A portion of Near Trapps has been closed to climbing MORE INFO >>>
A portion of the Near Trapps has been closed to climbing. This includes land below the cliff to above cliff line and starts approximately at Eenie Meenie and continues south about 200 feet. Climbers are asked to respect the no-trespassing signs and advised to use the access trail marked in orange blazes. This trail starts at the intersection of the Blue trail over the top of the Nears and the first Red trail. Follow the orange blazes east and downhill from this junction to arrive at the far (south) end of the Nears. For more information please view http://www.mohonkpreserve.org/index.php?news
This is a short corner climb near White Pillar. The crux is the corner -- it felt pretty stiff for 5.8+. Rap on a single rope or see if you can find your way through the lichen and weeds above the rap anchor.
Location
Probably the best way to find this route is to go to White Pillar and then backtrack about 100' The route follows a clean and appealing left-facing corner that starts a bit off the ground. It's about 10 - 15 minutes out from the popular part of the cliff.
Protection
I found the crux hard to protect until I noticed a spot for a ball nut. A passing climber informed me that the only good pro for the crux was that ball nut that I had placed. There's other pro down lower but the ball nut made me way happier.
I just did this recently, and I found a placement for a TCU (Metolius, purple) that provided good protection for the crux. A Ballnut may well be helpful but for me, it wasn't essential.