Ragged Mountain in August

Hey guys!

We are a semi-beginner climbing couple coming into Hartford from out of town the weekend of August 17th. We do top rope climbing mostly, and have both a static and dynamic rope for hanging our gear. A couple things:

Anyone up for climbing together? We'd love to have company!

Any tips on some good TR accessible climbs? We are climbing in the 5.9 range currently.

Any good camping/lodging in the area? What about local stuff to do?

Thanks! We look forward to climbing Ragged Mountain for the first time!

_Rob

Hey Rob - Ragged is a great TR area. Every climb can be TR'd with a long enough static line to reach the trees 50ft+ behind the lip. Gear anchors are best but they can be difficult to setup sometimes and thus folks default to vegetation. August and July are the two months I probably wouldn't recommend climbing in CT - it's way to hot and humid for my liking but that's just personal preference. If its a weekend you'll absolutely have other folks there to chat it up with and get any extra beta. As for camping and other things to do... idk google might be helpful.

And on that note, check out the route info on this site for complete info and community ratings.

Thanks CaptainMo! Are there any climbing guidebooks of the area that you know of?

For what it's worth, I wouldn't exactly consider Ragged a "destination" climbing location. It's a nicer local crag. Pretty nice if you live in the area, but by no means worth planning a trip 2 months in advance for.

Thanks for the info Shoo. We are driving through the area on our way up to Maine, and were looking for some climbing on the way. Do you guys know of any other good TR spots? Here is our route:

Route on Google Maps

Rob Stinogle wrote:Thanks for the info Shoo. We are driving through the area on our way up to Maine, and were looking for some climbing on the way. Do you guys know of any other good TR spots? Here is our route: Route on Google Maps

All the climbing you're gonna want to TR is located on essentially the same broken traprock ridge running through central CT. I'd stick to Ragged or East Peak.

If you're set on that route, and under 5.10 TR's, your best bet is definitely Ragged. East Peak is great but more of the difficult grades. Ragged is packed with tons of moderates and 1 TR can usually get you at least 2-3 route variations. Ragged isn't an 8 hr drive destination but it certainly is a weekend destination.

add: There is one book in print right now, Fasulo's Falcon guide. This is good with an overview of the major routes. The guide here on this site is WAY better IMO with photos and other info. So If it was me, I'd just take a look at this site on the web on my iphone since there is service at the crag.

CaptainMo wrote:If you're set on that route, and under 5.10 TR's, your best bet is definitely Ragged. East Peak is great but more of the difficult grades. Ragged is packed with tons of moderates and 1 TR can usually get you at least 2-3 route variations.

Good call. Ragged is easier to navigate too.

Hey Rob Just checked out your map. I`d check out Peterskill, just down the road from the Gunks proper. Theres a guidebook available for it and its extremely beginner/ top rope friendly. Its all single pitch stuff with a trail at the top. The book has good descriptions of the routes and the photos in it are decent. Some of the more "popular" routes have bolts at the top. Just like it was mentioned above- August can be extremely hot n humid... I`d recommend getting there early then hit the swimming hole and return in the evening. Also, get there early bc they limit the number of climbers in the park. On a weekend you could get shut out if you`re not there early enough.

Peterskill

RockinOut wrote:Hey Rob Just checked out your map. I`d check out Peterskill, just down the road from the Gunks proper. Theres a guidebook available for it and its extremely beginner/ top rope friendly. Its all single pitch stuff with a trail at the top. The book has good descriptions of the routes and the photos in it are decent. Some of the more "popular" routes have bolts at the top. Just like it was mentioned above- August can be extremely hot n humid... I`d recommend getting there early then hit the swimming hole and return in the evening. Also, get there early bc they limit the number of climbers in the park. On a weekend you could get shut out if you`re not there early enough. Peterskill

That's a great call too.. problem is def getting in! With the limit it always seems to be filled on the weekends no matter how early I get up there and it would suck to drive all the way up there and it be a bust.

Rob Stinogle wrote:Thanks for the info Shoo. We are driving through the area on our way up to Maine, and were looking for some climbing on the way. Do you guys know of any other good TR spots? Here is our route: Route on Google Maps

If you are sticking to that route, you are driving through a few decent local crags, but again, not really major destinations. If you changed your route to go through New Paltz, NY, you would be able to get to the Gunks. As mentioned, there are a few nice TR crags in that area.

Ragged is probably the nicest crag you are running across on your current route. I would also consider Crow Hill in Leominster, since you'll be running right through it.

If it were me, I'd probably skip all of those places and head to Acadia. Alternatively, consider hiring a guide and hitting up some multi-pitch classics at the Gunks, as the best of what is there is trad and not TR friendly.

Hello,

I don't have my schedule mapped out enough to know exactly what is going on in August but I live in the area and know a lot of people who do and could probably get some together to go with you. I actually have a meetup.com group for local climbers. You may not be interested in joining since its a short stay but I could post an event on the days you want to go to get some other local climbers there too. Send me an email at anna.deal68@gmail.com and I can give more information/talk about it more.

Stone Age Rock Gym in Manchester, CT does give guided tours there which means they'd set up everything for you. Guided tours are a bit expensive so I'm not sure what your thoughts on that avenue are but they go there often and have a really nice staff.

Also if you can afford a little time off route, I see you are going through New Hampshire and Rumney, NH is my favorite area so I'd recommend that.

shoo wrote: I'd probably skip all of those places and head to Acadia. Alternatively, consider hiring a guide and hitting up some multi-pitch classics at the Gunks, as the best of what is there is trad and not TR friendly.

I would do the same... Acadia is amazing.

Thanks for all the replies everyone! I think Peterskill might be the ticket for us. I'd like to do the Gunks as well, but we definitely aren't ready for multi-pitch yet. I'm just afraid we may not get there early enough if they only let a certain amount of people in... I guess we could head to the Gunks if that happens though.

Thanks a ton everyone! Anyone in the area the weekend of August 17th, drop me a line! We've got toproping gear, and would love some company!