Gunks climbers going on a Rumney trip

A bunch of friends, semi-local Gunks traddies and I are planning on taking a Rumney trip early summer (June 23rd - 28th) anything in particular that we should know about?

Someone had mentioned it may be too hot around then, but the plan was to kind of go north to NH when it was getting too hot for the Gunks...

Other than that I've read up on here & Here for routes and as far as camping and rules etc, so really just some info on stuff that wouldnt be obvious or stuff we could do on our rest day (3rd day) would be great, thanks.

The only thing I saw that I was confused about was the fee program in effect for the White Mountain National Forest, and what that's about or where to get a car pass for that.

Any help would be awesome thanks

If you visit The White Mtn often, it may make sense to get an Annual Pass which would allow you to park at Rumney "for free".
kinsail.com/results.asp?p=w…
Otherwise, just pay $3 a day to park at Rumney. There are self-serv kiosks at both parking lots.

Have fun.

It's definitely not too hot - unless you absolutely hate climbing in the summer in general. Plus, there are plenty of crags that get shade and wind. Go up to the Hinterlands if you want some wind.

There are two parking lots for Rumney. There is a box for a 3 dollar "donation" that will allow you the parking pass. It's basically an honor system. You'll want to get to the parking lots early though because they do fill up.

Look into Baker River Campground if you're thinking of going that direction. They are cool there, and they allow dogs, which some of the other neighboring campgrounds do not.

There is a little ma and pa coffee shop in the center of "town." Good coffee and breakfast sandwiches. I don't really know much about rest days because I've never taken one at Rumney.

A couple routes I highly recommend: Lonesome Dove, Dolt, Jolt, Espresso, Waimea, Junco, and Millennium Falcon. (All sport routes - I don't really know any of the trad lines there)

Also, the earlier you get to the crag, the better. The cliffs start to get crowded and it can be a pain to get on routes. You're from the Gunks, so you should understand how that is. The further you hike up, though, the less problematic this becomes (The Hinterlands, for example, is generally empty, and there is awesome climbing there).

Hope this helps! Have fun!

Do Jolt and Dolt for the exposure they offer, as good as any climb .10 and below at The Gunks has to offer. Get on Underdog at Main Cliff; it is a GREAT route. And don't miss the second pitch of Rock du Jour Direct and Stairway to Heaven. All three are at the Main Cliff. For a pretty good trad route, try Space Shuttle at the Main Cliff.

S. Neoh wrote:If you visit The White Mtn often, it may make sense to get an Annual Pass which would allow you to park at Rumney "for free". kinsail.com/results.asp?p=w… Otherwise, just pay $3 a day to park at Rumney. There are self-serv kiosks at both parking lots. Have fun.

Got it, that makes more sense now, and yeah it would be beneficial to do a year pass even if we don't do 2 trips, thanks

JamieRe wrote:It's definitely not too hot - unless you absolutely hate climbing in the summer in general. Plus, there are plenty of crags that get shade and wind. Go up to the Hinterlands if you want some wind. There are two parking lots for Rumney. There is a box for a 3 dollar "donation" that will allow you the parking pass. It's basically an honor system. You'll want to get to the parking lots early though because they do fill up. Look into Baker River Campground if you're thinking of going that direction. They are cool there, and they allow dogs, which some of the other neighboring campgrounds do not. There is a little ma and pa coffee shop in the center of "town." Good coffee and breakfast sandwiches. I don't really know much about rest days because I've never taken one at Rumney. A couple routes I highly recommend: Lonesome Dove, Dolt, Jolt, Espresso, Waimea, Junco, and Millennium Falcon. (All sport routes - I don't really know any of the trad lines there) Also, the earlier you get to the crag, the better. The cliffs start to get crowded and it can be a pain to get on routes. You're from the Gunks, so you should understand how that is. The further you hike up, though, the less problematic this becomes (The Hinterlands, for example, is generally empty, and there is awesome climbing there). Hope this helps! Have fun!

Awesome, thanks, and I'm fine with warm weather climbing, we were just told it may be, and we were definitely planning on doing a little basic car camping, nothing crazy, thanks for the suggestion, that would work.

As far as the parking lots & crowds, I'll keep that in mind, I rarely climb at the Gunks on the weekends, mostly due to my work schedule, but I also dont mind doing non-classic climbs either so I rarely wait either, and good to know about the parking lots, I know not to park on the road too.

We were definitely planning on doing almost strictly sport for a change, and maybe a trad day as a bit of a rest if were still feeling up to climb, but we'll see. And I'm down for a walk/approach if the climbing and lack of crowds is worth it, thanks for the tip.

Eddie2170 wrote: We were definitely planning on doing almost strictly sport for a change, and maybe a trad day as a bit of a rest if were still feeling up to climb, but we'll see. And I'm down for a walk/approach if the climbing and lack of crowds is worth it, thanks for the tip.

If you do decide to spend a day trad climbing up there, or if the heat and crowds of Rumney get you down, it may be worth a side trip up to Cannon. The drive from Rumney to Cannon is quite short, and it offers a significant change of pace.

Just hands/arms resting or full body resting. You could go hike in the white mountains if you wanted to stay active but not climb. Welch/Dickey mtn is close (lots of gentle granite slab walking so not a rainy day thing), Mt Tecumseh is the shortest 4000 footer and also close. you can find map scans and route descriptions online. both are 5mi hikes. For a bit tougher Mt Osceola is 6mi.. for good challenge Mt Moosilauke is 8mi and one of the steepest miles on the AT.

I like Jake's suggestions for hikes; Welch/Dickey and Mt Moosilauke in particular.

Jake D. wrote:Just hands/arms resting or full body resting. You could go hike in the white mountains if you wanted to stay active but not climb. Welch/Dickey mtn is close (lots of gentle granite slab walking so not a rainy day thing), Mt Tecumseh is the shortest 4000 footer and also close. you can find map scans and route descriptions online. both are 5mi hikes. For a bit tougher Mt Osceola is 6mi.. for good challenge Mt Moosilauke is 8mi and one of the steepest miles on the AT.

Depends, none of us have really clipped bolts a ton outside, only here or there at local crags, so it'll all depends on how we feel after 2 or 3 days on. We've all kind of got the mindset of wanting to really push ourselves without having to worry about gear, so probably our first day will be just doing classic moderates, then trying out some harder stuff that day or the day after, once were used to the climbing style, then try to get on some stuff closer to our limit

If you like to have recommendations of climbs to push yourselves on, post up as the date draws closer. You will get plenty of good suggestions for every grade.

Not too hot in the summer. Rumney is great sport climbing with most every grade represented fairly well. I second the mom and pop store at the corner of buffalo rd, some gear and the redhead chick at the counter made me and my buddy the best most friendly meal I've ever had .

Also, swimming in the river mid-day if it is too hot breaks things up nicely. if you can pull yourself out and get back on rock again haha. the Calm Post will also be back open this year which has breakfast and dinner stuff a few blocks from the parking lot.

S. Neoh wrote:If you like to have recommendations of climbs to push yourselves on, post up as the date draws closer. You will get plenty of good suggestions for every grade.

Come closer ill make a thread, ask around there, or shoot some pm's around to see, hopefully something nearby catches my eye that's within reason and I can get a little work on it.

Jake D. wrote:Also, swimming in the river mid-day if it is too hot breaks things up nicely. if you can pull yourself out and get back on rock again haha. the Calm Post will also be back open this year which has breakfast and dinner stuff a few blocks from the parking lot.

Read that, and a friend already mentioned swimming if it gets hot or at the end of the day to cool off, but youre right getting back out is a different story.

And the eateries thing is good, we were probably going to cook out of our campsite but coffee is super important which i think was already covered

Thanks for all the tips guys.