Climbing options for the Cornell Student in Ithaca?

Hey guys! Bird biologist here looking at grad school options at one of the most prestigious bird research uni in the world - CORNELL! 

Only problem is...what about the climbing? Seems like the gunks and Adirondacks are 3-5 hours away, and I can't find a decent climbing gym in Ithaca. Any thoughts on whether or not a regular, obsessed climber will struggle in a place like Ithaca? How is the climbing community there? I live in Golden, CO now and am spoiled with the amount of climbing in close proximity to the front range. Other grad school options were Oregon State, Berkely, Washington etc., which might be better.

Let a girl know!

The Adirondacks have lots of great bouldering with clean high-quality lines being unearthed every season, a growing amount of sport climbing, and has always been great for trad. The Gunks are great for trad and bouldering. Period. Just crowded in the Trapps. If the border opens, then Lion's Head in Ontario might be a fun sporty weekend trip. Pennsylvania has lots of bouldering that is apparently prime during the winter (see @pennsylvaniabouldering on Instagram). Syracuse has a fairly active climbing community centered around the big gym there, I'm sure there's a few people based out of Ithaca. Doesn't Cornell have a climbing gym??? I would've sworn they did.

But having grown up near Utica, I wouldn't want to move to Ithaca in terms of climbing access alone. Definitely nothing close. I like the northeast but you'd be far from the action with a significantly smaller climbing community. It might give you more time to train and focus on your studies though!

You will be doubly depressed in Ithaca because there is actually a substantial amount of rock around town, unfortunately it is all crap (even by choss-lovers standards) and illegal as well. Beyond that you have to drive. There might be some limited bouldering areas closer, but the closest places that I am aware of are around Little Falls, NY, about 1-1 1/2 hours east, good rock but short and quite limited (mostly top-rope but some trad), though a very easy approach. Several of the areas in the southern Adirondacks are closer that 3-5 hours. The recently opened Thacher State Park is, I'm guessing here, about 2 hours away, offering sport-climbing on far from perfect limestone. The Gunks and main Adirondack areas are further, but definitely worth the drive.

You'll be driving a lot. Try and get in the ice programs through their outdoor Ed program. It's the only way to (legally) climb the beautiful ice in Ithaca. The school gym is fun and has a great community, but the rocks are all quite far. 

Grew up near Ithaca. There is no good outdoor climbing unless you are willing to drive a decent bit to the daks/gunks. There are some really good bouldering spots in PA as well if youre into pebble wrestling. Cornell is a fantastic school and I would highly recommend it along with Ithaca as a whole for many reasons, but climbing would not be one of those reasons. 

Lexi, I believe that Cornell University has a climbing group or club.  I've seen them on the rock in the Gunks.

Now that was a few years ago, but I tend to think that the sport hasn't died there.

This may not be an issue for you, but I grew up near Ithaca and if I were considering moving back, I'd honestly be more concerned about the lack of sun than the lack of climbing. The winters are long and gray and would feel that much more so, coming from the 300 days of sun on the Front Range. I probably couldn't do it for that reason alone. Beautiful area, though.  

ETA: Ithacating.

Ithaca is a beautiful place and has a great community, and if you get into the ornithology program I'm sure you will have a lot of future opportunities to study and live in some unique places with great climbing. While the outdoor climbing near town isn't very good, Cornell has a good outdoor ed program and climbing gym that serve as a hub for the local climbing community.

We'll be getting another climbing gym in Ithaca soon! www.cayugaclimbs.com Other than that, mostly agreed with what everyone said. There's a pretty good climbing community but the outdoor climbing is a bit of a drive for sure.

I'm currently a grad student at Cornell. There's a climbing gym on campus, a short walk from my office, and a new gym is opening soon (so I've heard). There are lots of climbers among the grad students. I'm involved with Cornell Outdoor Education (COE) too. It's a big program, and through that I've found a pretty large and robust outdoor community. Unfortunately, there's no outdoor climbing closer than a few hours' drive, but I do manage to get out on weekends a decent amount. Mostly, we drive to the Gunks (~3 hours), Southern Adirondacks (near Arietta, ~2.5 hours), or the High Peaks (~5 hours). There's also sport climbing at Thatcher, I guess (~2.5 hours), but I've only been once and was uninspired. Honestly, grad school gets in the way of climbing more often than the drive. On the other hand, if you're into ice climbing, there's a lot of stuff much closer.  When the winter is cold enough (an unfortunately rare event), there's even ice climbing in town. None of this is great by front range standards, but if you're looking for a good grad school then you can make the climbing happen too. 

Send me a DM and I'm happy to try to answer any of your questions -- about living in Ithaca, climbing here, or grad school.

Hey Lexi, all,

I was browsing MP looking for topics related to Ithaca climbing.  I recently moved here with my wife and finally starting to get back into climbing shape.  Agreed there's no good local climbing but for someone that spent years climbing in the Sierras, I have to say the Gunks has some primo climbing!  Those roofs will make you strong.  I hear good things about the Dacks too but have yet to make the journey for climbing.

The Cornell climbing gym (Lindseth) is pretty good for what it is.  They have cracks to train on, a lead wall, a nice bouldering area and some thoughtful route setting on "natural" rock (a concrete wall with inset holds).  The auto belays are good for high volume and the routes I've climbed on TR only are pretty good.  If anyone is in need of a climbing partner to train indoors let me know.  I have yet to test on lead but can check that box as soon as I have a partner that can catch.

This has been discussed quite a bit in the past, maybe search MP for "central NY climbing" or something similar.

Much of what is known on the topic, however, has been posted here (again).

BTW Lexi, I'm a birder and climbing is a great compliment because there's lots of opportunities to bird mid route.  Merging of multiple outdoors activities only enhances the enjoyment of them, IMO.  ;-)  Look for black and white warbler nests in the cliffs, especially in the ADKs.  Congrats on attending Cornell.

Thanks for the information.

if you're still in the Ithaca area, let me know. I’m a college student at ithaca college and I’m trying to go to the gunks for fall break. would love to meet a new partner