Best crack climbs at the Gunks?

Marc801 C wrote:

Blah blah blah. Spray, blah...

f you'r'e thinking of IC to fix your gap in crack climbing skills that the Gunks doesn't enable, you might want to consider a Yosemite or Colorado trip before heading to the Creek. Also in Yosemite you'll find a lot more good options in the 5.8 - mid 10 range than in IC, where there is little below 5.10- and tends to be pretty burly climbing. (Don't misunderstand - there's plenty of that to be found in Yosemite as well. I still recall almost hurling my lunch at the top of Moby Dick Center and Entrance Exam nearly killed me.)

No, go to the creek duh. Find a good crew to share gear with and then take turns putting up top ropes. Start with #2, then .3/.4, then #3, then #1, then .5/.75. Or whatever order. Best way to learn is to safely do the same move over and over again and most any crag has most sizes. Don't worry about the grade if it's a tr, or about sending, worry about the size. Flail at the creek, then go to Yosemite and send the gnar.

Also maybe a distinction needs to be made about crack climbs (climbs a crack with at least some optional jamming) and pure crack climbing (mandatory jamming most of the way).

Also, laybacking is actually crack technique. Deciding the proper moments to use it and using it well is a good skill to have.

Well there you go - two totally opposite suggestions and perspectives, no doubt based on personal experience (certainly in the case of my comments). I'll also admit that I prefer granite to Wingate sandstone. Oh, and about that spray crack - in 2018, talking about doing mid-5.10 and low 11 routes that have been done by thousands is hardly spray! I named some routes as points of comparison in that I found routes rated easier than what I was capable of on other routes to be much harder because of my weakness at both wide and ~1-1/2".
Sara had a great suggestion though for dealing with the Creek - ignore the grades and go by size. I wish someone had told me that my first time there.

Last frontier is quite good.

David Kerkeslager wrote:

.

Agreed. This is why I've got (currently vague) plans for a trip out to Indian Creek at some point, to remedy this gap in my skills.

If ever out this way hit me up.  If I can't climb with you, you can at least borrow my gear and whatever beta I can give.  Oh Yeh!  Put The Valley on your list a must do if only for the experience of being in The Valley, as well as every other crag with cracks.  Will be back east to climb at Da Gunks this fall, stay in touch if you want to climb.

budman wrote:

If ever out this way hit me up.  If I can't climb with you, you can at least borrow my gear and whatever beta I can give.  Oh Yeh!  Put The Valley on your list a must do if only for the experience of being in The Valley, as well as every other crag with cracks.  Will be back east to climb at Da Gunks this fall, stay in touch if you want to climb.

The Valley is definitely on the list, it's a life goal of mine to free climb Astroman. But that is a very long-term goal--my abilities aren't close to that yet. I think IC is more likely a sooner-term trip for this coming winter.

Right now I'm not in much of a rush to travel, though, because there's still plenty for me to learn in the Gunks. I'm focusing on bouldering and sporty trad to build technique, and easier runout stuff to improve my head game, which seems to be my biggest weakness right now.

Definitely hit me up when you're in the Gunks this fall! Hopefully the Peregrine closure will have lifted and the copperheads in the Uberfall will have moved on by then.

3rd pitch of red pillar (lovely and mellow). 

This list has covered most of the lines I can think of that require either mandatory or ‘making life easier’ crack technique. One thing I always overlook is the continuous physical exertion required even for technically simple hand cracks of more than a few moves. Having lived for years out West, my technique is reasonable but developing and maintaining the stamina for lines of continuous jams at the Creek or elsewhere is tough around the Gunks. None of these lines really help that. If you can get some serious lap time at a crack in the gym before blasting it will help enormously. Yeah, not as young as I was, so that’s also a factor. Also, as usual, thanks to Rich for the history. 

"Crack" climbs? A few of the closed zones -

  hold some real cracks

 And, yes,
there are all those at Skytop;

The Ringwraith wall,(4 lines)
Sound& Fuy, No Exit, No Comment, Fissure Ramins(True Grip) Minnie Bell.
Then there's "what's out there"

And the more "approachable

On the other hand;
There are short cracks @ all levels of difficulty in Ct.
 More crux jambs & rests having to do with crack technique packed into 100'
This 1st one is a mile south  from The Ravens Crest at Sugar Hollow-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (Clix the  Pix)

An urban setting, in the woods up hill from the Elks Club bar & Grill.....
A big overhanging chunk of rock sitting in the flight path of a small airport,
across a valley from an active gun range, 500 feet above a highway. . .

*

**
**see tree, on left

 these

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             are about an hour south east of the Gunks

The above crack sits in front of the larger inverted corner,
if you look closely at the ** pix in the series, you can tell that the tree is at a mid-way point

ChapelPondGirl wrote: Ringwraith has been inaccessible to climbers since about 1994. That's 22 years to you and me folks.

That was my first 5.9 lead, hexes of course.