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The Northeastern Crags Rock Climbing
Routes in The Northeastern Crags
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Arborist Arete T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Beanstalk Crack, The T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Big Red Shoes T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Bigfoot was Here T 5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b |
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Br'er Rabbit T 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Chess With Justin T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Don't Tell Tom aka Et By a Bear T 5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a PG13 |
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Encour du Bottom feeder T 5.9- 5c 17 VI 16 HVS 4c |
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Farewell Ronald McDonald T 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a |
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Happy Camper T 5.10b/c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Jack Crack T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Jolly Green Giant, The T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Magic Beans T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Mountain Minor T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b PG13 |
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Pick a Card T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Shapeshifter T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Sojourn of Arjuna T 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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Squeeze Box T 5.9- 5c 17 VI 16 HVS 4c |
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Steady Yeti T 5.11a/b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c |
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Thin Slice T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Wiessner Corner T 5.9+ 5c 17 VI 17 E1 5a |
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Yeti Beats T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c |
| Elevation: | 2,461 ft | 750 m |
| GPS: |
44.03984, -71.39582 Google Map · Climbing Area Map |
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| Page Views: | 45,653 total · 277/month | |
| Shared By: | M Sprague on Sep 2, 2011 | |
| Admins: | Jay Knower, M Sprague, Jeffrey LeCours, Jonathan S, Robert Hall |
Description
May 2024 update - Sawyer River rd is CLOSED and is expected to remain closed for at least most of the summer due to wash outs from the Dec 2023 rains.
To the right of the Main Wall of Green's is a series of crags designated The Northeastern Crags, mostly in a line running north and facing east. These are only partially explored so far, but recent development has uncovered a bunch of quality routes in a very beautiful setting. They overlook the wonderful Sawyer Ponds Scenic Area basin, with great views across the ponds to the cliffs of Mt. Tremont and Owls, and looking more SE you can see all the way to Mt. Chocorua, and north to Mt. Washington.
These cliffs are quite featured compared to the Main Wall, with many good looking crack lines that rank right up with some of the best one and two pitch cracks in the state, mostly fingers and hands, but also including a few chimneys like the not to be missed Squeeze Box 5.8. There is also the fantastic mixed gear protected arete Bigfoot Was Here 12b. Most of the cliffs are one or two pitches tall, though sometimes a 3rd or 4th pitch is set back above. Angles are a little off vertical, over and under. There are a few outlying slabs that may be worthy, judging from a cursory look.
This is a great spot to enjoy Greens in the summer, when you can get baked off the south facing Main Wall, as the morning sun turns to shade early in the day. It is also the closest, with the approach being a moderate hike just under an hour. The same shade can make late Fall's short days feel especially cold once the sun is off.
The earliest established route that I have been able to confirm to date is Ward and Paula Smith's Premarital Blisters, put up in 1994.
It wasn't until 2013 that a more sustained effort of new route exploration began, after a quicker way in was discovered. There is quite a lot of rock out in this area, with some cliffs not even touched yet (2014), so there will likely be lots more routes to come.
The middle part of this area, which probably has the most potential, is composed of two tiers of cliff band, split by a landmark giant loose basalt gully. The top of the gully is overhanging, but the lower portion is low angled enough to allow access between the bands.
Be aware, if you climb over here, that these crags lie within the Sawyer Ponds Scenic Area, so have somewhat more restrictive rules, including no camping below the ridge towards the pond. Be especially aware to be low impact visually and noise wise. You are basically in an amphitheater for anyone down at the ponds and it is a pretty magical spot. This is a place to go light in impact, by just going for the very best lines and leaving the rest be IMO.
Getting There
If coming from the parking, follow the directions on the main page, getting you to the landmark sharp arete of Bigfoot (around an hour first time, 1.4 miles) It is another 5 min further to the Premarital Wall, crossing the mouth of the the big green gully on the way (staying low). The Beanstalk Wall is the band directly above the Premarital Wall. To get to it start up the gully a little then quickly angle out of it to the left above the PM Wall and up. The cliffs are a little complicated, so it will take some exploring to learn the terrain, especially if trying to find the tops for new route prepping See the directions in the main Green's section for a little more information.
If you took the ridge route and are are already at the Main Cliff - Head back the way you came, down below the fire ring, down and back up through the boulders to the little plateau, then just as the trail resumes heading up look for some flagging or cairns running downhill to your right. They lead down to a ravine that turns into a little 3rd class slot dropping you at the base of Encour du Bottom Feeder. Another couple minutes along the trail brings you to the left side of the Beanstalk Wall. - see micro beta below
To continue to the lower tier, traverse under the Beanstalk Wall until you get to the obvious two pitch Y crack (Squeeze Box), where a trail heads out from the cliff and down, cutting into the lower part of the green gully that separates the Premarital Wall on your right and the Bigfoot area to the left (looking downhill).
It is about 15 minutes to get from the Main Wall over and scramble down to the upper tier, another 5 down to Bigfoot.
Micro beta between the Beanstalk and the Main Walls -Traveling between the left side of the Beanstalk Wall uphill to connect to the ridge trail first entails getting above the Encour du Bottom Feeder buttress. This way splits around the buttress depending on if going up or down. The old way went directly up from the BS wall at Thin Slice through heinous steep root scrambling, then with a short traverse left to the top of the buttress. It is ok and popular to save a minute for coming down if there is a fixed rope for rapping, but for going up you are better off taking the new way traversing left down at the Thin Slice level, then angling up to EdBF and taking the slot just left of that route to get above. Once on top of the buttress the ridge trail is up hill a couple minutes. Take a left for the Main Wall, right to the parking
Classic Climbing Routes at The Northeastern Crags
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Photos
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