Mountain Project Logo

Good sport area nearer to New Paltz than Rumney?

Original Post
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450

Hi,

I'd like to find a decent sport area to go to occasionally. I live in New Paltz and am willing to drive to Rumney if needed, but was wondering if any newer, closer places have been developed that were worth a look.

On here I found Shelving Rock up near Lake George, and that looks pretty promising, but the comments regarding the rock quality seemed a little mixed.

Any real gems I'm missing? In other words, somewhere nearly as good as Rumney, but a little closer?

Cheers,
David

Padraig · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 100

You could check out Farley in Erving, MA, but you won't find much in terms of written beta since access depends on keeping it out of circulation. People climbing there are friendly enough to suggest climbs in the grades you're looking for.

Eric8 · · Maynard, MA · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 310

Well I guess it depends on your definition of good because it seems to me there is lots of sport climbing closer to new paltz than rumney. Get the adirondack rock guidebook. Go to Kingston or some of the sport climbing in Ct.

Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
Optimistic wrote:On here I found Shelving Rock up near Lake George, and that looks pretty promising, but the comments regarding the rock quality seemed a little mixed.
RE: Shelving Rock - you and your belayer should just be aware of the potential of holds breaking off (at worse there's rock fall, especially early Spring). Wear a helmet, don't skip bolts or climb anything runout (in case a hold breaks during the runout section). Much of it has been cleaned up, especially at the main walls (Arc is still new enough things might be more loose). It's definitely an area worth checking out.
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Eric8 wrote:Well I guess it depends on your definition of good because it seems to me there is lots of sport climbing closer to new paltz than rumney. Get the adirondack rock guidebook. Go to Kingston or some of the sport climbing in Ct.
Well, I think we can define Rumney and the Gunks as good for sure.

I have the adk guide, it has 3100 routes in it, some of which I mentioned in my original post... I was hoping to refine my search a little bit. Mostly 5.10 with a few 9's thrown in for warm-ups would be ideal.
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Kevin Heckeler wrote: RE: Shelving Rock - you and your belayer should just be aware of the potential of holds breaking off (at worse there's rock fall, especially early Spring). Wear a helmet, don't skip bolts or climb anything runout (in case a hold breaks during the runout section). Much of it has been cleaned up, especially at the main walls (Arc is still new enough things might be more loose). It's definitely an area worth checking out.
Thanks Kevin, and thanks for doing so much to fill in that area on the site!
Spencer BB · · Pasadena, CA · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 23

Definitely check out Farley. It has tons of good 10s

Stein Pull · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 0

For sport nearer to New Paltz than Rumney, the Poison Ivy Wall at West Point and the Sportsman's Wall in Phoenicia both fit the bill. As far as being "good"...well, I'll leave that one up to you.

ClimbLikeAGirl · · Keene Valley · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 15

The Adirondacks have lots of bolted routes! If you haven't picked up the newest edition of the ADK Rock, I recommend it-- all routes are identified as sport, trad or mixed protection. Check out the Martini Wall, Spanky's Area and the Kingwall in Chapel Pond area in the ADK. Poke-o-moonshine also has a pretty healthy assortment of bolted pitches. Potter Mountain has entirely bolted lines up in Silver Lake. Bear Den in Wilmington has two full-value bolted 5.10 pitches.

It's not much closer to NP than Rumney, but there's some sport climbing down in Birdsboro, PA. But IMO if you're going to invest the time/money into a trip, just go to Rumney and you'll be much more satisfied with the climbing.

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
ClimbLikeAGirl wrote:The Adirondacks have lots of bolted routes! If you haven't picked up the newest edition of the ADK Rock, I recommend it-- all routes are identified as sport, trad or mixed protection. Check out the Martini Wall, Spanky's Area and the Kingwall in Chapel Pond area in the ADK. Poke-o-moonshine also has a pretty healthy assortment of bolted pitches. Potter Mountain has entirely bolted lines up in Silver Lake. Bear Den in Wilmington has two full-value bolted 5.10 pitches. It's not much closer to NP than Rumney, but there's some sport climbing down in Birdsboro, PA. But IMO if you're going to invest the time/money into a trip, just go to Rumney and you'll be much more satisfied with the climbing.
Thanks, that's great. I'll be up at Chapel Pond at the end of August so I'll check those out!
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
SpencerB wrote:Definitely check out Farley. It has tons of good 10s
Thanks Spencer. Are you local to that area? How is the current access situation? I don't want to make waves...
Luc-514 · · Montreal, QC · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 12,506

Word of warning, obvious for most Adirondack climbers but not for others.
A lot of Adirondack bolted routes are not sport, they might prevent you from decking but injuries are still a major risk when falling. Someone called them trad bolted route...
Check the guidebook and ask around, some of the newer areas have true sport bolted routes.

Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
Luc wrote:Word of warning, obvious for most Adirondack climbers but not for others. A lot of Adirondack bolted routes are not sport, they might prevent you from decking but injuries are still a major risk when falling. Someone called them trad bolted route... Check the guidebook and ask around, some of the newer areas have true sport bolted routes.
Thanks Luc.

Does the new guide make this distinction fairly clear? I.e. If marked as sport it's not likely "mixed".

Could you recommend some good "newer areas"? It's ALL new to me!
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
sara pax wrote: Access is fine for now. Carpool if you can, be a decent human being, and don't spray about routes too much on the internet and everything will be fine. Throw a few bucks in the box for the wmcc and thing will be even better (or donate online climbgneiss.org/index.php/j… ).
Thanks Sara. So these are "fully equipped" routes? Just a rack and draws needed?
Ward Smith · · Wendell MA · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 295
Optimistic wrote: Thanks Sara. So these are "fully equipped" routes? Just a rack and draws needed?
There is probably an even split between fully bolted, mixed, and trad routes (I live 10 minutes away). Many (but not all) of the mixed routes have a yellow hanger on the first bolt to warn you.

From the WMCC parking lot, hike straight uphill for 10 minutes and you will reach a wall where most of the routes are sport. Hot and sunny in the morning now, shady in the afternoon. Like others have said, once you get there just ask around and people are generally friendly.

Parking is an issue on spring and fall weekends.
Kevin Heckeler · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 1,616
Optimistic wrote:Does the new guide make this distinction fairly clear? I.e. If marked as sport it's not likely "mixed".
Yes, the new ADK guide has a clear "trad, mixed, sport" key/symbol system.
kenr · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2010 · Points: 16,608
Kevin Heckeler wrote:the new ADK guide has a clear "trad, mixed, sport" key/symbol system.
But to continue Luc's point about the meaning of "sport".

I might guess that by designating a specific pitch as "sport", the guidebook does _not_ mean that it's fairly safe to take a leader fall, assuming you clip the bolts correctly.

Rather I'd guess it means something like, There are bolts (at least near the harder moves), and most local climbers do not feel any need to place Trad protection to supplement those bolts. Or even if many do feel the need, there are not likely to be good placements for supplemental Trad gear. Or that Trad placements would not make the harder moves any safer.

Though Luc raised this for the Adirondacks, I think the concern is valid for bolted pitches in lots of places in USA (and Europe). Seems to me that in most places I've visited many routes less than 5.11 have a substantial probability that you're going to hit something if you fall at a random point in the route.

And most guidebooks I've seen don't get into trying to quantify this sort of risk for individual pitches. Better to hope for Comments on MP or other websites, or ... use your own judgment.

Ken
Luc-514 · · Montreal, QC · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 12,506

The symbols in the ADK book indicate bolted (filled blue circle), 1 piece of gear (blue circle) and none for trad.

Ken
Reminds me of Stichter Quits, what a sport route! actually someone was nice enough to clarify what you're getting into on MP.

Ward Smith · · Wendell MA · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 295
Luc wrote:The symbols in the ADK book indicate bolted (filled blue circle), 1 piece of gear (blue circle) and none for trad. Ken Reminds me of Stichter Quits, what a sport route! actually someone was nice enough to clarify what you're getting into on MP.
"Not a sport route" Well I sure thought it was a gift from heaven, since I didn't know what a sprot route was at the time. A 5.7 slab all bolted with bolts less than 50 feet apart, when I first didi it in 1982.

A hell of a lot closer to a sport route than sliding board at any rate!
Optimistic · · New Paltz · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 450
ward smith wrote: "Not a sport route" Well I sure thought it was a gift from heaven, since I didn't know what a sprot route was at the time. A 5.7 slab all bolted with bolts less than 50 feet apart, when I first didi it in 1982. A hell of a lot closer to a sport route than sliding board at any rate!
Love that route. Bolt where you need 'em, beautiful rock, beautiful spot.

Thanks also for the beta Ward, curious to check that place out... Probably will do so on a weekday, I basically never climb anywhere on a weekend if I can avoid it!
Jim Lawyer · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 6,116

To clarify about the Dacks book: The Adirondack Rock guidebook designates if a pitch is entirely protected by bolts, or all bolts plus 1 piece of gear. Just because a pitch is all bolts doesn't mean it qualifies as a modern "sport" pitch. The book does NOT indicate if a route is mixed.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Northeastern States
Post a Reply to "Good sport area nearer to New Paltz than Rumney?"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.