Preparing for El Cap in the Gunks / ADKs

I've bought my plane ticket, and I'm getting ready take a run at the Nose or Salathe in September.

I know that chimney and off-width climbing will be important, but I haven't found many places where I can practice that climbing style.

Anyone have route suggestions for 5.9 off-width and chimneys for the Gunks and ADKs?

Not much at the Gunks aside from Disco Death March, but it is 10+. The Last Frontier and Vader (or a variation) both contain funky sections.

A couple things at Poke-O with a move or two (Phase III and The Great Dihedral).
Creation of the World at Moss Cliff although it is much harder than 5.9
There are two pitches at Spider's Web as well. One is 5.9 and the other is 10+.

The issue is that nothing at the Gunks or in the ADK is truly going to prep you for smooth lipped sustained OW. However, the routes I've mentioned all have some OW and are awkward in general which is something you'll need to get familiar with. Tenacity is a necessity. Good luck.

Not 5.9, but Evelyn at the gunks is solid 10+ offwidth and easy enough to set up a toprope, not too similar to Yosemite granite though.

The climbing style on El Cap/ Yosemite is extremely different from the Gunks. Just keep an open mind and be ready to suffer and be bold.

Not that I am knowledgeable about wall climbing, but I am guessing that aid/hauling and creating/managing clusterf#k anchors is something to focus on. Maybe the Trapps on a weekend isn't the best place for it but hell - if people can set up hammocks and picnics at the base of a route while their party of 20 takes truns TR'ing and going for TR redpoints 4 grades above their ability....why shouldn't one be able to take up time learning haul systems?

There really isn't that much in the Gunks that will give you practice for the style of climbing you'll find in the Valley. Definitely shift your focus to the Daks. There's plenty there that will get you ready. Put your time into climbing cracks - all sizes and shapes.

Years ago Kevin Boyle (KB) posted a list of good crack climbs in the Daks on the old Gunks.com site. I used it as my training guide before going to Yosemite and it paid off beautifully. Here it is with some of my thoughts added to his list.

Ice Cave Mountain
Atwell’s Revenge (5.8, delightful, if short, pure hand crack)

Good Luck Cliff
Mystery Achievement (5.9; pure hand crack climbing, KB; full on jamming, sustained, FF)
Cleaveland (5.8; involves offwidths, FF)

Beer Walls
Seven Ounces (5.7)
Frosted Mug (5.9; awesome crack in corner, KB; #4 Camalot useful for opening moves, FF)
Live Free or Die (5.9+; face climb into the nice crack, KB)
Rockaholic (5.8; leaning crack, KB)
Clutch and Cruise (5.8+; main problem is the opening 12’, a taller person might find it easy but I needed to stem feet high to jam out of alcove FF)

Creature Wall
Arachnid Traction (5.8; abrasive in spots, may want tape for this one, FF)

Giant’s Washbowl
Butterflies are Free (5.8; recommended link-up with Partition, KB; excellent combination, enjoyable hand crack on P1, FF)

Spider’s Web
Dacker Cracker (5.10c)
TR (5.10a)
On the Loose (5.10a; THE steep crack of the grade, KB; good pro, very good jams FF)
Esthesia (5.10a; must like offwidth for this one, KB; wide jams, e.g. arm bar, through crux, FF)

Hurricane Crag
Forever Wild (5.10; sustained crack, KB)

Bark Eater Cliffs
Mr. Clean (5.8; layback, FF)
Because Dogs Can (5.8; hand crack, FF)
Fun Country (5.10a; hard to protect, FF)

Noonmark
Wiessner Route (5.8; sustained hand crack -offwidth-chimney-, FF)
Center Climb (5.7; 5.8 variation follows rhs crack, 5.9 (?) roof variation exits left via jam, FF)

Pitchoff Chimney Cliff
Rock and Roll Star (5.10c; crux crack to face climbing above, KB)
Wald-Calder (5.9; short, enjoyable jam section at top of second pitch, FF)
The Disputed (5.8; additional finger crack pitch when doing The El or Pete’s Farewell, FF)
Star Sailor (5.10c; nice finger crack, KB)

Cascade Lake Cliffs
My Favorite Martian (5.9;crack through low roof, KB; excellent pro, FF)

High Falls Crag
Route of Oppressive Power (5.10; one of the nicest cracks anywhere, KB)

Moss Cliff
Falconer (5.10+)
Fear of Flying (5.10)
Touch of Class (5.9+; enjoyable finger crack on P2, FF)
Hard Times (5.9+; unusual roof move to exit chimney, strenuous hand cracks to top, FF)

Poke-O-Moonshine
Great Dihedral (5.9+; very long crack in corner on P2, KB) Wild, fun move into it! FF
The Sting (5.8; pure hand crack for about 90’, KB)
Gamesmanship (5.8; P1 parallels the Sting, KB; P4 hand crack is pure fun, FF)
Bloody Mary (5.9; layback crack on P2, KB)
P.T. Pillar (5.8; layback pitch, FF)
Cirrhosis (5.9+; P2 has nice 100’ crack, KB)
Paralysis (5.8; crack on P2 for 100’, KB)
Fastest Gun (5.10a; tons of crack on P1 and P2, KB; involves full range of crack climbing technique, layback or jam P1, finger crack on P2, FF)
Freedom Flight (5.10; P2 is pure crack in an awesome position, KB)
The Snatch (5.9 crack on P1 w/ anchor, 5.10 crack on P2 w/ anchor, KB)
Knights in Armor (5.10d; rap in from the Great Dihedral. One of the best cracks around, KB)
It Don’t Come Easy (5.10d; P1 has lots of pure crack at 5.9+, fixed anchor above; P3 has great corner crack for 130’, KB)

Many of us learned to haul and jug while getting kegs the the High E ledge in the late 70's and early 80's.....

Sean McAuley wrote:Not 5.9, but Evelyn at the gunks is solid 10+ offwidth and easy enough to set up a toprope, not too similar to Yosemite granite though.

Andrew Casler wrote: Where's Evelyn? I can't find it in on mtn project or the Williams' guides.