Poison Ivy Wall Rock Climbing

This tongue of rock lies in the middle of the eastern of the two rock cirques at Russell. If you are looking at Summer Wall, turn around and look slightly uphill. If you are at Livermore, just turn around. There it is. It offers a couple moderate longish climbs on very nice rock.

I started developing this area in early April as a nice spot for the kids. The hang out at the base is friendly, and the climbs looked easy enough. I threw my rap rope down and started cleaning the rock. As with most low-angle rock in NH, it was covered in vegetation, so I got to work unearthing the climbs. A couple hours later, the rock was clean, I was dirty, and all the vegetation was lying at the base.

Well, I started itching that night. Over the next few days, the itching exploded into a soul-crushing bout of poison ivy. My arms and legs were covered in it. I was miserable. It turns out that the vines I was ripping off the climb were poison ivy vines. It was warm enough that the oils were moving but early enough that the vines hadn't leafed out with their tell-tale leaves of three. A month earlier or later, I wouldn't have been in the situation. But those vines lit me up. I guess this serves me well for bolting moderate climbs for other people!

Watch for poison ivy in this area both at the base and on/near the routes!