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Poke-O-Moonshine Main Face
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Routes Sorted
L to R R to L Alpha
Air Male 
Arch Crack 
Bloody Mary 
Borderline 
Bushido (Pitch 1 only) 
Casual Observer 
Certified Raw 
Cirrhosis 
Cosmopolitan Wall 
Earthly Night 
Fastest Gun, The 
Firing Line 
FM, The 
Gamesmanship 
Grapes of Wrath 
Great Dihedral, The 
Green Onion 
Group Therapy 
Hang 'Em High 
It Don't Come Easy 
Junior Varsity 
La Spirale 
Ladder 
Macho 
Maestro 
Mayflower 
Menace To Sobriety 
Morning Star 
P.T. Pillar 
Pandemonium 
Paralysis 
Phase III 
Pilgrim's Progress 
Pillar 
Psalm 32 
Psychosis 
Puppies on Edge 
Ragtime 
Raptor's Sream 
Rapture, The 
Salad Days 
Scallion 
Snake Slide 
Snatch, The 
Son of a Mother 
Southern Hospitality p1 
Static Cling 
Sting, The 
Sunburst Arete 

Poke-O-Moonshine Main Face 


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Administrators: Jim Lawyer, Chris Duca, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: gilp on Sep 9, 2006

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Chance of a Thunderstorm
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  • Access is limited in the spring and summer due to peregrine falcon nesting; so there are some closures. Checking with the Adirondack Climbers Coalition or the NYDEC can provide the closure status.
  • Season Peregrine Falcon Closures MORE INFO >>>


  • BETA PHOTO: Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain

    Description 

    The cliff is extremely impressive for the Adirondacks. It lords over Interstate 87 between exits 32 and 33. There have been many close calls and near miss accidents as climbers strain to see the cliff and all it offers. Most of the routes on the cliff are in the moderate to hard range; that is don't expect the wonderful selection the Gunks offers, you have to earn the climbs here. However, if you feel comfortable at these grades then this is the place to be for big, long, and exposed pitches of high quality granite. Add to this the distance it takes to get there from major cities, this cliff has a quiet feel that is pure Adirondack climbing.

    And that is just the rock, don't get me started about the ice. Check out Don Mellor's guidebook Adirondack Rock and Ice for route descriptions and look for Jeremy Haas and Jim Lawyer's new Adirondack Rock Climbing Guidebook due to hit the shelves soon.


    Getting There 

    Take 87 getting off at the Willsboro exit and head toward the cliff. Look to park at the DEC campground under the cliff. Park here and pay the $1 per climber/hiker fee. Follow the trail that begins off the back of the campground next to the large boulder.


    The Classics

    Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Poke-O-Moonshine Main Face:
    Sunburst Arete   5.8 PG13     Trad, 2 pitches, 180 feet   
    Paralysis   5.8+ PG13     Trad, 4 pitches, 400 feet, Grade III   
    The Sting   5.8+     Trad, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
    Gamesmanship   5.8+     Trad, 5 pitches, 500 feet   
    Phase III   5.9+     Trad, 1 pitch, 90 feet   
    Bloody Mary   5.9+     Trad, 6 pitches, 500 feet   
    Cirrhosis   5.9+     Trad, 2 pitches, 150 feet   
    Scallion   5.10a PG13     Trad, 1 pitch, 100 feet   
    The Snatch   5.10b PG13     Trad, 2 pitches, 230 feet   
    The Fastest Gun   5.10b     Trad, 4 pitches, 500 feet, Grade III   
    Maestro   5.10c     Trad, 1 pitch, 140 feet   
    Cosmopolitan Wall   5.10c PG13     Trad, 1 pitch, 150 feet   
    Son of a Mother   5.10c     Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 100 feet   
    Menace To Sobriety   5.10c     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
    Casual Observer   5.11a     Trad, Sport, 2 pitches, 200 feet   
    Macho   5.11b R     Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 90 feet   
    Earthly Night   5.11b     Sport, 3 pitches, 270 feet   
    Southern Hospitality p1   5.11c     Trad, 1 pitch, 140 feet   
    Pilgrim's Progress   5.11c/d     Trad, 3 pitches, 230 feet, Grade II   
    Psalm 32   5.12a/b A0     Trad, Sport, Aid, 3 pitches, 250 feet   
    Browse More Classics in Poke-O-Moonshine Main Face

    Featured Route For Poke-O-Moonshine Main Face
    Looking up pitch 2. Photo by Ed Keller.

    Earthly Night 5.11b  NY : Adirondacks : ... : Poke-O-Moonshine Main Face
    One of the new-school lines at Poke-O, and a fine one at that. This fully bolted route is quintessential dihedral climbing bookended by some of the most rewarding slab/arete climbing on the cliff. Avoid this route on sunny, summer days, as the black rock and oven-like quality of the corner can melt shoe rubber and make you go blind!! Begin the route by climbing up a 10' blocky corner to the beginning of the first pitch. Climb the technical arete protected by 5 bolts to a set of chain anchors...[more]   Browse More Classics in NY


    Comments on Poke-O-Moonshine Main Face Add Comment
    Show which comments
    By Jim Lawyer
    Administrator
    Aug 5, 2010

    Freedom Flight -- there's a large crop of poison ivy about halfway across the traverse. There are no cracks above or below the patch, so it's impossible to keep the ropes out of it. Good luck!

    By burlap submariner
    May 22, 2011

    Can u still camp @ the DEC campground @ the base?

    By Greg Kuchyt
    May 24, 2011

    Burlap,

    See the following two threads with info about camping...

    www.mountainproject.com/v/poke-o-moonshine-camping/106855201
    www.mountainproject.com/v/2011-adirondack-peregrine-closures>>>

    By burlap submariner
    May 24, 2011

    Thanks for the links greg, very helpful.

    By Mike McLean
    Jul 13, 2012

    As far as parking goes, I was there this week and found no self-payment box, probably because it's all closed down. People were parked right on the street next to the campground entrance, so I did the same without being ticketed.

    By Jim Lawyer
    Administrator
    Jul 14, 2012

    We've been driving right into the old campground and parking anywhere. That way you can park in the shade.

    The self-payment box was only relevant when the campground was in operation and climbers were using the facilities (toilet and water). With the campground closed, this is no longer an issue.