Looking for a copy of Micheal Steele guide to the Delaware water gap

anyone got one laying around collecting dust??

Forgive my ignorance ... How is the water gap? Getting back into the sport now that the kids Are growing up and looking for places to go. I have little experience on the east coast so any info would be of great value. I live on Long Island and already have spring trips planned to the Powerlinez and the Gunks with an August trip to Acadia.
Thanks in advance!
Keith

Full of vegetation and super loose

Keith - The PA side gets closed from January thru June/July for falcon nesting, so it gets very overgrown. Jersey side stays open. Both sides have a handful of routes which see regular traffic and are generally clean, but outside of those, expect foliage and some loose rock. Surprise and The Rib are the two most popular and will see an ascent most weekends with good weather.

IMO, PA has the easier approach - no fighting for parking and walking just off the highway. It also has much less highway noise.

For where you say you're coming from, there are probably better places to go.

I could part with my copy of the '89 version. Feel free to make me an offer.

Gunks is way better haha
The gap is an adventure

Doug,

I have 2 copies for some reason. You can have one. Shoot me an address and I will mail it out.

Am I correct in that there are no Sport or Top-rope routes?

Nice thanks Tom! Email sent..
Top roping would be a pain..
Running from bears would be a fun sport.
The pa side might have some bolts haven't explored much on that side. Nj side doesn't

NJ side has some toproping (3rd or 4th class scramble to the anchors?)
Apparently someone bolted 2 or 3 routes on the NJ side (1 right past the Rib)

With some cleaning the Gap could be pretty fun if you are into alpine style stuff (a good amount of routes are not sustained vertically so you may pull a roof and have a good chance of landing on a slab) combine that with the PI and loose rock and you get the place with few others usually.

keithconn wrote:Am I correct in that there are no Sport or Top-rope routes?

There are 3 routes you could consider sport on the PA side. Seven Dwarves is fully bolted and shares an anchor with Sleeping Beauty, which is bolted but has a runout in the middle where a small cam (.5, .75) is nice to have. Crackpot is a bolted 5.4, some place some extra gear on it too.

Also on the PA side, you can access a ledge about 40' up the practice face by traversing in from the left of the buttress on the catwalk, and set up top ropes below Expresso, High Falls, and Drifting Arrow - This is often done by guides with climbing groups.

On the NJ side, There are a few scattered bolts around, but none on routes I've done, and they are all still on traditional routes. There are some opportunities to set up a topropes by traversing in on ledges or by leading up easier routes - These are called out in the Falcon guide.

Thanks for all the great info. I have no experience with trad climbing, but if anyone wants a partner for some adventure and doesn't mind showing me around, let me know when this beautiful winter weather clears out!

No one in DWG has a spare copy, but if you can get one it's way better than the Falcon guide, both in topos and descriptions. However, I've noticed a lot of the Holtzman descriptions, especially for the Jersey side, are almost identical to the Steele's. There's some short tr possibilities on the NJ side near the highway. Jersey side has some hard mixed routes which I've been reluctent to try because the bolts and hangers are looking mighty rusty. Things aren't as loose as is assumed, and in the fall the cliffs are almost totally free of plants. But In the summer the cliffs get a good amount of vegetation and its been super humid- just check out Larry here topping out Morning Wall ten minutes before a torrential downpour

Topping put Morning Wall
But if you like adventure climbing without beta, the gap is the place. Just be aware rap anchors are few and far between on both sides, and on obscure routes are often either nonexistent or total crap.

Does anyone know how to contact Steele or the current owners for the copyright on the book to ask for permission to put the work online?

Yeah believe it or not I found one for free and in excellent condition! And yes it's way better than the falcon guide.

Thanks again to Tom