adirondack base

We are heading to the adirondacks for 10 days in early august and know nothing about the area. We re competent moderate trad multi pitch climbers and looking for a camp site to base out of that will give us good access to this kind of route. suggestions for campsites and routes please.

As you are heading north on Rte. 73 towards Keene Valley (The climbing Mecca of the 'Dacks) you will go past Chapel Pond. About 1/4 mile past the parking lot in front of the pond there will be a unmarked LH turn into a climbers camping area.
Camping there is free, so the area get filled up quickly.

Pick up the Adirondack rock guide book ( adirondackrock.com/)! It is really good and has info on camping near many of the different areas.

Also - At least to start with, you probably can't go wrong camping at one of the free sites by chapel pond. You can see the start of chapel pond slab from one of them and there is tons of climbing in that area.

The Canadian Alpine Club Montreal section has a pretty cheap campsite near Keene with fire pit and sheltered area.
Low clearance cars beware getting into the Chapel Pond campsite, nice dip and rocks getting in

coming from the Caribbean into Montreal in the evening then driving into the area at night. will buy a guide book first thing the next morning so maybe what i really need is recommendations for a camp site we can find at night that is close to town so we can find our bearings. we can move Chapel Pond later. also what about splitting our time and heading down to the gunks for a few days? opinions please.

dougA wrote:coming from the Caribbean into Montreal in the evening then driving into the area at night. will buy a guide book first thing the next morning so maybe what i really need is recommendations for a camp site we can find at night that is close to town so we can find our bearings. we can move Chapel Pond later. also what about splitting our time and heading down to the gunks for a few days? opinions please.

Coming from Montreal, you can expect about a 2 hour drive (assuming no traffic in Montreal). Chapel Pond is about 5 minutes from the town of Keene Valley. The Mountaineer is the local gear shop there and they have all the books and supplies you'd need (including a free, clean water source). There are a handful of primative camping sites in the Chapel Pond area, although the easiest to find in the dark is the pull-off site mentioned by Tacoma. There really isn't much else for free, legitimate camping in the area.

As for the Gunks, if you've never been I think it would be a worthwhile place to visit. I'd try to make sure to go on a weekday since the crowds there are far worse than anything in the ADKs. However, in my personal opinion, the climbing in the ADKs is far better.

For Moderate multi-pitch suggestions: check out Poke-o-mooshine, Chapel Pond Slab, Upper Washbowl, Pitchoff, Moss Cliff, and Wallface to start off with a few.

dougA wrote:We re competent moderate trad multi pitch climbers and looking for a camp site to base out of that will give us good access to this kind of route. suggestions for campsites and routes please.

What do you consider moderate?

There's a public campground (Sharp Ridge off Exit 30, route 9 south) if you want a shower and camping. There's also a hostel in Keene if you want to add a cheap night's stay for some prepared food and a shower.

The Gunks now have a campground on route 298, not sure if it's booked solid already for the days you're looking to possibly be there. Additionally, the nearby free camping (MUA-Multi use area) is still open. It does fill up, but during the weekdays you would likely not have a problem getting a spot.

I'll second the suggestion to hit the Gunks if you can, especially on the weekdays. As much as I love the ADKs, the Gunks have a ton of multipitch climbing at all grades concentrated into one area. It really comes down to personal preference, you can't lose with either destination.

dougA wrote: so maybe what i really need is recommendations for a camp site we can find at night that is close to town so we can find our bearings.

Just camp at Marcy field. Free, easy, and practically impossible to miss. Get your bearings the next day in the light.

Peter Garnsey wrote: Just camp at Marcy field. Free, easy, and practically impossible to miss. Get your bearings the next day in the light.

I've never heard this. Is this actually allowed? It's a functioning airplane runway, among other things.

You can commando camp in the parking lot at the far south end. Tons of room but I definitely wouldn't set a tent.