Devils kitchen canyoneering

My friends and I are looking for a beta on rappelling in Devil's kitchen in NY. If anyone has a map or info on where to enter and exit the river it would be very helpful. Thank you

If you're still looking for info I've done it a couple of times and can share some notes.

-Andre

Hey thanks for the reply. Any beta you could give would be great. Our main concerns are where to enter and exit the river What the longest rappel is and are there fixed anchors or is it natural protection? Thanks again.

Shoot me an email at northeastcanyoneering@gmail.com and I'll send you some notes. I'm working on a canyoneering/ waterfall rappelling (waterfall-eering?) site, but I my notes are still pretty rough for most routes.

btw - do you rap single or double strand?

-Andre
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www.northeastcanyoneering.com
www.meetup.com/Northeast-Canyoneering

Oh boy, east coast canyoneering is gaining steam.

Gotta love it.

When you say Devils Kitchen, please clarify what you mean. The area has many meanings.

Do you mean Black Chasm, or the area directly below 16 on Platte Clove Road. Or do you mean the Plattekill?

The area below Platte Clove has several options. The first simply rapping down from the stone bridge. There is some debate as to the private nature of this. but the raps would be in the waterline, starting from a public right of way. In winter i've had DEP police pass me as I entered this area, and no issues. It's also a major ice climbing venue, but some of the guide services (who seem to prefer to have it to themselves) seem to get upset if anyone else uses it, and complain about trespassers.

If you mean Platte Clove proper, than you can rappel in from Plattekill falls (70ft), down to Bridal Veil (100ft??) and then again down Japanese (100ft'ish). There are a few more rappels downstream, but for the most part it's a pleasant scramble with many swimming holes.

Be careful with these falls as Plattekill starts out as a cascade but dips over a rooof and into a free hang. Sounds fun, but it's very slick, as are all Catskill rappels.

For Black Chasm, it's really just one long rappel down Cold Kill falls. Going beyond that area is fruitless and just a rock hop down to the Plattekill Creek. Again, it starts out as a deceptive cascade and ends as a partially free hanging vertical rappel.

I've done almost all of the major "canyons" at this point that are well known to ice climbers, but there are still many to be explored feel free to shoot me an email if you want to potentially waste a day looking for new options. I have a short list of potential new areas but I'd recommend going out and exploring the known canyons first to get an idea of what the landscape is all about.

Oh, and AG23, this guy knows his stuff. Definitely pick his brain.

The Kitchen is hot! THIS time of year! So are the spots that J mentions. get it while it's hot outside!

"
The area below Platte Clove has several options. The first simply rapping down from the stone bridge. There is some debate as to the private nature of this. but the raps would be in the waterline, starting from a public right of way. In winter i've had DEP police pass me as I entered this area, and no issues. It's also a major ice climbing venue, but some of the guide services (who seem to prefer to have it to themselves) seem to get upset if anyone else uses it, and complain about trespassers. "