New England roadtrip advice for visiting Brits

I've climbed in practically all the areas listed above (not Quebec), and many of the most famous areas in US. IMO these are the only destination worthy crags, be wary of folks flaunting local pride:

Sport: Shagg Crag, Rumney (not on weekends)
Trad: Gunks (not on weekends), Moby Grape on Cannon (do Whitney Gillman ridge if you have extra time), Cathedral Ledge, Whitehorse if you like slab, Spider's Web in the ADK

Lac Long, in Quebec, is the best "single pitch" cliff in the NE.
-Wonderful camping alongside a river right below the cliff.
-A great mix of trad/mixed/sport across a range of grades.
-Never been crowded on my weekend visits, and mid-week you should have the place to yourself.
Bon Chance
https://www.escaladequebec.com/topos/Topo_lac_Long_2015_EN.pdf

If had this much time I'd definitely hit:
- Acadia (a nice early fall day at the Precipice is hard to beat)
- Shagg
- North Conway area (you can spend quite some time there between Cathedral, Whitehorse, the crags along the kang ...)
- Cannon (MG isn't the only good climb there, consider also WG, Vertigo, VMC direct)
- Rumney
- Adirondacks (Poke O, Spider's web, Washbowl, Wallface, Moss cliff, Beer wall and so many others!)
- Farley (and adjacent cliffs)
- Gunks

Mark Bealor wrote: Lac Long, in Quebec, is the best "single pitch" cliff in the NE.
-Wonderful camping alongside a river right below the cliff.
-A great mix of trad/mixed/sport across a range of grades.
-Never been crowded on my weekend visits, and mid-week you should have the place to yourself.
Bon Chance
https://www.escaladequebec.com/topos/Topo_lac_Long_2015_EN.pdf

So so so great

I respond just amplify what has been written:

Gunks is excellent, trad classic abundant and easy to access.  Restaurants and farm produce are great and nearby.

Rumney has many great sport routes and the hard climbs include test pieces pros prove themselves on.  The setting is not epic.  There is a good pub on a square across from the first church you see on the way out.

Crow Hill is not worth a stop unless you are passing by.

Adirondacks is only nominally one area.  The distance between London and Cambridge would fit easily in the Daks.  Rogers Rock, Chapel Pond slabs are epic.  I cannot speak to other amazing areas but A strong climber could live a lifetime there without boredom. There are  plenty of dumpy little crags deep in the woods which you won’t miss if you never see them.  Also beware the cold.  Upstate NY into Québec gets as cold as anywhere in the lower 48. Lake Placid has great restaurants.

Acadia is gorgeous.  Otter Cliff is the definition of picturesque and the rock is good but short.  The food is great.  Restaurant called iron bound makes a gin cocktail with pomegranate which is memorable.

Val David was nice in the summer.  A bit like Rumney in that the cliff doesn’t always clear the tree tops.  Great food. Also gets cold. Same granite as the Daks.

NY state is not in New England.  

I don’t mention places I haven’t visited.  

 if you're heading up to Canada I would consider going up to the Niagara escarpment which runs from Toronto North up to the Great Lakes there's some great sport climbing as well as some Trad climbing. Kamouraska in Quebec is also great Limestone sport climbing. I'm not sure if I would waste much time in Vermont unless it's just a stop between New Hampshire and the Adirondacks. Katahdin while beautiful is probably also a waste of your time. You'll spend days getting there and might not even make it to the bottom of the route. save the gunks for the end of your trip because the weather is warmer there and it's easy to climb late in the season. That's my two cents. Have a great trip

I took the time to look over your previous trips and experience before making any comment. Obviously your both extremely experienced, and well rounded climbers.  I've climbed in the majority of areas recommended, but would like to add that it can get pretty cold in October, the further North you go. The Gunks can be warm even in November, so you might want to consider hitting the areas which cool off the earliest, like Quebec, the Adirondacks, and New Hampshire first. I'm sure you can research each area on the internet, but considering your experience, I'll recommend a few specific climbs in each area you will probably visit:
Gunks- Too many good choices, but as said above avoid weekends since on classic routes there may be a waiting line.
Adirondacks- Check out a few of John Turner's routes- a legendary UK climber who did very early 1st ascents on Poke-O-Moonshine, which is very similar to the Granite at Cathedral Ledge in Conway,NH, where Turner also did classic 1st ascents.  At Poke-O  get on Gamemanship 5.8, but really classic, and another Turner route- Bloody Mary 5.9+/10 pretty difficult for when he did it!
Also another classic- Fastest Gun- 5.10
There is a nice campground at the base of Poke-O-Moonshine.
Cannon in New Hampshire could keep you busy for a few days, since the approaches are longer than many of the other cliffs, and it is perhaps the biggest cliff in New England. My son and I perhaps 20 years ago, did the 1st 4 pitches of the VMC Direct/Direct, rapped off, and then went up Moby Grapes. Again, after looking at your resume, I feel this would be a good option, but if you wanted to do the complete Direct/Direct, get an early start, since by October the days are getting short, and COLDER, and just aim for that route by itself. The 3rd pitch of the Direct/Direct, in my opinion, is one of the best pitches in New England- around 5.10. The second pitch is harder, and the crux, but if you have thin fingers, it would be a full grade easier.
THere are many good routes on Cannon but if you only have a few days shoot for those 2 routes.
It is only about 1 hours drive between Cannon and Cathedral Ledge, so you could alternate back and forth between both valleys. If you have more time do the Whitney Gilman and other classics on Cannon.
Further East to the North Conway area you could spend a full week at Cathedral Ledge, and just touch the surface. Again, John Turner, the British climber, who was probably climbing at Joe Browns level, put in the all time classic Recompence, and a few others. There are many areas around the Conway Valley loaded with great routes, sport and traditional.
I have climbed in Quebec and the Armadillo route on Mt. Katahdin  several times, but honestly the approach to do the Armadillo Route is really long for a 2 pitch climb. You would be better off doing a route in Huntington Ravine on Mt. Washington, which has an alpine feel, and only an hours drive from Cathedral Ledge.
I'm not much of a sport climber, but many of my friends go to Shagg crag, and Wild River in Evan's Notch, both amazing crags. I've done the Big Red route at Wild River and it is amazing- an all time classic!

One final note:  Many have said don't bother with Crow Hill. If you happen to be in the area in Massachusetts, about an hour West of Boston, it is worth a visit, since there are a few good routes there. The rock at Crow Hill is similar to English Grit Stone, and if your near Ragged Mountain, or East Peak in Conn. there are really great routes there as well. I did a few 1st ascents in each area so obviously I'm a little biased in my opinion.

I'm a member of the Alpine Club UK, and my old friend John Porter who is the current President will be over here in early October. I will also be climbing later this month into October with another old friend from the UK, Wil King originally from Manchester. Contact me thru Mountain Project and perhaps I can show you around Cathedral Ledge when your in that part of New Hampshire, and if the timing is right perhaps my UK friends will be around and we all could go out for a beer.
Best, Steve

Sorry for that. I guess it is a little bit dated. Too bad it is closed.

you just park on the side of the road and the everything is run down...  NY state saveing money....

According to data science, here is the best road trip route for you:

Source: http://michaelskaug.com/roadtrip/

(Joking, of course. But cool use of MP info.)

Aaron Gerry wrote: According to data science, here is the best road trip route for you:

Source: http://michaelskaug.com/roadtrip/

(Joking, of course. But cool use of MP info

Safe harbor and birdsborro lolllll

Birdsboro quarry on top 10 for northeast and Conway doesn't even make the list?  Wow.  

Aaron Gerry wrote: According to data science, here is the best road trip route for you:

Source: http://michaelskaug.com/roadtrip/

(Joking, of course. But cool use of MP info.)

Rumney and J-tree bouldering only? What? 

stephen arsenault wrote:perhaps I can show you around Cathedral Ledge when your in that part of New Hampshire.

Many thanks Steve for the excellent beta - it'd be great to have some local guidance if the timing works out, so I'll PM you nearer the time. Cheers, Dom 

Aaron Gerry wrote: According to data science, here is the best road trip route for you:

Source: http://michaelskaug.com/roadtrip/

(Joking, of course. But cool use of MP info.)

We just need a self-driving RV and we can sit back and let the bots take charge! 

Hi Everyone

Thanks again for all the great advice. We're now on our way, and putting your beta into action....

10 days into the trip and we've visited ten crags and clocked up almost a thousand miles, visiting The Gunks, dipping into The Dacks, enjoying Rumney and exploring North Conway, before crossing into Maine for Shagg Rock and Camden Hills. If you want to follow the trip or get an idea of our first impressions of these areas as visiting Brits, then check out rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/ca… or retrace our journey from the start https://rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/2019/09/20/the-gunks-first-stop-on-the-rockaroundtheworld-ne-america-roadtrip/

Our plan has been to head north at speed so we can travel back south more slowly, savouring the (hopefully) great fall conditions and spending more time at the best spots.

Next stop is Acadia NP and then we're planning to check out the climbing around Québec. If anyone has ideas and beta for the latter it would be great to hear.

Cheers, Dom 

love your blog. 

Rob D. wrote: love your blog. 

Second that.  

Reading your reaction to the pricing brings home how constant and tiresome the NYC premium is.  For the first time in a lifetime as a New Yorker I felt embarrassed by the ridiculous pricing.  At least the Gunks delivers the goods.  Enjoy the rest of your trip. 

If you feel like going further north, Nova Scotia has probably the most unique bouldering you’ll find on the East Coast.

https://youtu.be/pet0BBS-htU

Live Perched wrote:

Second that.  

Reading your reaction to the pricing brings home how constant and tiresome the NYC premium is.  

Not NYC's fault that the pound went down the drain ;-) but maybe a $50 for a week option would work out well for roadtripping visitors!