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Gamesmanship
5.8+,
Trad, 500 ft (152 m), 5 pitches,
Avg: 3.6 from 246
votes
FA: John Turner, Brian Rothery, and Wilfried Twelker, 1959
New York
> Adirondacks
> A: Lake Champla…
> Poke-O-Moonshine
> Poke-O-Moonshine Main…
Access Issue: Peregrine closures and approach trail issues
Details
Access to the Main Face is often limited in the spring and summer due to peregrine falcon nesting. Check the DEC web site (www.dec.ny.gov, search for "peregrine route closures"). Closures are posted in the kiosk at the beginning of the approach trail in the (now closed) Poke-O Campground.
Several recent incidents at the Poke-O Moonshine Main Face have heightened tensions with neighboring landowners.
Shortcut Trail (aka the Smitty Trail): The main approach goes from the (now closed) campground to the cliff near Discord. There is a shortcut trail on the right that provides access to the cliff near Pentecostal. This shortcut trail crosses the edges of two parcels of private land, and was closed in the spring of 2014. As of Aug 30, 2014, this trail is open on a tentative basis. Stay on the trail; there are some cairns and Access Fund signage to help.
Northern Trail Closure (aka the Easy Living Trail): There is an old trail that connects US 9 with the cliff near Psalm 32. This trail is entirely on private land and should NOT be used by climbers; indeed, it has been closed and undocumented for many years. Both ends of this trail are now marked with signs courtesy of the Access Fund.
In short, while visiting the Main Face, approach from the campground, and stay on the main trail along the base of the cliff.
Description
Gamesmanship is one of Poke-O's oldest and finest routes.
Begin the route in the right hand of two handcracks behind a nice, large birch tree.
Pitch 1: Technically, the route's crux is the first 15 feet of climbing and consists of insecure (read: slippery) jams in a fist-size crack. Once past this section, expect endless jamming in an impeccable crack to a bolted anchor. (5.8+ / 140 feet)
Pitch 2: Continue up the left-facing corner above and belay at the dike on a comfortable ledge. (5.7 / 120 feet)
Pitch 3: Easy does it up the broken rock above until it is possible to trend right up less-than-vertical rock to clump of trees on a spacious ledge below a left-facing corner. (5.4R / 100 feet)
Pitch 4: A great pitch. Move out right and climb a pure handcrack that slices through the airy face above. The crack will end, but continue up much easier terrain to a lone white birch tree on a small, but comfortable belay ledge. (5.7+ / 140 feet)
Pitch 5: A pitch of much less difficulty leads up the clean, open slab above to the top. Belay at the trees. (5.1R / 150 feet)
Getting Down: From the top of the route look down and to the right. There is an island of trees at the cliff's edge with a slung tree to rap the route. Walk across and down the open slab to the trees. 3 rappels with two 60 meter ropes will deposit you on the ground.
Location
Roughly 120 feet to the right of the large, grassy Positive Thinking area.
Protection
A standard rack with several #2 Camalots and a couple #3 Camalots for the first pitch. Two Cordolettes, and two 60 meter ropes to rappel the route.
[Hide Photo] Gamesmanship, Pitch 1 and start of P2 Hard to believe but once upon a time the whole crack was filled with vertical flakes that made the foot jamming WAY easier (after the first 25 ft, anyway) Th…
[Hide Photo] Tatiana enjoying the belay ledge on top of pitch 2
[Hide Comment] An excellent first pitch and a good 4th pitch are detracted from by uninteresting and unaesthetic climbing on pitches 2 and 3. I'd give P1 4 stars and P4 3 stars, but none to the other pitches, and so the route as a whole only 2 stars.
Better to do P1 and rap, then do the Sting and Green Onion to take in 3 excellent 5.8s. IMHO, the only compelling reason to do the entire route is because it provides a moderate way to get to the top of Poko, which is admittedly a rare thing!
Jun 10, 2010
[Hide Comment] Outstanding jamming (except for the choss of the third pitch). A couple of notes about the rappel. You can do just two rappels with doubld 60s, but, it involves about 40 feet of 4th class downclimbing on the blocky dike rock between rappels (dangerous). A much safer alternative is to make one short rappel (about 40 meters) from the tree island at the top to a fixed anchor on a small ledge on the steep wall. Then make a second rappel down through the dike-rock to the next anchor, and then a third to the ground. Be extremely careful on the last rappel, however--twin 60's JUST make it (tie knots and use an autobock backup). If in doubt, stop at either of two other anchors about halfway down the last rap.
Sep 20, 2010
[Hide Comment] I thought pitch 2 was just as good as pitch 4, neither of which in any way compares to pitch 1. Nonetheless, a very worthwhile outing.
Sep 27, 2011
[Hide Comment] as a side note. pitches 2 & 3 AND 4 & 5 can be linked with a 70m rope if u move the belay at the top of p3 up and right to the base of the "Ski Tracks" pitch. (easily done because this section is a large ledge)
Feb 14, 2013
As of 6/10/14, there are two softball sized but square loose rocks 2/3s of the way up the second pitch. They are almost completely detached, and one is covered with chalk. Both are directly in the line of ascent, and could even conceivably be dislodged by rope movement. I wasn't able to trundle them for fear of hitting others in the area at the time, and so had to settle for avoiding them and placing gear to keep the rope away from them. If the area is clear, they could very easily be dropped.
[Hide Comment] I was able to do the Central Rappel with two 60's as of 10/2015. For the first rap, it is MANDATORY to have knots in the end of your ropes--I had maybe a foot or two left at the most when I clipped the slings on the tree. Two 60's from the tree on the dike will take you to the top of The Sting ledge, no problem. I hope this beta saves someone time, but please, sé cuidadoso!!!
Nov 13, 2015
[Hide Comment] Best jamming on the east coast? Didn't find the 3rd pitch R rated, pro where you need it just take the path of least resistance. Doubles of #1-#2 Camelots is the ticket.
Sep 28, 2016
[Hide Comment] Did the first three pitches of this route this past weekend. First and second pitch were really fun and there was options for pro everywhere. third pitch was chossy but short. had to bail due to incoming storms. It was nice to have double in BD #1 and #2.
Sep 4, 2018
[Hide Comment] Climbed P1 last weekend, and a word of caution: I pulled a small bulge up to where I thought the anchors were to find 30 more feet of climbing - and I had nothing bigger than a .75, so they were completely unprotectable for me. Ended up being a pretty hair-raising runout, though the climbing is probably only 5.7 at that point. Save something in the 1-2-3 C4 range for the end! Start did not feel as insecure as rumored and protects well.
Oct 9, 2018
[Hide Comment] Descent is easy with double 70m ropes. The first rappel is off a tree climbers left at the bottom of the trees. The second is off a bolted rappel anchor which is directly in line with the first rappel, below the big dike. There will be plenty of rope left over with no scrambling required.
I don't think think p3 or p5 are R rated. There are a couple loose blocks on p3 which are easily avoided. Many small cam placements are available on p5.
Jul 15, 2019
[Hide Comment] ADK rock gives p5 5.3 R, which I think is more accurate than the pitch breakdown here. P5 is slippery and pure friction, while def the easiest pitch, i wouldn’t say it is barely more than a hike. Only worth mentioning because it is quite runout.
Apr 25, 2022
[Hide Comment] P1 beat me up (and ends on the least comfy belay of the whole line) - but don't get discouraged! It's all cruiser from there on out, and with great belay positions. I was happy that we short roped the access to the rappel tree after P5 - it's an exposed position. Two raps with 2x 70m ropes got us to the ground - the first down to a tree on Skier's right, that's about level with the sloped belay ledge at the end of P2, and then the second rap put us on the ground (albeit in some bushes). Also - I took every #2 & #3 I could get my hands on, and was happier for it!
Aug 7, 2022
[Hide Comment] If rappelling with a single 70, please be careful getting back over to the anchor at the top of P2. (I'd recommend doing 60m+pull cord if you have any doubt)
quite the adventurous little route. minus one star for the walking over at the top of P3, but otherwise great route!
Apr 29, 2023
[Hide Comment] NOT R RATED WITH MODERN GEAR. Pitch 5 slab takes a lot of small/micro sized gear and overall protects well.
Pitch 1: This is the pitch! Great varied crack climbing. The start is a little tricky but then it is solid 5.8 climbing. Some good rests. Protects well.
Pitch 2: Still an enjoyable pitch with 3d climbing in a corner. Many belay options. Go left or right at the ledge for bolted anchors. Go up and build an anchor on gear.
Pitch 3: Vegetated, blocky and a little chossy. A forgettable pitch that gets you to p4.
Pitch 4: If this handcrack was on the ground it would be a 4 star 5.7 classic. Just fun crack climbing. Don't place all your #1's too early! The last 40 feet of the pitch after the crack is blocky slab that is heavily vegetated and takes away from the awesomeness that is the crack.
Pitch 5: I think 5.3 is a fair grade. It can be protected well enough with small gear. Seems that there is running water on sections of it.
Rappel: Walked over to the central rappel line. (short roped because the rapp station is a bit exposed) Did the rapp with a 70m and a tagline. Was down in 2 rapps.
Sep 18, 2023
[Hide Comment] Descent beta: After some shenanigans with a snagged tagline rappel last week, we learned a new (less stretchy) single 70m rope will not get you down from the rap station to climbers right at the summit. Our stopper knots were about 10' above the rap station between the summit rap and the P2 ledge. The 80m rope we left in the car would have allowed 4 clean rappels from the summit to the ground.
Oct 3, 2023
Avg: 3.6 from 246
votes
Access Issue: Peregrine closures and approach trail issues
Details
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rosendale, ny
Dixfield, ME
Queensbury, NY
Better to do P1 and rap, then do the Sting and Green Onion to take in 3 excellent 5.8s. IMHO, the only compelling reason to do the entire route is because it provides a moderate way to get to the top of Poko, which is admittedly a rare thing! Jun 10, 2010
Bridgton, ME
SLC
New Paltz, NY
San Pedro, CA
As of 6/10/14, there are two softball sized but square loose rocks 2/3s of the way up the second pitch. They are almost completely detached, and one is covered with chalk. Both are directly in the line of ascent, and could even conceivably be dislodged by rope movement. I wasn't able to trundle them for fear of hitting others in the area at the time, and so had to settle for avoiding them and placing gear to keep the rope away from them. If the area is clear, they could very easily be dropped.
Jun 11, 2014
QUEENS NEW YORK
VT,CO, Bar Harbor ME, SLC
Cambridge, MA
Pittsburgh, PA
I don't think think p3 or p5 are R rated. There are a couple loose blocks on p3 which are easily avoided. Many small cam placements are available on p5. Jul 15, 2019
Adirondacks
Napanoch, NY
Salt Lake City, UT
quite the adventurous little route. minus one star for the walking over at the top of P3, but otherwise great route! Apr 29, 2023
Montreal, QC
Pitch 5 slab takes a lot of small/micro sized gear and overall protects well.
Pitch 1: This is the pitch! Great varied crack climbing. The start is a little tricky but then it is solid 5.8 climbing. Some good rests. Protects well.
Pitch 2: Still an enjoyable pitch with 3d climbing in a corner. Many belay options. Go left or right at the ledge for bolted anchors. Go up and build an anchor on gear.
Pitch 3: Vegetated, blocky and a little chossy. A forgettable pitch that gets you to p4.
Pitch 4: If this handcrack was on the ground it would be a 4 star 5.7 classic. Just fun crack climbing. Don't place all your #1's too early! The last 40 feet of the pitch after the crack is blocky slab that is heavily vegetated and takes away from the awesomeness that is the crack.
Pitch 5: I think 5.3 is a fair grade. It can be protected well enough with small gear. Seems that there is running water on sections of it.
Rappel: Walked over to the central rappel line. (short roped because the rapp station is a bit exposed) Did the rapp with a 70m and a tagline. Was down in 2 rapps. Sep 18, 2023
Philadelphia
After some shenanigans with a snagged tagline rappel last week, we learned a new (less stretchy) single 70m rope will not get you down from the rap station to climbers right at the summit. Our stopper knots were about 10' above the rap station between the summit rap and the P2 ledge. The 80m rope we left in the car would have allowed 4 clean rappels from the summit to the ground. Oct 3, 2023