Hey all you climbing junkies,
Can anyone offer any good crack route suggestions in the southern NY area? I want to develop some crack technique.

THANKS!

Drive to the Daks! sorry, know it's not southern, but it's sooooo good

Not sure what grade you're looking for. There are some routes at the Gunks that have some nice cracks (at least for half a pitch or so). Fingerlocks or Cedar Box (5.5-6), Horseman (5.5), Sixish (5.4+) are the easiest that I know of. Also central CT has some crack climbing.

I think I can open my search up to NY in whole as well as CT.

I guess I'm looking for a some harder cracks as well... maybe up to 5.10?

Yeah...good luck getting any cracks in Southern NY (my hometown is Nyack, near the Tappan Zee bridge). I'd put in a second vote for the Daks. That is your best bet.

there are several good cracks at the Gunks that I know of, though most obviously have quite a few face features as well. Easter Time Two is a very nice 5.8 splitter with some pure jamming. Ant's Line is a good 5.9 corner, Nosedive, Retribution, and Simple Suff are all really fun 5.10 corners; more stemming, but they do prompt some finger crack technique. Finally, Harvest Moon in the Nears (11a) is probably the best pure crack line I know of at the Gunks.

It's not that close to New York, but I heard that Indian Creak might have a good crack or two?

'dacks for sure. Mr. Clean at Barkeater wall is a really nice right facing crack.

If you're willing to travel to the dacks check out the Beer walls. Sounds like it would be appropriate for you. The info on this site for it is not that great unfortunately.

Ditto on Beer Wall. Good 5.8-5.10+ routes with a variety of sizes covered. Easy to TR them if you like.

Looks like I absolutely must head to the daks this summer!

Thanks everyone!

Any of the crack routes out at Lost City in the Gunks will help hone your skills, and I'll put another vote in for the Dacks. Come on up here to the Dacks and get yourself to the Spider's Web to earn some mileage on some of the best crack climbs in the North Country.

Yes, Spiders Web is THE place for hard crack climbs in the Dacks. If those spit you off Beer Walls is right across the street. Creature Wall, also right there, has a nice concentration of 5.8 cracks.

You mean to tell me you can't find crack in New Jersey.

If I tried, crack could easily be found. but I want cracks, you know, in the rock, to get me high ;-)

Thread hijack: I once found out from experience that "climbing rocks" is actually also slang for smoking crack. If someone offers to climb rocks with you, say NO, kids.

Having climbed at the Gunks a bit when I got the crack urge found that there were plenty. Any climb with a crack there you climb like a crack. A bit contrived but your technique for climbing cracks improves greatly. Ken's Crack is hard when you eliminate face holds. Harvest Moon is Great. Low Exposure has a couple of Hand jams you can hang off of all day. One of my favorites is Sonja 5.9+, I believe, on the Mental Block. Tape for that one if you jam as the conglomerate crystals are sharp. Climb and Punishment, you don't usually go near that one unless your looking for trouble. Had the opportunity to climb it with Ajax Greene a lot of years ago and learned a few things about fingers and thin hands. Don't forget The Key Hole Cracks. Remember you can climb it like a crack or lay it back. Jimmy Dunn told me that he got a lot of shit from the Gunks crowd for climbing routes there like they were cracks. Wish I climb cracks as well as Jimmy.

Hey Paul, Ragged Mountain in central CT has some good cracks.

Good to see I'm not the only one finding this information useful!

Good Luck Mt is a fun ADK outing. Approach is a bit under an hour. Mystery Achievement is pure handcrack, a bit on the tight side, at 5.9. The 5.7 near the left end of the cliff is good too. A bit to its right is a hand crack through a low roof; I believe it's the direct start to one of the 5.8's. Sorry, don't have my book in front of me.

Poko - Sting and Gamesmanship are excellent.

lots of good cracks in the gunks! Bonnies roof 8 or do the direct at 9 and splitter roof crack, ants line 9, groovy 8, first pitch of carbs and caffene and airy aria, and those are all right next to each other.. Down by yellow wall at the traps... Lots more cracks too... But I agree w the rest... Best to go to the dacks!

Are you looking for multi pitch stuff, or are single pitches OK with you? If single pitches are cool check out Lost T cliff. It has some really good cracks. It's in the southern Dacks so it's not as far up as the Beer wall or the other stuff in Keene. It's a fairly new crag so you will need to google it to get the Spray. Good Luck.

Come over to central CT, east peak is a great area to practice crack climbing. Rat Crack(100ft, 5.7) Cat Crack (100ft, 5.10) Dol Goldur (90ft, 5.12) Rite of Spring(60ft, 5.11). All offer great practice on different crack technique. The Gunks has some good cracks as well, obviously.