West Point New York

Why West Point is not covered on MP?

I would guess this may be because it is a severely limited access area if you are not in the military. Shoot me an email, I have a guidebook for the post's climbing. There is a lot if bouldering FAs to be had too, you just have to find the rock.

I am not in the military and had no access issues, neither did the six other people I know that climb there. You just walk in from the road.

That said, I am not a fan because I don't like clipping bolts on greasy rock breathing in the foul fumes from the extremely loud trains passing about 5 feet from the routes, but to each his own.

muttonface wrote:I dunno. Cover it. Take some pics, post some routes.

Alicia Sokolowski wrote:I am not in the military and had no access issues, neither did the six other people I know that climb there. You just walk in from the road. That said, I am not a fan because I don't like clipping bolts on greasy rock breathing in the foul fumes from the extremely loud trains passing about 5 feet from the routes, but to each his own.

Giuseppe Cavallo wrote:Why West Point is not covered on MP?

if for some reason you want to climb in the hudson highlands (where you can see the gunks from the tops of most of the hills anyway) just go here... powerlinez.blogspot.com/

I'm wondering if maybe there's some confusion between climbing inside the boundary of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and climbing at the "Poison Ivy Wall" along the railroad tracks along the Hudson river.

I have not climbed at any of those places, but I'm always looking for new places, so I'm interested to learn more about them.

Poison Ivy Wall -- My understanding is that this is _not_ on U.S. Military Academy land, and the main "access" issue is where to park a car before walking to the rock along near the railroad tracks. Also I remember finding a detailed guidebook for that wall publicly available on the web for free in electronic form -- perhaps the author was associated with USMA.

other rocks inside USMA boundaries -- I've heard rumors that these have better climbing than the Poison Ivy wall. But since the start of the Iraq war, my experience that getting access (without official US Military ID) to inside USMA boundaries is difficult -- I have shown up riding my bicycle and been denied several times (where before the Iraq war we were always permitted to ride thru).

I have not tried to get into USMA for climbing, but even if I knew where a good rock was, nowadays I surely would not try parking on some road nearby and just walking onto USMA land without very specific permission.

I remember that on a special day there was a program called like "Climb with a Cadet" -- maybe if they offer that again, it would be a way to get the chance to legally climb the better rock inside USMA boundaries.

Anyone know more about this?

Ken

P.S. Ramapo Torne Valley / Powerlinez: I have visited Ramapo: The rock I found was distinctive (dark and very abrasive) -- not like other rock I've climbed on in New York + New Jersey, and didn't seem like other rock I've seen (near the roads) around Storm King or Bear Mt or Harriman Park (between West Point and Ramapo Torn Valley) -- but I'd be happy to be corrected on that.

Its my understanding that the Poison Ivy wall is property of West Point but it is maintained and leased by the railroad company. The bolts, anchors, etc are maintained by the West Point climbing team.

Folks you are in luck!
The "climb with a cadet day" AKA ClimbFest is this coming Sunday 23 OCT at the PI Wall.
Enter throught Thayer Gate and follow the "Climb" signs down towards the River and park. Then walk south to the cliff. Registration begins at 0830,$15 donation, climbing begins at 0930 and goes for 4 hours. Bring harness, shoes, belay device, chalk bag, treats, & water. Awards for place, raffle prizes and burgers & dogs. If you have questions email WestPointClimbing@gmail.com.
See you there!

Sharon and I went to the ClimbFest event today and had a fun time. We had expected we would climb together, but instead we each got paired with a different cadet -- and each of our younger team-mates turned out to be of remarkably similar ability.

Sharon climbed mostly 6s + 7s, I climbed 8s + 9s. No need to find "better rock" somewhere else on USMA terrain, both of us thought the climbing on the PI wall was interesting and worthwhile. More emphasis on footwork and balance than the Gunks, and less assurance of hitting "positive" when going for a high hold. Completely different from indoor climbing. I felt the difficulty ratings were comparable to Gunks face climbs - (well ... maybe a couple of 9 moves seemed harder than Gunks).

Note: Walking on the steel rails (which we saw some people try) apparently triggers some special sensors in the tracks, and when Conrail managers get readings from those sensors on USMA land, they sometimes call the MP at West Point -- who might then dispatch someone to investigate near the PI wall. Hint: If your main goal is climbing, a visit from the Military Police is unlikely to be a positive enhancement of the experience.

Ken

Thank you for the heads up, Coach Strickler. I went to the Climbfest and it was a great experience. I look forward with great anticipation to coming again next year. You guys do a great job of maintaining the bolts and label the climbs with such military precision.

To previous posters re access/parking-a family has moved into the house at the Marina parking right by the tracks along the Poison Ivy Wall. They collect $5 to park there, which seems reasonable.

There's a West Point in New York?

BackCountry wrote:There's a West Point in New York?