Home - Destinations - People - Partners - Forum - Photos - What's New
 ADVANCED
The Near Trapps

Show routes:
Select route...
Akidlleati vytoowouldn'tyou 
Alphonse 
Ambien Knights 
As the cliff turns 
Back to the future 
Baskerville Terrace 
Beauty and the Skink 
Bird Cage 
Birdland 
Boston Tree Party 
Broken Sling 
Bush League 
Bush Lite 
By the Toe, direct start 
Catnip 
Cherokee 
Criss Cross Direct 
Day Tripper 
Disney Point 
Disneyland 
Double Quacks 
Eastertime Too 
Elder Cleavage Direct 
Far from the Madding Crowd 
Farewell to Arms 
Fat City Direct 
Fat Stick 
Fat Stick Direct 5.10b 
Fossil Fools 
Gelsa 
Good Friday Climb 
Gouda Climb 
Grand Central 
Grease Gun Groove 
Gunks Burghers 
Halfbeak 
Hang Ten 
Harvest Moon 
Hold the Mayo 
Honky Tonk Woman 
Infinite Space 
Inverted Layback 
Kansas City 
Keystone Kop 
Layback 
Lean and Mean 
Left meets Right 
Like a Box of Chocolates 
Little White Mushroom 
Loose Goose 
Mac-Reppy 
Main Line 
Moxie 
Near Side of Far, The 
One Way or Another 
Orc Stone 
Outer Space 
Outsiders 
Positively 4th Street 
Punch and Judy 
R2-OK? 
Roseland 
Route Awakening 
Saving Face 
Saving Grace 
Scuttlebutt 
Seniors in Motion 
Serfs' Up 
Shadow Nose, The 
Shitface 
Short and Sassy 
Silver Bullet 
Spinal Traction 
Summer Breeze 
Swells Good 
Te Dum 
To Be Or Not To Be 
Transcontinental Nailway 
Up in Arms 
Up Yours 
Void Where Inhibited 
Void Where Prohibited 
Whet Stone 
White Pillar 
Wolf and the Swine 
Yellow Belly 
Yellow Ridge 
You're in the wrong place, my friend. 
Yum Yum Yab Yum 


The Near Trapps


1 person found this page useful
Submitted By: Ron Olsen on Feb 21, 2006
Administrators: JSH, Ron Olsen
Elevation: 1,000 feet
Latitude: 41.7356  Longitude: -74.1936 
Aerial photo/map | Weather
Views: 55,396 page views

Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event 

Discussions available in the
Eastern States
Message Forum
  Print a Mini-Guide - Includes Routes!

A portion of Near Trapps has been closed to climbing MORE INFO >>>

Jean Aschenbrenner climbing the airy arete on the ...


Description 

Easy access, classic climbs, and easy descents make the Near Trapps a popular area at the Gunks, second only to The Trapps in climber visits. The cliff is 30' to 200' feet high, and sports almost 200 routes. The most popular area is the north end (closest to the parking lot), with many classic routes one after the other. The middle section of the cliff has loose rock and not many good climbs; be careful of rockfall in this area. More good climbs are found at the far (south) end of the cliff, a 20-to-30-minute hike from the parking lot.

To descend from climbs on the right end of the cliff, follow the cliff-top trail to the climber's right, circling around the cliff and back to the base by the route Kansas City. For climbs on the left end of the cliff, follow the cliff-top trail to the climber's left, and descend the gully at the end of the Near Trapps. Some climbs have rappel anchors which allow descent after one or two pitches without going all the way to the top of the cliff.

Some of the classic routes at the Near Trapps: Gelsa (5.4), Layback (5.5), Disneyland (5.6), Yellow Ridge (5.7), Birdland (5.8), Grand Central and Inverted Layback (5.9), Bird Cage, Criss-Cross Direct, Fat City Direct, Elder Cleavage Direct, and Transcontinental Nailway (5.10), and Kansas City (5.12).


Getting There 

From New Paltz, take Main St. (Rt. 299 West) to the T-junction with Rt. 44/55. Go right, up the hill. Pass the Mohonk Preserve Visitor's Center and continue past the hairpin turn up to the top of the hill.

Park at the "30-minute" lot on the left at the top of the hill, or continue past the steel bridge to the West Trapps lot on the right.

Walk along Rt. 44/55 to a point about 300' east of the steel bridge. The trailhead starts here, near the end of a guard rail. Follow the trail through the woods for about 5 minutes to reach the cliff near the route Kansas City. Continue along the trail, which extends all the way along the base of the cliff, to reach your route.


Guidebooks 

Dick Williams is working on a new guide to the Near Trapps, which should be out in 2007. For now, the best guides to the area are:

The Gunks Select, Dick Williams, Vulgarian Press, 1996. Contains the best routes at the Trapps, the Near Trapps, and Skytop. (Out of print).

The Gunks Guide, Third Edition, Todd Swain, Falcon Press, 1995. All-inclusive guide to The Trapps, the Near Trapps, Skytop, and Millbrook.

Shawangunks Rock Climbs: The Near Trapps and Millbrook, Dick Williams, The AAC Press, 1991. Part of the three-volume "brown Dick" set. Contains all the Near Trapps climbs, as does Swain's guide.

Check amazon.com and the New Paltz climbing shop Rock and Snow for these books.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Near Trapps:
Yum Yum Yab Yum   5.4     Trad, 3 pitches, 250 feet   
Gelsa   5.4     Trad, 3 pitches, 195 feet   
Layback   5.5     Trad, 2 pitches, 120 feet   
Disneyland   5.6     Trad, 2 pitches, 155 feet   
Grease Gun Groove   5.6     Trad, 80 feet   
Te Dum   5.7     Trad, 2 pitches, 170 feet   
Yellow Ridge   5.7     Trad, 2 pitches, 200 feet   
Alphonse   5.8     Trad, 2 pitches, 150 feet   
Main Line   5.8 PG13     Trad, 2 pitches, 160 feet   
Farewell to Arms   5.8     Trad, 90 feet   
Broken Sling   5.8+ PG13     Trad, 2 pitches, 140 feet   
Birdland   5.8+     Trad, 2 pitches, 200 feet   
Roseland   5.9     Trad, 3 pitches, 250 feet   
Grand Central   5.9     Trad, 2 pitches, 160 feet   
Criss Cross Direct   5.10a     Trad, 2 pitches, 180 feet   
Bird Cage   5.10b     Trad, 1 pitch, 100 feet   
Elder Cleavage Direct   5.10b     Trad, 3 pitches, 320 feet, Grade II   
Transcontinental Nailway   5.10b     Trad, 1 pitch, 100 feet   
Disney Point   5.10+     Trad, 1 pitch, 50 feet   
Fat City Direct   5.10d PG13     Trad, 1 pitch, 150 feet   
Browse More Classics in The Near Trapps

Featured Route For The Near Trapps
Jean Aschenbrenner traversing under the roof at the start.

Disneyland 5.6  NY : The Gunks : The Near Trapps
The classic 5.6 route in the Nears. Short approach and very popular.Start about 30' left of Broken Sling, at a large corner capped by a roof. There is a big tree near the start of the climb.P1: Climb up the face, angling right, past several old fixed pins. Make an awkward move around the nose to a cramped belay. 5.6, 45'.P2: Move left and climb a steep corner to a roof, passing more old fixed pins. Traverse right under the roof, and continue...[more]   Browse More Classics in NY


Photos of The Near Trapps Slideshow Add Photo
At the 5.7 crux on the last pitch of Yellow Ridge.  Yes, there's an easy line past the overhangs!<br /><br />Photo by <a href='/u/michael_amato/11870'>Michael Amato</a>.

At the 5.7 crux on the last pitch of Yellow Ridge....

The Near Trapps, from the Carriage Road at the Trapps.

The Near Trapps, from the Carriage Road at the Tra...

Near Trapps at night.

Near Trapps at night.

Moonset over the Nears

Moonset over the Nears

Don't recall the name of this climb... it's in the Nears though. (Photo: Brian Aitken)

Don't recall the name of this climb... it's in the...

Same climb as the other picture - if anyone knows what climb it is I'll repost there. (Photo: Brian Aitken)

Same climb as the other picture - if anyone knows ...