Anyone in the Ithaca, NY area looking for an indoor climbing partner?

I'm moving to Ithaca in September and I need an indoor partner for the upcoming academic year. anyone?

also, are there any other indoor climbing options (commercial or private) in Ithaca apart from Lindseth and that mini bouldering wall at Noyes?

Those are pretty much your only 2 options, sadly. the Noyes wall is actually not that bad. Lindseth however is terrible. supposedly there's a large indoor gym in the works in Syracuse so keep your ears peeled for that. If you're looking to head outside, Little Falls is basically an outdoor gym and while small, hosts many high quality routes of every grade. There's some alright bouldering there as well, but better blocs exist at 9 Corner Lake, Snowy Mnt, and McKenzie Pond.

Lindseth is terrible? you have got to be kidding me. no, it is not your typical gym however it is great for learning what real rocks feel like. I learned to climb on that wall growing up and still have yet to find a gym the comes close to the natural feeling lindseth provides. noyes=typical gym bouldering experience. lindseth=a place for to get strong when the gunks is too cold and wet. If you spend enough time at lindseth, talking with the community there you will quickly have the opportunity to take a trip to one of the world class climbing areas in new york.

Yes, if you like routes that never change, surly belay'staff', low quality route setting, and holds that are polished and slick as hell, Lindseth rules. If you want to get strong and learn what real rock feels like, um, go outside. Neither wall is steep enough/big enough to effectively train on, but at least you can sort of train power at Noyes. It's great that you like Lindseth. I will agree that it is unique, but that, to me, suggests you've never been to a real gym. I guess you take whatever you can get in the Ithaca area.

sounds like we climb for very different reasons. i dont want to debate your opinions about lindseth, non of you points are false (execpt 'belay' staff because that they are not) but if you look deeper and try harder lindseth has many benefits. believe me, living in ithaca it is hard to get time to climb trad multiple days a week. lindseth is a good alternative. but your right, there is a reason i moved west. ithaca gyms will never compare to anything outside.

"Look deeper and try harder"? You're talking to a guy who's spent weeks to months projecting routes, so don't talk to me about trying hard. And yes, the belay staff is surly. The first time I went there the guy belittled my wife in front of other people more or less as soon as we walked in the door. I lived in Syracuse for 27 years buddy, I know there's not much rock around, but if you look deeper and try harder I'm sure you could have made your way to Little Falls at the very least once a week to plug gear. I'm sure we do climb for very different reasons, and I'm sure yours are far more vast/spiritual/ephemeral/pompous (please circle one) than mine. Perhaps next time I'm on the east coast I can find enlightenment at the top of that "5.12" that's been up at Lindseth for the last 16 years. Who knows.

it's funny how some people love Lindseth and swear by it (and Mike is not the only one) and others absolutely hate it.

I don't hate it - it's kinda cool that it has real rock, you get the feel for what real rock is, there's a little bit of different kind of climbs (vertical, overhang, slab, chimney, crack), and the staff has always been nice to me. but many of the holds are indeed super polished and slick, routes never change, the existing routes are badly marked (if at all), and for most routes and boulder problems no one knows their difficulty level other than easy, medium, and hard (there is a book that lists all the routes somewhere, but none of the staff seems to know how to use it). and of course, there is only top roping, no lead climbing... so overall, a great wall for beginners and for going climbing just for fun, but not a great wall to train on. and I'd really like to be able to train over this upcoming year...

I'll try to make it to Little Falls as often as I can when I can't make it to the Gunks. Adam, do you know how long the climbing season is there? similar to the Gunks, or..? also, I tried to find a clibming guide for it, but I could only find one for Moss Island (the TR area), but not the Dihedrals (the trad area). any ideas where to look?

thanks :)
Zhana

OK, so here's the lowdown for Little Falls as I understand it (and I havn't climbed there since I moved out west, so this is all hearsay): The Dihedrals area was purcahsed by "some guy in town" who now charges 10 bucks a day and is apparently a big jerk. THere area a handful of pretty fun trad lines at Moss, a couple classic 5.4-5.5 routes and then it more or less jumps up to 5.10 and up, which are all also pretty great and eat gear (well, mostly). You can also check out the Tier of Fear which is down the track to the left from the Dihedrals, there's an awesome 5.7 up there called Head Cement that takes great gear as well as a great 11b sport climb called Trick Bag. Wind Wall is also a good option, a couple super fun trad climbs and some harder stuff as well. Recycle Rock is farther down the way from the Dihedrals and a bit more secluded. The quality routes there start around 5.10, some can be lead, I think all can be toproped. There's an awesome sandbagged 11a crack to arete climb called Stokers Fix, and a fun mixed 5.10a called Child's Play.

ANYWAY! the best season is fall since everything cooks in the summer being south facing. I have a complete guide that I can send yo a PDF of if you a. send me your email address and b. dont mind that it has my scribbles all over it.