Climbing "between" NYC and Montreal in April

Hi there,

we will be traveling from NYC to Montreal in April and are wondering if there are any good lead climbing area on the way, or not very far from the way... 5.10 up to ~5.13b.

Thanks in advance

Gaby from France

Gabywrote:

Hi there,

we will be traveling from NYC to Montreal in April and are wondering if there are any good lead climbing area on the way, or not very far from the way... 5.10 up to ~5.13b.

Thanks in advance

Gaby from France

 https://www.mountainproject.com/area/106050968/poke-o-moonshine 

looks like there is only trad there?

The Gunks would be the obvious choice - but it looks like you are looking for hard sport which is going to be tougher to find

Maine and NH have plenty of hard sport climbing areas.  Shagg, Shell Pond, and Sundown Ledge immediately come to mind.

Chris Ducawrote:

Maine and NH have plenty of hard sport climbing areas.  Shagg, Shell Pond, and Sundown Ledge immediately come to mind.

Kind of far away for traveling between NYC and Montreal.

You can find scattered sport routes in the Adirondacks. As mentioned with the link above at Poke-O-Moonshine. You can also find a sport area a bit further south near Albany in John Boyd Thacher State Park. Fairly newish area with edgy limestone. Smugglers notch VT has some good multi pitch sport routes. Rumney NH is a popular sport area, but April can be hit or miss with conditions in the northern regions.

As others have said, most of the areas close to the Interstate 87 corridor in NY, which is the obvious direct route between NYC and Montreal are traditional climbing areas. There are a few scattered bolted sport climbing routes in the Adirondacks, though no area with a great concentration of them---I believe there are even a few on Poko itself ( one being Earthly Nights--a 3-pitch 11b ( roughly F6c) fully-bolted route). There are also several in the Chapel Pond area, also close to 87 ( for example there are a couple of sport routes in the far right side of the King Wall--basically the left sidewall of the Emperor Slabs) and several of the cliffs in that area are also reasonable to top-rope, if that interests you ( Upper Beer Walls, left side of the Spider's Web).

Further south ( north of the Gunks, south of the Adirondacks) there are a couple of other areas not too far from 87 that have a greater concentration of sport routes. West of the highway and a bit south of Albany, is Thacher State Park. The climbing there is all single pitch sport climbing on a limestone escarpment---but don't get too excited, as the rock quality is nowhere close to that in France or much of the rest of Europe. Still, there are some reasonable routes of varying grades and it is maybe a .5 hour/45 minute detour from the highway. Pretty place too.

A good bit further from the highway and more difficult to get to, but with some very good sport ( as well as trad) routes is the recently developed and climber-owned Hanging Mountain in the southwestern part of Massachusetts just north of the Connecticut border. From 87, the best ( though roundabout) route would be to take Interstate 90 east ( a little south of Albany) into Massachusetts, take the second exit in Mass (Lee) and drive east on Route 20 about 10 miles, then south on Route 8. The lot is right on Route 8 a few miles north of the Connecticut border. I'm estimating that it is about an hour's drive, maybe a little more, from 87 to the cliff, but once there the approach is short and easy. Most of the bolted routes are 5.10 (6a) and above ( mostly 11s and 12s), but with some easier ones. The rock is a mixture of gneiss and granite. Good crag.

There are also areas in Quebec around Montreal, again primarily traditional but with some sport, but the locals from that area should be the ones to provide the information.

Is this on the way to Montreal, it looks like it has some great sport climbing.

Lone Rock Point

Also, there are plenty of options scattered Bolton Valley in VT, which is right off 89. Might not be the most direct route to Montreal, but if you’re not on a tight schedule, it could be a fun side trip.

Chris Ducawrote:

Also, there are plenty of options scattered Bolton Valley in VT, which is right off 87. 

Don't confuse our visitors, Bolton is off of Interstate 89, not 87--very different routes. While in direct miles they aren't that far apart, there is this pesky Lake Champlain in the way, and there is no straightforward way to get over or around it. Same for Lone Rock Point. It is doable, of course, but quite a detour.

https://www.mountainproject.com/area/118181598/underwood-canyon

This spot is only a few miles off of 87, has sport climbs in your grade range but it’s in a slot canyon that may be pretty wet and buggy in the spring.

Some of the crags in western Massachusetts might fit the bill, but many of them are not well documented so finding beta might be tough.

Rumney is the only real destination sport climbing area between nyc and Montreal that I’m aware of but it would be somewhat out of the way. 

Ark Wall / Shelving Rock near Lake George would get you a small concentration of single pitch sport routes "close" to the highway.  Short approaches and great views but if you're looking for harder climbs you might find the stuff a bit soft...

in the Daks you have to be aware of bird closures  in april. Don't know if that affects Shelving.  if you can take a side trip from Montreal Kamaruska is really fun.   Not sure what it's like in april?  

Chris Ducawrote:

Maine and NH have plenty of hard sport climbing areas.  Shagg, Shell Pond, and Sundown Ledge immediately come to mind.

Those areas look great, thanks!

Marc801 Cwrote:

Kind of far away for traveling between NYC and Montreal.

I should have written that we are going to take a week to reach Montreal from NYC, so we do not have to go straight ;-)

If thats the case hit Rumny NH but find out from locals what may be dry in April... also find out what conditions are in Kamuraska in April to see if its worth the 4hrs drive from Montreal? 

This place is closer than Rumney.
https://www.mountainproject.com/area/121393840/hanging-mountain

Given that you have a week to make the trip, and are interested in harder sport climbs, then I'd suggest first going to the Hanging Mountain area I mentioned in southwestern Massachusetts. It is popular with climbers from NYC--closest sport climbing to the City, so you could get more direct directions from some of them. Unfortunately there is no convenient camping, but you could find somewhere to stay nearby or just make it a one day stop before moving on. From there you head northeast towards, first, the Massachusetts Turnpike east to Interstate 91 north for a couple of hours until picking up Interstate 89 at White River Junction, VT. From there you could head either northeast to Rumney, NH--about another hour--out of the way, but the main sport area in the Northeast with many quality routes of all grades ( the Maine/eastern NH areas someone mentioned are still a good bit further east). Or from White River you could follow 89 northwest reaching Bolton in maybe a bit over an hour. There are many hidden crags scattered in the hills there ( and some not so hidden). Mostly trad but also a good amount of sport. Personally, while the rock in both areas is schist, I think that in Rumney is of better quality and the climbs there generally more pleasant but I'm sure you'd find many good routes to do around Bolton. A bit further on, just outside the very nice lakeside city of Burlington, VT, is Lone Rock Point, a small limestone area with a good collection of steep, hard routes ( though no easy or even moderate options). From there you can continue up 89--very scenic to the border ( another hour or so) and connect with roads ( mostly highway) that will take you right to Montreal.

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

in the Daks you have to be aware of bird closures  in april. Don't know if that affects Shelving.  if you can take a side trip from Montreal Kamaruska is really fun.   Not sure what it's like in april?  

Kamouraska is further from Montreal then NYC.  Unless "Montreal Kamaruska" Is someplace else.  Spelling and punctuation (commas)  can be helpful sometimes.  Quebec is big.

no  way is Kamuraska  however the fuck you spell it as far away as NYC. Not even from my house let alone Montreal.  yes its  probably 3 or 4 hrs from Montreal but its worthy it if you have the time and are in the area.