Mount Osceola Trail Crags  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  625. Good page?    Administrators:  Jay Knower, M Sprague, lee hansche, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  bradley white on Jul 18, 2010 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event  Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed 46° | 36° 48° | 30° 57° | 41° 68° | 48° 66° | 55°

BETA PHOTO: Crags seen from trail parking lot. The pillar is t...

Description 

There's actually a lot of rock off of the Osceola Trail a 1/4 to 1/2 mile up it. It can be seen from the trail parking lot or the road. Another difficult to find area as you ascend the slope. The first rock you might encounter is the free standing pillar. It's about a 40ft of face and the sides are boulder problems 20ft high (5.5) to reach below it's top. Another first free soloed climb of the boulder problems. Later on I climbed the face with a rope and my friend named Michael. I Don't remember the gear placements. It was hard severe sustained climbing on the pillar central west side up a corner crack. The crags are granite. Higher up beyond the pillar and west of it is much bigger wall. There's many ways up this wall and other crags. There are tree gullies to 4th class up on the left side until steep walls with shallow ceilings are reached. There's great amount of unexplored climbs and difficulty to many of the ascents will happen because the crags are very steep. Most are probably 60 to 80 ft high on the central pillar section and east side. The west side is a little lower angled and much wider and 100+ foot wall.
The forest below the crags is heavily moss covered boulders and there are many body size holes and soft covered surfaces that will cause a cave in by body weight. Someone used beer cans on small pine tree tops to mark their way up to the pillar. I brought the cans home. Tripoli Road is closed in November after it snows and opens in May.

Getting There 

Park at the trail head to Osceola Trail on the Tripoli Road at the Thornton Gap. Hike trail until large stream is crossed and open woods appear on the slope above the trail. Stay on trail to gain some more height and head up hill diagonal west a few degrees. There is a tall tree trunk of a fallen tree on the trail on the right and opposite this is a tree growing above a rock that are good landmarks to where to start uphill. The crags are not far from the trail. I have always gone after the leaves are off of the trees. Good luck.

The Classics

Featured Route For Mount Osceola Trail Crags

Tripoli Pillar 5.8 PG13  NH : Waterville Valley : Mount Osceola Trail Crags

Climb the face starting on the left side to finish center left. Don't remember protection and I think it was a sketchy run out finish. Great view of the Thornton Gap. ...[more]   Browse More Classics in NH

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BETA PHOTO: After crossing a stream uphill from the stream is ...