dacks and gunks question

Hi, the wife, dog and I are heading east (from BC) on a road trip. We will be climbing for sure in Rumney and the Gunks. I have two questions...

1. I understand the Adirondacks are huge. What is the best and most convenient (driving time wise)cragging area in the dacks when driving between Rumney and the Gunks? Single pitch please. We are on a limited time budget so the less driving the better. I have a copy of Jim Lawyer's new guide.

2. We will only have a few days to climb at the Gunks. We do not have a guide but may consider picking one up at Rock and Snow in New Paltz. If you only had two days to climb at the gunks what area would you go to and possibly what routes? Single pitch please (not afraid to link between p.1 and 2 if possible) up to 5.12.

Thanks for your help. Feel free to contact me regarding info on Western Canada.

Jay

Jay, Something in the Lake george region most likely would be the best for you. Or maybe Crane mt although it will be a little out of your way. Be sure to check the adirondack Rock website because there has been alot of new route developement since the book came out. adirondackrock.com/newroute…

You know, you could just spend your whole time in the adirondacks...

For the Gunks, go to the Trapps. Get the Dick Williams book.

Hit up the Mac Wall, which has a large concentration of awesome 5.10's, such as Mothers Day Party 5.10b, Coexistence 5.10d, Star Action 5.10b, and Graveyard Shift 5.10d. MF 5.9 is wild and classic.

The Yellow Wall section has No Man's Land 5.11b, Yellow Wall 5.11c, and Tiers of Fear (5.12a). It also a two pitch 5.11a called Carbs and Caffeine. The Sting is a 5.11d just to the right of this wall that is very good, with Uphill All the Way 5.12a just a little further. Most of these routes stay dry in the rain. They are steep.

Slime Wall also has good single pitch routes in the 5.10 to low 5.11 range, such as Comedy in Three Acts 5.11a and Frustration Syndrome 5.10c. Falled on Account of Strain 5.10b can be rapped with one 60m or lowered off of with a 70. Kligfields Follies is a stout 5.11d just left of the slime wall. Slime Wall sees shade early, but is not a good place to go if it has rained.

On the way out or in, stop by the Uberfall and do Stirrup Trouble 5.10b, Nosedive 5.10b, and Matinee 5.10d.

I agree with TParis--you could just spend the entire trip in the Dacks, and enjoy yourselves profusely! However, Rumney is a great destination, as are the Gunks, SOOOOO, if you want to be efficient with time/climbing, head to Keene Valley and climb @ The Spider's Web, The King Wall, and The Beer Walls. You won't be disappointed with the quality of all the routes.

Climb at the Trapps in the Gunks, and if you happen upon a local and can get beta on Lost City, you should, without a doubt, check out the routes out there. There is no guidebook, so you'll either need to go with someone who know the place, or get impeccable descriptions.

Enjoy!

Chris Duca wrote: if you want to be efficient with time/climbing, head to Keene Valley and climb @ The Spider's Web, The King Wall, and The Beer Walls. You won't be disappointed with the quality of all the routes.

Agreed. Although there is heaps of good climbing throughout the Dacks, the High Peaks area (i.e. Keene Valley) has the best concentration and perhaps the most classically Adk experience. Spider's Web is a must-visit if you like 5.10-5.12 cracks. It is the best single crag(for it's size) I have ever visited--no exaggeration. Pitchoff Chimney Cliff, the Beer Walls, Upper Washbowl, Hurricane Crag, and the King Wall are also all nearby and good. poko is excellent as well, but a bit farther from the other spots.

Skip Rumney. Use the extra time in the ADK's or the Gunks. You will not be disappointed.

Jay;
You climb harder than I do, but I can recommend some moderate routes for you at the Gunks.

In the Trapps, you can try the uberfall area for lots of single pitch, but it'll likely be crowded. The plus side is you can just ask people for help finding routes there if you don't have the guide. I avoid that area for the crowds. The area around Ant's Line is nice and has a good selection of excellent routes (Ant's Line, Ent's Line, Bonnie's Roof (P1), Groovy, Airy Aria (P1)), but that area also packs up on weekends. I haven't done it, but Directississima is near there and goes in one pitch to the ledge, and there are bolts to the right (2 raps). You'll probably want a guide book to find the routes though as they're a good walk down the carriage road.

If you cross over into the Near Trapps, you'll find it is much less crowded and not as long a walk. Check out Roseland, Birdland, Birdcage, Alphonse (link pitches to the top, walk off), and Layback (only 5.5, but fun - Ends at slings/rings, or link to the top and walk off). I'm sure there are plenty more to do there, but those are the ones I know can be done in one pitch.

Enjoy your trip!

I'm relatively local to the Gunks and I've got a spare guidebook you can borrow. Send me a message about 4-5 days before you get into town so I've got some time to make arrangements. I'll just take the day off and climb.

If you want to ropegun and lead some 11's and 12's for me (that I can't lead but I can follow) then hell, you can have the damn thing :)

Not sure what your definition of "on the way" is but I'd say...Aside from the Lake George area, the Dacks are not on your way between Rumney and the Gunks.

In the LG area, Shelving Rock is the best to be found. Not in the new book, but here is the link: adirondackrock.com/newroute… . Very easy approach, mix of bolts and trad, some great hard stuff

I'm guessing ADKs are similar to what you climb in most mountainous areas, whereas Rumney and Gunks are pretty unique climbing. I would spend the majority of your time at those two areas if you are coming east. They are world class.

jay audenart wrote:I have a copy of Jim Lawyer's new guide.

You mean the Lawyer/Haas guide.

In the Dacks, if you have time for just a brief visit, and you're climbing at that level, then you can't go wrong with the Spider's Web (perhaps one of the best walls in the northeast) and Poke-O. The latter, despite being a multi-pitch destination, has plenty of single pitches to keep one busy for weeks.

And, yes, these aren't in the straight line connecting Rumney and the Gunks. But who cares...it's just a little extra travel time.

So far no one has contrasted the weather between the ADKs and the Gunks. Basically From June til mid Sept. it rains in the former just about anytime there's a 30% chance of showers. The mountains just wring the water out of the sky. The Gunks get a fraction of the precipitation. Seriously. I know this sounds like I'm trying to scare you off with hyperbole, but I can't count the number of times the rain has stopped right at the "Leaving the Adirondack Park" sign on I-87 southbound, to reveal a clear blue sky all the way downstate. Hit the ADKs after a cold front has cleared the moisture out and it can be exquisite. But the other 90% of the days you want to bring a pack cover and a change of socks. If the forecast is iffy and you need to maximize your days, head south.

Skip Rumney for sure. It's got some fun sport but climbing there on the weekends is a joke and it ends up being pretty expensive as well. I for one am not a fan of the locals there either... strange community.

You could even skip the Gunks, though many here will say that is blasphemy.

The Dacks are giant, and some of the best climbing in the east. TONS of stuff around Chapel Pond Pass, including Spiderweb Wall which is amazing. All walking distance from free camping.

Gunkie Mike, I know every destination has their raid day cliffs. That being said, one of the cool things about Chapel Pond Pass and the ADK is that many of the routes on their best wall (Spiders Web) stay completely dry in the rain. It's actually a pretty awesome experience climbing their in the rain.

gunkiemike, you wouldn't be biased would you?

Tparis wrote:gunkiemike, you wouldn't be biased would you?

Who me??

If not biased, the certainly cynical, having just driven up there under the guise of a dry forecast only to watch it pour an inch of rain on us, totally washing out any hope of a certain less-that-moss-free slab pitch.

PS - you (or maybe it was Jay) wrote a nice TR on the Southern ADK Rock Festival at Crane Mt. Full of RAIN-RAIN and more RAIN. As I recall it didn't so much as sprinkle a drop in the Gunks that weekend. So there!

Gunkiemike wrote: Who me?? If not biased, the certainly cynical, having just driven up there under the guise of a dry forecast only to watch it pour an inch of rain on us, totally washing out any hope of a certain less-that-moss-free slab pitch. PS - you (or maybe it was Jay) wrote a nice TR on the Southern ADK Rock Festival at Crane Mt. Full of RAIN-RAIN and more RAIN. As I recall it didn't so much as sprinkle a drop in the Gunks that weekend. So there!

You are right. I would much rather pay $15 (or is it $20 now?) to stand in line and wait to climb a classic line with greasy handholds and listen to the gumbys climbing on either side of me, just praying that they don't have an accident so I will feel obligated to help with the rescue.
Don't get me wrong the Gunks are a classic destination and worthy of a visit but I wouldn't spend more than a day there (two at most).

how is that for cynical?

I agree with Mike - every time I was in the Daks it rained even on the days rain wasn't in the forecast. The problem with the Daks is a lot of single pitch climbs are well below the treeline, so they stay wet long after the rain passed. I think Spider Web is above treeline though, also good deal of Beer Walls. Lake George area receives far less rain than the rest of the park, so if it's raining in Keene - drive East.

Re: crowds in the Gunks, at the levels the OP is climbing there will hardly be lines and/or gumbies around. And second what Chris Duca said - should check out Lost City for single pitch hard climbs, you should be able to get beta at Rock & Snow.

Ryan Williams wrote:Skip Rumney for sure. It's got some fun sport but climbing there on the weekends is a joke and it ends up being pretty expensive as well. I for one am not a fan of the locals there either... strange community.

Ouch.

Ryan Williams wrote:Skip Rumney for sure. It's got some fun sport but climbing there on the weekends is a joke and it ends up being pretty expensive as well. I for one am not a fan of the locals there either... strange community.

just spent 8 days in western NH and i gotta stick up for the locals that i meet there, they were no stranger than i am and cool to talk with too! and my week there only cost me gas to get there and 5 bucks to park for the week. legal camping on NF lands is always free and not hard to find.

we did spend our weekend in franconia, so i cant speak about weekend crowds

Gunkiemike wrote:So far no one has contrasted the weather between the ADKs and the Gunks. Basically From June til mid Sept. it rains in the former just about anytime there's a 30% chance of showers.

You forgot to mention the debilitating heat that bakes the Gunks like an oven for the majority of the summer;)

I wouldn't go so far as to say that it rains every time there's a chance of showers in the Dacks, though I can understand your frustration. One thing that I like to remind all visiting climbers is this: What sets the Park apart from many other areas in the North Country is the varying sense of adventure it presents to all. The chance of rain, high winds, bugs, a broken Tyrolean, some crumbling rock, etc. are all real elements of climbing here. Though the Gunks is a pleasant climbing venue with tremendous routes of all sorts, and bar none the easiest of approach trails, it is certainly the anti-thesis of ADK climbing.

(P.S. I just spent the day at Poke-O today with a chance of rain reported by NOAA, and we received nothing but sun and clouds all day!!)

E thatcher wrote:Gunkie Mike, I know every destination has their raid day cliffs. That being said, one of the cool things about Chapel Pond Pass and the ADK is that many of the routes on their best wall (Spiders Web) stay completely dry in the rain. It's actually a pretty awesome experience climbing their in the rain.

This is a bit overly optimistic. Some of the routes at the Web will stay dry in a light rain, but in true rain they will get wet, especially if there is any wind.