All Locations > New York > Catskills (Ice) > Platte Clove

Upper Devil’s Kitchen Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Areas in Upper Devil’s Kitchen

Northwest Wall 4 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 3 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 4

Southeast Wall 2 / 5 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 6 / 0 / 7

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Elevation:	1,763 ft	537 m
GPS:	42.13238, -74.08262 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	10,103 total · 133/month
Shared By:	Ryan Stefiuk on Dec 18, 2018
Admins:	Jeffrey Dunn, Morgan Patterson Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

The Upper Devils Kitchen has the greatest concentration of hard mixed climbing in New York State, and perhaps the eastern US. This area is easily visible from Platte Clove Road if one stands on the old stone bridge above the creek. The northwest wall faces southeast and has stunning mixed lines that rarely form and should be considered unstable in all but cold winter conditions. Free hanging icicles from this wall can often be witnessed on the ground as one descends into the more popular and moderate lower Devil’s Kitchen. The southeast wall (opposite the northwest wall) is drier, shadier, and has the hardest mixed routes in NY state at the moment. Despite minimal traffic, the Upper Kitchen has amazing mixed climbing and several exceptional and challenging ice routes.

Getting There

There are two approaches that will get one to the base of the Upper Devil’s Kitchen. Option 1 is to descend the gully on the west side of the old stone bridge on Platte Clove Road. This will deposit you at the base of the sunny overhanging northwest wall. From here you can continue to descend to the creek bed to get to the lower Kitchen. Using crampons in the gully is advisable, as there is often a glazing of ice over the rocks in the gully. Option 2 is the best choice for approaching the southeast wall. From the snowplow turnaround on Platte Clove Road (where the road is closed in winter), find a trail that descends to the top of the lower Devils Kitchen. Follow this trail down through a small cliff band, and as the hillside steepens turn right (below the upper cliff and but above the lower Kitchen. Use caution while walking above the lower Kitchen, as a fall down the steep slope would be deadly. Handrail the base of the upper cliffband until you reach the rightmost route, “Road of Good Intention” Most of the year, option 2 is a casual walk, and the approach of choice for the Upper Kitchen.