Two days of winter climbing in the Gunks, what should we do??

Hi folks!

We're thinking of passing through the Gunks on our way through New York for a quick two days of climbing. Wondering if anyone out there had any must do's or good crags/itineraries to hit to get a "feel" for the Gunks. Anything between 5.0 and 11b is fine.
It'll be cold, probably be around Dec 13 and 14th. Hopefully the weather won't be too miserable.

Thanks for any suggestions!

If the weather is still anything like what it has been like the past few weekends (sunny and in the 40s-50s) it will actually be really pleasant (t-shirt/light fleece in the middle of the day).

Crag wise the Traps or Near traps might be your best bet since they are well documented and are in the sun most of the day. Just try and get on anything classic and you will have a blast.

I'm sure the Gunks locals will have more and better recommendations, but I had an incredible time with a pair of adjacent routes: Moonlight (5.6) and Erect Direction (5.10+)

These routes make you feel like a hero no matter how hard you climb. I imagine you'd feel especially heroic if it were cold!

Good luck; have fun!

you could practically spend your whole day within a few hundred feet of those routes. check out No Glow, Keep on Struttin', and CCK/CCK direct too.

Erect Direction is in a big right facing corner system and stays cold - there's plenty of sunny steep rock in the vicinity to keep you busy.

Pink Laurel, Bird Land, Columbia, and Feast of Fools are some climbs that get some extra, late-day sun.

You can google 'gunks classics' and spend hours reading, and ultimately get overwhelmed with the many suggestions.

Here's one good source:

rockclimbing.com/cgi-bin/fo…

Buried in there is the nugget that is always my answer: buy one of Dick W's guides and stick with the 3 star routes. You might be able to pick up a copy of his Gunks Select book online.

Download/ buy the TrappsApp on your smart phone.
The app is sweet, especially for a first time Gunks climber and its cheaper than a guidebook... if you can even find one to buy.
The app has a GPS feature that will bring you right to the base of any climb you want, makes things super efficient.
gunksapps.com/

With the gunks, a lot of the classic lines go into shade early (around noon) during winter. If you're comfortable leading 11s, you shouldn't have trouble cruising the moderate lines even if it's cold out; you just need to move fast and expect a certain amount of suffering depending on the weather.

Here are a couple of plans I would consider for a first Gunks trip during winter:

• Go to the High E area and do Doubleissima or Ridiculissima (2 of the best 10s in the gunks IMO) into High E, rap down to the GT and do Modern Times, then move SW to chase sun.
• Bang out some classic moderates on the Arrow Wall, mixed with 10s around Feast of Fools, then move SW to chase sun.
• Stick in the Uberfall area. Do Horseman, Ken's Crack (if dry), Jackie, Classic, and Son of Easy O for moderates and Matinee or Retribution and Nosedive for harder climbs.

Stimpy wrote:Stick in the Uberfall area. Do Horseman, Ken's Crack (if dry), Jackie, Classic, and Son of Easy O for moderates and Matinee or Retribution and Nosedive for harder climbs.

This would be my advice. The days are short and there's plenty high quality there with minimal effort/walking needed. It also stays sunny until ~3:30PM in the Uberfall, then gets cold quick. The rest of the cliff heading north starts losing sun after ~2-2:30PM. Once that sun disappears it's bone chilling.

For someone unfamiliar with the Gunks (which can be challenging finding things your fist time out, even with apps/books) and the fact it shouldn't be *that* busy even on a weekend day, I think the Uberfall is the best overall option.

What about Peters Kill in winter? Those seem to face more south/westerly

steverett wrote:What about Peters Kill in winter? Those seem to face more south/westerly

I'm not sure about the access. Is it open?

I was in Peterskill this past weekend; open 9-5. The Golden Dream Amphitheater gets all day sun.

CT Basalt is great for winter climbing and mostly faces West and South.

Seth Derr wrote:I was in Peterskill this past weekend; open 9-5. The Golden Dream Amphitheater gets all day sun.

PK will close at the first snowfall +/- and no climbing is allowed there when it's closed. No biggie, the shorter cliffs are in the trees for the most part and it's not a warm place in December.

Maybe not as much selection,,but Lost City has good sun in winter

If you're solid on the grade at the Gunks, the 11s on the Yellow Wall will likely be soaking up sun