routes. I recommend Afternoon Delight(5.5), Rockaholic(5.8), Live Free of Die(5.9+), Fast and Furious(5.8-), and Seven Ounces(5.7). These routes are great fun and setting up the top rope using trees is easy. The drawback of this is that these routes may be crowded, but you never know. A static rope is helpful. If you haven't already, purchase Adirondack Rock guidebook written by Jim Lawyer and Jeremy Haas. Good luck and have fun!

There's a list of 28 toprope areas on page 629 of Adirondack Rock:

Baker Mountain
Beer Walls
Bluff Island
The Brain
Chapel Pond Viewpoint
County Line Mountain
Crane Mountain, Right of Ladder
Creature Wall
Eagle Falls Crag
Grass Pond Mountain
Jewels and Gem Wall
King Philips Spring Wall
Lake Pleasant Quarry
Ledge Mountain (Nobleboro)
Middle Settlement Lake
Newbuck
Noonmark Mountain
Notch Mountain Slab, Roast 'n Boast Slab
Outlet Wall
Owls Head Mountain
Panther Mountain
Pitchoff Chimney Cliff, Practice Wall
South Bay Roadcut
South Colton
Spruce Hill Crag
Stewarts Ledge
Tanager Face
Wright Peak Cliff

Thanks, Simon and Jim, for the advice. Beer walls it is. I'm taking the day off tomorrow, so might be able to get there before it gets too crowded.