Adirondacks first lead

Looking for trad routes in the Adirondacks for my first lead. Bonus points if they’re in the south-ish as I’m out of Albany  

I just did a learn to lead course out of the gunks and have a shortlist for that area, but I’m very daks loyal and want some help on where to start. 

take a look at goat crack on moss island, little falls

Thanks, climbed that on TR before.

It's a bit of a long hike in, but Autopilot at New Buck is a dead vertical crack, so protects very well and very easily. There are also a bunch of other moderate routes at that crag, and it's as far south as anything in the Dacks. All that said, I'm not sure of your background so YMMV on whether a 5.6 crack is an appropriate first lead.

Southern ADKs makes sense until you start getting into the details. Many of the crags/recommended first leads (e.g. Autopilot at New Buck; a great pitch BTW) have non-trivial approaches. In the time it takes to hike in, you could as easily have driven the extra 50 minutes to Chapel Pond for a route (at Upper Beer Walls) like 3.2 or even 7 Ounces if you're up to that grade. Another close-to-the-road pitch up there is the left edge of the first pitch of Tillman's Arete. It goes at 5.5 G and is Var 2 in the Tillman's route description in the current ADK Rock guidebook.

I was a lesser member of a group that put up routes at this location for the primary purpose of offering fledging trad climbers someplace aesthetic to hone their skills:  https://www.mountainproject.com/area/107608493/eagle-cliff

Not sure how the approach is holding up, two of us are no longer around to help maintain it.  By ticks, it looks like people are still finding their way there.

There's also some good moderate trad climbs scattered about on Crane Mt.

Thanks. I’m very open to difficult approaches - it’s partially why I want a good list of beginner routes in the daks as opposed to the gunks. 

Just go hang out in the pass for the weekend. Enough 5.5-5.7 to keep you busy. Beer Walls, Jewels and Gems, etc. 

I would second Crane Mountain, lots of good beginner leads. But if you’re in Albany you could totally gun it up 87 to Chapel Pond in under hour and 45, with virtually no approach to beer walls, jewels and gems etc

Shanty has a few good options; all G:

So Not a Nugget 5.3, Circuitous Shit 5.4, Butterscotch V1 5.4, Sleepwalk 5.4, Shanty Girl 5.6

Jewels and Gem's is a fun beginner route with stupid easy access. 

I would also check out the potash cliff  its about 15 minutes off of exit 21 and is a south facing  wall there it is pretty stout  but there is a good 5.6 called bunny slope there. 

I have a feeling James meant to post that to the climbing memes forum thread, because going to potash for the one 30ft trad climb is a joke. Crane Mountain would be one of the more southern areas (exit 23) with the most trad lines, with little to no crowds. Good first lead would be Stand Your Ground 5.7 (maybe harder than you wanted but slabby and secure the whole way I felt) , or the 5.5 to the right of it (I forget the name) but honestly there’s so much at crane, take a peak at the guidebook or the MP page if you don’t have it and pick a line under 5.8,

There is a reason you will never run into anyone there the area sucks. The only reason I would go to crane would be if I wanted to hike 30 minutes to have rocks fall on my head, clearly that's what must've happened to Ben if he thinks climbing there is good. But I have a feeling Bens would know all the easy climbs in the dacks as he climbs no harder then 5.4 judging by his ticks on here, Ben seems like the type of person that would bail on a climb because he sees a spider. 

boo