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Delaware Gap Great Arch

Original Post
Jonah Klein · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 305

Looking for some input or similar experience in the Delaware water Gap. Possibly a better Guide book. If you like a stupid story read on.

New season, 2014, went out to the Gap this past weekend. Solo'd here a bit last year but really want to go at new stuff this year. Problem is I am unfamiliar with the area and i can't seem to figure the guide.I keep running into the same issue. I'm trying to follow the Falcon rock climbing New Jersey Guide and I just can't get it. So i just climb everything on Mount Tammany. So far, that has worked for me.my partner and I look around at what looks to be the Great Arch area. Looking up at a ceiling that looked to be extending 8 feet or so, and awesome, (holding book up to said area for comparison), pick what we think is Corkscrew 5.8 pg, and start our ascent. I am lead, traditional ground up. get to the first of a small alcove with a ceiling about 70 feet up, anchor and belay my second.

Now, thinking of the route in the book, I'm supposed to go right. but i don't see any protection or a route, no holds, nothing and at this level, the ceiling looks to be about a 12 foot extension. So, I traverse left as i remember there was a route on the outside corner and i see a crack in the ceiling above that i feel is my best chance. The traverse had one spot for protection, and it was my smallest cam, with only 2 out of 3 bits contacting, i ran out about 20 feet than ascended up around a bulbous spot another 25 feet or so before i finally got to a good wire placement. After accepting i just crapped in my pants from traversing over a dead hang on the outside corner with no protection, run out 40 feet on one piece, I look around and realize, I can no longer see my partner. Also, as some may know, the noise is so vast, we can't hear each other.

So I build an anchor and evaluate. I am now about 40 feet from the ceiling approach and this bitch has got to be 15 or 20 feet of overhang. I see no protection spots in site from here up, or any where on the ceiling for protection placement for the inverted attempt I now have to make, I can't see or hear my partner, I look down as if i have to bail and I estimate it to be out of reach well past 60 meters for rappel and I am on a ledge with just air below me to no possibility of repel from here , so basically, I need to attempt and make it, or Im F***ed. I build anchor and scream at my partner "Take", and he yells back "Safe???" F***K ME!!. I scream a loud as I can "stop". I tell him to keep feeding me Rope, I set my line through my Anchor and make my climb back to him. We get down and evaluate.

After staring at it and reading through everything, it would appear that I managed to traverse onto Flail-Bopp Flake. Its an Aiding route, and a sketchy one at best as there is nooooo where to put any protection in this area. Most certainly not a 5.8 pg!!! So in the end I really enjoy climbing unknown routes but want to make sure i am Ticking off the known ones. I also learned that reading the notes on the area helps as it points out in the book about the noise issue here and some people carry radios. I am looking for anyone who knows the Delaware Water Gap to throw a bone. If there is a better guide, please let me know. If you climb there, I would love to be your belay bitch for a few days and just learn the area. The gap is not well traveled and a lot of the routes are overgrown so it adds a level of difficulty and tranquility as your not waiting in line to get on the rock and it feels like so much of the climbs are being explored for the first time. Thanks for any input.

Jon H · · PC, UT · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 118

No one is gonna read that wall of text without paragraphs. Edit your post, press "Enter" as many times as is necessary to make it readable, and then people (myself included) would be more than happy to contribute DWG beta.

Mark Lewis · · Salt Lake City, Utah · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 260

Great story, I had fun reading it, but you left me hanging - what did you end up doing?!

Jonah Klein · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 305

Thanks for the clue Jon H,

In response to the hang, what did I do, I didn't do anything last saturday, I was out of time, dark was approaching. So I evaluated the surrounding area and this weekend I am going to climb an area to the right of that massive ceiling, walk the ridge to where I bailed, and drop a top rope just to the last 50 feet where I bailed. Its impossible to top rope the entire route due to the traverse and length. Then I am going to go down and climb it again looking for protection points on the last portion and ceiling.

Problems I face, 1: I have never top roped a ceiling of this size before, should be interesting, 2: I may have lost my partner due to scaring the s**t out of him on our last outing, so i may have to Solo this adventure.

The free climb with no protection for the traverse and additional ascend makes this route exciting so I look forward to beating the ceiling and sharing the route as I don't think it is a published route. (could be wrong) Once I top rope last part and identify protection points I will drop and climb traditional from ground up.

Jeffrey Dunn · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2007 · Points: 229

Jonah,

With all due respect, the combination of your post above and the other contributions you have made to this site indicate to me that you are having an abnormal progression into the sport. Encountering routefinding problems is a common issue for new climbers who have yet to gain the experience necessary to identify key features of a cliff and be able to apply the limited yet helpful information contained in a guidebook. What is not common is a situation where novice climbers "fail upwards" instead of retreating when they are unsure of the route, unsure of the protection, and on terrain that is at or beyond their experience level. The reason for this is that most climbers are serious about gaining experience and competency, and as such their mentors help guide them towards having positive learning experiences where the student demonstrates and practices competence instead of ingraining the opposite. Which leads me to my second main observation, that it is highly unlikely you have had access to an experienced climber as a mentor. There are two main reasons I say this. First, it is likely that if you are having these experiences and looking to an online community to provide feedback, that you have not talked to an experienced trad leader. If you had spoken with an experienced climber, you would be less likely to publicly disclose your experiences the way you have. Second, if you had exposure to an experienced trad climber as a mentor, you would likely have realized by now that posting to an online forum about your inability to lead beginner routes yet broadcasting in many places that you are soloing shows you to be part of a group of people who pursue the sport for egotistical reasons, an affliction not unfamiliar to our community.

My goal isn't to attack you, but hopefully to have you recognize that if you are serious about climbing and all that this sport has to offer, you need to change your approach. Step one is to find an experienced trad climber who, at a minimum, will have discussions about your experiences in a personal manner, something you will not get posting to these forums. Second, you need to find a way to engage the local trad climbing community and find multiple partners to climb with. Follow them, identify the skills they have that you don't and mimic them. Try to determine their general approach to climbing and adopt it. Finally, recognize that climbing is a marathon, and not a sprint. If you enjoy being on the cliff, if you enjoy the uncertainty and the mental and physical challenges, gain a respect for the sport and actively pursue the knowledge that exists. It will be to your own detriment if you continue to try and push yourself into this sport without the context and skills that are gained from interaction with a widely welcoming group of climbers in the NYC metro area.

Best of luck!

Jeff

Tony Lopez · · NJ · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 715
Jeffrey Dunn wrote: "contributions you have made to this site indicate to me that you are having an abnormal progression into the sport"
+1

Jonah,
I'm going to make some suggestions to help with your climbing. Many of your posts are quite scary and confusing. I don't want you to kill yourself and/or your partner.

If you haven't already, read up on climbing anchors and basics. Join a climbing gym. It's great for improving technique, endurance, strength and finding partners. Hire a guide at the Gunks for some instruction. They will tailor the sessions to your needs: aid solo, trad, anchors, route finding. Find experienced partners and a mentor.

Forget about The Gap for now. It is generally more wild and dangerous than other nearby areas. Top rope at Allamuchy, Ralph Stover and Rick's Rocks. I doubt you'll have route finding issues there. Then head to the Gunks and follow some experienced leaders for a while. The rock is not going anywhere, take your time.

Good luck,
Tony
RockinOut · · NY, NY · Joined May 2010 · Points: 100
William Sonoma · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 3,550

Jeff Dunn wrote: Step one is to find an experienced trad climber

I know of two that frequent the Gap and Im sure there are more. Solid advice.

Aric Datesman · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 145

Yeah, route finding is difficult at DWG and your best bet is to have someone along that knows the area well. Other thing to keep in mind is that portions are quite loose and the annual freeze/thaw will knock stuff off, so how it is now may or may not match up with pics. Which is one more reason to be careful up there early in the season... blocks that were solid last year may not be this year.

Anyway, bluebiner.com/ has the most recent guide to the PA side of DWG. If you can find it, the original Steele guide is useful in figuring out what the Falcon guide is talking about.

Larry S · · Easton, PA · Joined May 2010 · Points: 872

I don't have the guide here with me to look at, but my partner and I found and lead corkscrew without an issue from the same guidebook last year. The P1 belay is on a ledge above a small initial overhang. P2 starts straight up from the ledge in a scary corner (thin pro - micro wires and ballnuts, possible ledge fall), then exits right out of the corner. I added some pictures and the route corkscrew here a while back. mountainproject.com/v/corks…

Of the two currently published guides, the falcon is better, IMO, but having both can at least add a little extra info. I don't have steele to compare.

I can't offer you much more help, If i've climbed it at the gap, it's on this site and should have some decent pictures and description. I don't have the option of climbing much right now, so I won't be up at the gap any time soon.

Crossing · · Breinigsville, PA · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 1,621

My buddy and I climbed this route and he added it here: mountainproject.com/v/corks…

You got off route, it happens - it sounds like you ended the first pitch too soon you should have belayed at a small ledge in this picture:
mountainproject.com/v/10812…

I believe the guidebook states (for P2) to move up the thin corner, then right under the overhang. I think the Falcon guide does a pretty good job of generally describing where the route needs to go, but remember the water gap is a pretty wild place where route finding is key. We always drag the book up with us and read and re-read the description and topo before starting off each pitch.

Edit: Ah, Larry you beat me to it!

Larry S · · Easton, PA · Joined May 2010 · Points: 872

I think I do recall that the start of the climb as stated in the guidebook is overgrown and grungy, but we could see the features it climbed to, and there was an obvious spot where it looked like other climbers started from about 10-20 feet left, This is what's shown in the picture Ryan linked to, and how i described to start the route on this route page.

Karl Kvashay · · Phoenix, AZ · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 225

Keep those selfies coming!!

Jonah Klein · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 305

Jeff,

Awesome deductive reasoning. You are absolutely correct in that I have not in fact "trained or studied" with traditional climbing mentor. Most of my climbing with others has been of equal or greater skill, but none that have wanted to Mentor any one.

I have done extensive studies and a few classes on Anchor and protection placement. I also was trained in Mountaineering during my tour in the Marine corps (although very different climbing)

Not sure how to respond to your observation of my Solo climbing -vs- partner climbing, and my willingness to share with the community as I did not see this as a failed climb and my search for input was more on the route side of it then how to climb it. I was perfectly comfortable with how i climbed the route, just not sure where to go but would always share success or failure as it is all part of climbing i feel. If someone wants to koch me for bailing then I'm glad i made someone happy to take a stab at me.

I do recognize there is learning to be had. Lots and lots more learning, every day, even with years of lead climbing now, i want to learn more. I invite anyone to school me. Come one and all and as stated before i would gladly be anyones belay bitch for a day as i fully understand and respect the value of any knowledge gained. however, i enjoy exploring possible routes that are not by the book and i could be completely off in space, but always calculate my risk, especially as a solo climber, and am sure i will have may more bail outs as i find great enjoyments in smiling as someone tells me what i just climbed is not a route.

Jonah Klein · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 305
The Stoned Master wrote:Jeff Dunn wrote: Step one is to find an experienced trad climber I know of two that frequent the Gap and Im sure there are more. Solid advice.

If you would share I would appreciate it. would love to climb with someone who knows the area.
Michael C · · New Jersey · Joined Jun 2011 · Points: 340

Just another terrifying day of climbing at The Gap.

Aric Datesman · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 145
Michael C wrote:Just another terrifying day of climbing at The Gap.
Perhaps for him, but if you have route finding and trad figured out climbing at DWG is actually quite enjoyable.
Jonah Klein · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 305
Aric Datesman wrote: Perhaps for him, but if you have route finding and trad figured out climbing at DWG is actually quite enjoyable.
I agree. I enjoy DWG a great deal and don't know all the routes. As i am completing them and making my way north It only gets better.
Insert name · · Harts Location · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 46

I went with a friend who "remembered" a good 5.8 that turned into actually being some sketchy 5.11 pg13? I ended up bailing on a thin wire and itching for weeks.The Gap gets sketchy really fast when you get off route between the low angles/loose rocks/ poison ivy.

Aric Datesman · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 145

On a side note, glad to hear so many people are climbing at DWG nowadays. Frankly I much prefer it over the Gunks, as I hate crowds and simply following the line of chalk and lichen-free rock. That said, the hike down the talus field on Minsi with a shattered ankle and drive home sucked big time compared to how I imagine a ride in the Ranger's pickup down the carriage road to a waiting ambulance goes. :(

Speaking of which, if you climb at DWG, practicing self rescue is not just a good idea, but pretty much required. The only local rescue service is the volunteer fire department, which isn't really equipped or trained for vertical rescue. And with the relative lack of climbers, if you get in trouble there's a good chance no one will notice until the buzzards start circling. Definitely not somewhere to casually play around with pushing grades, IMO.

Aric Datesman · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 145

No harm in speaking the truth, Matt. Leave it. After all, DWG met its quota of climber deaths ages ago on HaHW. Hiking past that cairn is a fantastic reminder that DWG is not the Gunks, and not only are rescue services hours out, but chances of even being noticed should something go wrong while soloing are *nil*. As in *zero*. Case in point, a couple years back I tried to get permission from the park to do a trail cleanup on Minsi, and even after several discussions the ranger in charge was convinced the blue dot trail from Cold Air Cave was on the NJ side of the river. Even after explaining that Cold Air Cave is one of the tour bus stops on the PA side. And if the rangers responsible for the cliffs don't know what's where, do you really think the volunteer firemen will?

Full disclosure: I solo at DWG. But only on routes I have done a bunch of times with a partner, and generally only 5.easy due to routefinding issues and loose rock. All too easy to get in trouble at DWG, do it's really not the place to be pushing things

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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