In NYC - where should I go?

Hey,
I live in New York City and am looking for somewhere to sport climb. I've obviously heard great things about the Gunks, and the Dacks to a lesser extent, but neither I nor my climber friends have trad gear. How is the sport climbing in the Gunks/Dacks and is there anywhere else anyone recommends that's not more than a few (2-3) hours away?

I cant really offer much help to you, except you can safely rule out both of those venues for sport climbing.

get a rack, don't look back

Rumney is propably going to be the closest destination sport area. A little more than 2-3 hrs though I would think.

There used to be a chipped quarry near the Gunks, but IIRC everything was pretty hard.
Sounds like there may be some new areas in CT.
Safe Harbor in PA- not sure of the distance.
Bellefonte Quarry in State Park PA, but may not be open any more.
Stoney Ridge in PA?
Western Mass areas? Farley??? Haven't been to any of these, just heard rumors over the years.

Get a rack. The gunks is sport climbing on gear. Seriously!

Check out Birdsboro in PA also....

Rumney is the only extensive option, and it is a solid five hour drive from NYC.

There are some small bolted crags popping up in Connecticut; see the April Rock and Ice cover story, and there are also some bolted crags in Western Mass that would be within three hours from NYC, see climbgneiss.org/index.php/c… for these.

Probably your best bet is the Poison Ivy Wall at West Point, see mountainproject.com/v/poiso… on this very site for beta and directions.

Although not sport climbing, there are fairly extensive top-roping opportunities at Peterskill, in the Gunks.

The only sport within decent range with access is The Poison Ivy wall in West Point (Highland Falls, NY)

Its an okay little area, really only a day or two worth of climbing, the biggest downside would be the rock quality, almost feels greasy due to being a blasted rockface and having trains go by constantly underneath

If you need any beta or have some questions pm me

Or like stated above you can go toprope in Allamuchy or Peterskill because everything else is Trad or you're going to have to travel much farther north

Other than that you could hit up the gym scene or get some bouldering in Central Park, Harriman State Park, the Gunks, etc.

I would hardly call the gunks sport climbing on gear, buddy!

thomas ellis wrote:Get a rack. The gunks is sport climbing on gear. Seriously!

yeah, my thoughts too. if you like sporty roof pulling that is.

Look here for sport climbs in the Adirondacks.

losbill wrote:get a rack, don't look back

+1

I love sport but it's not a reality in the northeast outside of Rumney. To climb vertical one must do it trad. [fwiw, the ADKs that cover 6 million acres have as much pure sport as Rumney alone]

Maybe you want to look into bouldering if you're looking for hard climbing with relatively safe falls? ;)

Poison Ivy wall, IMO, is blocky and ledgy and many of the falls are not that safe. I've been there once and haven't bothered making the trip back since.

The other true sport option that IS within your 2-3 hr range is Birdsboro, PA. It's an old bolted quarry, relatively easy to find, and has a pretty good variety of climbing from 5.7- hard 5.13.

One thing I would caution is to definitely all wear helmets here.

Lots of info: mountainproject.com/v/birds…

Great stuff so far. Thanks guys

Jim Lawyer wrote: Look here for sport climbs in the Adirondacks.

Hmm. I've always thought that "bolts=sport," "gear=trad" misunderstands both genres.

Jim Lawyer wrote:The Adirondacks has its own style of "sport" routes. Older routes were often climbed ground up, meaning that the leader climbed to the next stance before drilling, creating routes with substantial runouts.

Those older routes fit my definition of trad climbs, because although bolt-protected, the location of the protection was dictated by nature (the location of stances from which drilling is possible) on a ground-up ascent.

I think that nowadays, when people speak of sport climbing, they mean rap-bolted and cleaned routes with safe falls from closely-spaced bolts and, in the case of bigger spacing, very clean overhanging falls. If this is your understanding of sport climbing, then better read the descriptions in Adirondack Rock very carefully before launching up a route that might be, in my lexicon, bolted trad.

If you do go, don't forget your clip stick. At least at Poko, some of those first clips are high enough to scare my ancient bones and ligaments.

thomas ellis wrote:Get a rack. The gunks is sport climbing on gear. Seriously!

I'm only responding to this because it is could be dangerously misleading for sport climbers new to trad.

Indian Creek might be sport climbing on gear. There you're climbing a continuous crack whose size variations can be understood from the ground. You can often rack up in order at the base of a pitch and leave behind the stuff that won't fit. Most of the placements will be cams, and there will be almost no fiddling around trying to get small gear into irregular features.

The Gunks isn't like that at all. At the base of a pitch or at any point on the pitch, you can't tell where the pro might go and you can't tell what sizes you'll need. When you get to a placement, it might be tricky and require clever use of small gear. When you are sketching in mid-pitch trying to decide whether, how, and where to move up, you often can't tell how soon to the next placement will be and what size will be required. The ground ahead might be runout, or you might make faulty route-finding decisions and end up in runout territory in spite of the route's reasonable protection grading, and this can be difficult to figure out until you are already in trouble. Finally, there isn't going to be a line of bolts (and draws) telling you where to go, and even if there is chalk it only takes one person going wrong to make it unclear where to climb.

I'm not saying this is good or bad or better or worse than other types of climbing on other cliffs. It is typical of trad face climbing as opposed to trad crack climbing. You should understand what you are signing up for, and "sport climbing on gear" paints a seriously misleading image.

rgold wrote: If this is your understanding of sport climbing, then better read the descriptions in Adirondack Rock very carefully before launching up a route that might be, in my lexicon, bolted trad. ... At least at Poko, some of those first clips are high enough to scare my ancient bones and ligaments.

I like to tell people that the gear selection required for Poko "sport" climbing is 10 quickdraws, a set of RPs, and a screamer. This description, while semi-joking, is also sort of true.

Jon -

I moved to the city a year ago really loving sport climbing but at least competent at climbing trad. I have fallen in love with the gunks. Please learn to place gear. Instead of spending money on day trips to west point or birdsboro (gas+tolls+parking) I say take up climbing trad. You live within a few hours of some of the best climbing in the WORLD! Don't waste your time climbing man-made choss just because they have bolts.

Rob Davis wrote:Jon - I moved to the city a year ago really loving sport climbing but at least competent at climbing trad. I have fallen in love with the gunks. Please learn to place gear. Instead of spending money on day trips to west point or birdsboro (gas+tolls+parking) I say take up climbing trad. You live within a few hours of some of the best climbing in the WORLD! Don't waste your time climbing man-made choss just because they have bolts.

One concern I have is that no one I know knows trad, and I'm a bit sketched out trying to teach myself how to place gear via Youtube (not to mention the abject stupidity in that idea. Any recommendations on that front?

jon-

on that front, post up in the partner finder and be honest about where you're at and where you want to go with your climbing. you could meet many gunks trad climbers here (hint- the guys who just told you to "get a rack").

if you are climbing 5.10 you are going to love the gunks.

for me, some of the stuff rgold spoke about concerning the "unknown" qualities of what lay ahead on a new trad climb is more than half of the fun.