Poke-o-Moonshine conditions

Anyone venture into Poke-O-Moonshine recently and could describe the conditions?
Going in be in New York for April and would like to get up there to tackle some of the classics like the fastest gun. Temperature is not an issue, more the level of wetness.(on a scale of Atacama Desert to Niagara Falls)
Appreciate any information.

Poko is slow to dry. Especially the easy crack routes, give it a few days after rain

Going to the Dacks in April You will want to check this out the birds are back:

dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7870.html

Ah, that plan is a no go. Thanks for the information.

to the Gunks!

They've been 65 and sunny all winter long!

At this rate, April will showcase fantastic rock conditions in the ADK. With not much snow left in the peaks to melt and most of the ice gone, things are drying out around here quick. There are already a few places in the High Peaks region that are ready to go as long as the sun is shining.

Thanks! May shoot for Poke-o-moon on the 30th/31st.

anyone want to climb? PARTNER WANTED lol

interested in 9,10's, and 11-

I will have a single rack and possibly a rope(figureing out if I can fit it all on the plane)

StuMM wrote:PARTNER WANTED

I'd be game if the weather is good. I'm based out of KV. Shoot me a PM, my schedule is pretty open after noon almost every day.

Anyone know what's dry in the Dacks at the moment? Looking to go down this weekend, thinking either Avalanche Lake area (California Flake/Trap Dike) or Poko.

I'm waking up to nearly an inch of snow in Keene Valley and more coming down so at the moment I'm thinking almost nothing is dry.

It's going to turn to rain and melt by tomorrow and then be nice for the weekend so you'll be able to climb something... but I would DEFINITELY cross California Flake off the list. California Flake starts in the P1 watercourse of the Dream Within A Dream ice route and typically takes a bit to dry in the spring. Great route, but wait until later in the summer.

I don't have a first-hand report but I'm guessing the Trap Dike is going to be a mess of melted out snow and ice, and running water. I could be wrong and maybe you'll find good ice conditions early Saturday morning after Friday night's freeze, but I'm not interested in going to find out.

Poke-O could be dry enough to climb by Sunday but with no afternoon sun it wouldn't be my first choice right now. I'll also warn that I've personally seen two instances of spontaneous rockfall at Poke-O in the spring, both of which were large enough that wearing your helmet wouldn't have helped. That dike rock is nasty stuff.

If you're headed here to climb this weekend I'd look at cliffs that dry quickly and get plenty of sun. Think: Pitchoff, Tombstone section of Deadwater, Potter Mt., C-Chimney Cliff, Frosted Mug Area of the Beer Walls, Washbowl group (since you'll be here before the falcon closure, after April 1 stay off), the Sunshine Face at Spanky's. The cracks at the Spiders Web may take a day to dry out this time of year but you should be good by Sunday. P1 of Kingdom Come is always dry. Further south Crane was dry as of 3/13, with no leaves on the trees the cliffs along the East Path get lots of sun.

Anybody interested in climbing on Sunday? I'd like to go to Spider's Web, but am open to other ideas.

Its snowing again this morning and looks like rain/freezing rain Friday, however the weekend looks sunny!

2nd what max said i was climbing at crane 3/20 and most climbs where dry but there was still some ice/snow. I would stay in S dacks or away from high peaks for a bit longer. i hear chapel pond slab is dry tho

sheindl wrote: i hear chapel pond slab is dry tho

Not sure where you got that information, but its definitely not accurate. Still plenty of ice to bomb down on you, lots of running water where you'd expect it, and odds are the descent is an icy mess.

I'd still he wary of any cliffs where the ice hasn't completely cleared out from above.

I'm hoping to climb around Lake George sunday (hopefully shelving rock)- anyone know if it's likely to be dry? Haven't been there in quite a long time.

mfskibum wrote:I'm hoping to climb around Lake George sunday (hopefully shelving rock)- anyone know if it's likely to be dry? Haven't been there in quite a long time.

As of April 1st, Shelving Rock is closed unless you're a bird.

mfskibum wrote:I'm hoping to climb around Lake George sunday (hopefully shelving rock)- anyone know if it's likely to be dry? Haven't been there in quite a long time.

You should be fine regarding wall conditions. Was contemplating Shelving/Crane this weekend as well [won't be doing either, so don't worry there will be one less party competing for routes ;) ]. The Ark would be an even better bet. Fwiw, last I read the road was still a bit messy.

The closure doesn't take effect until next weekend and within a month, once the Peregrines pick their nesting site(s), some of the main Shelving cliff could be reopened.

a lot Shelving stays wet for long periods after rain/snow because of the vegetation atop the cliff. Not sure about the Ark wall though

StuMM wrote:a lot Shelving stays wet for long periods after rain/snow because of the vegetation atop the cliff. Not sure about the Ark wall though

This is very true, but we actually have not had a lot of rain lately. When it has rained it's been relatively light with several decent days in-between, like this weekend.

Was at the Ark Wall yesterday and there's plenty of dry rock to climb. The only routes that were wet were Two Camels and the 5.5 sport route. Still a few more days to get out there before the closure.

Didn't make it out last weekend, but thanks for the updates!
Might be worth adding falcon closure info to the shelving rock page- dec.ny.gov/outdoor/7870.html