Historic Hudson Highlands Climbs

I took the weekend off outdoor climbing and cracked into Yankee Rock and Ice written by Laura and Guy Waterman in 1993. The authors point out the Hudson Highlands, among other areas like Boston, the Adirondacks, and Connecticut where rock climbing really came on to the Northeastern scene in the mid 1920s. As a New Yorker I found this information quite fascinating, but on a cursory examination of the Mountain Project Map of areas mentioned like Storm King, Breakneck Ridge, as well as a supposed 100 foot cliff in Arden, there isn't much of any rock climbing routes, so what has happened to them? Has the goalposts of rock climbing shifted in the years since to where the climbing in the Hudson Highlands isn't even considered 5th class? I'm curious if anyone knows more about this.

Compared to many people, I'm sure my experience with the area is insignificant. But during my trail runs in the Hudson Highlands I have passed directly under several cliffs that had good rock, they would provide at least a half-pitch of climbing, and they were good quality.

The simple answer is that basically since World War 2 those areas have largely been closed to climbing. During the War they were under military control, then came under the jurisdiction of the Palisades Interstate (NY/NJ) Park Commission which unfortunately has historically had a very restrictive attitude towards climbing on their property. It took MANY years of negotiation for limited climbing to be permitted in Minnewaska State Park (Peterskill and Dickie Barrie) which is under their jurisdiction, and more recently at the Powerlinz, so some progress has been made. Actually the first time I ever climbed on ropes was on Breakneck Ridge in blissful ignorance that it was forbidden.Far from not being " even considered fifth class", it is known that many of those early climbs were of quite respectable difficulty for their time. Most notably sometime after his arrival in NYC a recent immigrant from Germany, one Fritz Wiessner, had his first tastes of US rock at those Highlands cliffs and proceeded to put up routes on 5 of them that were significantly more difficult than any that had been done by the locals--and given the abilities of their 'creator', they were likely among the most difficult in the country at the time. Unfortunately, as you mentioned, those routes have now faded into undeserved obscurity. Hopefully this situation will change some day (and efforts have been made to do so--without success to date) and these cliffs will again become accessible to climbers.

WF WF51 wrote:

Compared to many people, I'm sure my experience with the area is insignificant. But during my trail runs in the Hudson Highlands I have passed directly under several cliffs that had good rock, they would provide at least a half-pitch of climbing, and they were good quality.

Yeah, I distinctly remember breakneck ridge having a sizeable cliff at its first false summit (if you can even call it that), but couldn't locate that as an established route either

Thank you Alan for that explanation!

There is slabby climbing on the nose of Breakneck--a couple of tiers if I remember correctly, but the main cliff is in a cirque on the south (?) side of the ridge, with several routes including one of Wiessners. We have found several old articles with routes descriptions of some of those climbs (though I'm sure that they are now likely very overgrown). I, for one, would love the opportunity to try to locate and climb them, but don't want to trespass and harm the on-going efforts to secure legal access.

index ape wrote:

Yeah, I distinctly remember breakneck ridge having a sizeable cliff at its first false summit (if you can even call it that), but couldn't locate that as an established route either

The ones I saw are near trails that begin farther north from Breakneck, back towards Beacon. They are at least 3-4 miles from trailheads. I doubt Weissner would have gone up there looking for rock as there were/are cliffs that are easily seen. I've never spoken with him about it, but there is a local climber who has told several people that there is climbable rock in the area "if you poke around." No big surprise.

I've looked at those hills driving by on 84 and other roads and just 'knew' that there is climbable rock back there, but you are correct that the early climbers visited the more accessible crags--Arden, for example, was within walking distance of a train station. Other than Breakneck the other crags from that era were on the west side of the Hudson. I am sure that locals have been very quietly exploring those remote crags you referred to for years.

That Arden cliff always calls out to me on drives to/from the Gunks. Good looking cliff, as far as 1-pitch slabs go!

Alan Rubin wrote:

I've looked at those hills driving by on 84 and other roads and just 'knew' that there is climbable rock back there, but you are correct that the early climbers visited the more accessible crags--Arden, for example, was within walking distance of a train station. Other than Breakneck the other crags from that era were on the west side of the Hudson. I am sure that locals have been very quietly exploring those remote crags you referred to for years.

I understand there was a climbing guide-of-sorts published to the Storm King cliff BITD.

All that I am aware of are a couple of articles that include a few somewhat vague route descriptions, though it is surely possible that there was an informal guidebook that was circulated among those climbing there at the time. To the  extent there was a grading system at the time,  it was extremely 'general'---some folks used 'adjectival' grades, similar to the British, others used 1-6 . It would be very interesting to see how those routes, especially Wiessner's, would be graded under the current system. A number of his Connecticut routes from the mid-1930s are currently graded 5.8 or, even, 9--and CT grades are notoriously stiff.

Was just reading Yankee Rock and Ice myself today and googled around to find this. Great book and sparked my interest in these illegal climbing areas I see as local New Yorker all the time. Imagine being on the side of the Hudson Highland cliffs looking back at the GW Bridge and the city. Would be epic. Climbing in these areas just for the historic perspective really interests me. I'm sure a lot of the rock is shit but it would be cool to try. Don't worry I won't, but it would be cool.

Any rock you would be climbing on from which you could see the City and the GWB would be the Palisades, which I don’t believe are ‘technically’ part of the Hudson Highlands. The geology is definitely different, with  the Palisades being basalt, while the ‘classic’ Highland cliffs further north, such as Breakneck, Storm King, and Arden are granitic or metamorphic. As you mentioned, the rock on the Palisades is generally of pretty poor quality, though some very limited climbing has occurred there in the past. Much of the rock in the Highlands, though,  appears to be of very high quality. Surely the rock in the Powerlinz, part of the Highlands, is very solid. It is very unfortunate that bureaucratic obstinacy is largely preventing us from using this excellent and otherwise accessible resource.

Alan Rubin wrote:

There is slabby climbing on the nose of Breakneck--a couple of tiers if I remember correctly, but the main cliff is in a cirque on the south (?) side of the ridge, with several routes including one of Wiessners. We have found several old articles with routes descriptions of some of those climbs (though I'm sure that they are now likely very overgrown). I, for one, would love the opportunity to try to locate and climb them, but don't want to trespass and harm the on-going efforts to secure legal access.

Who's working with PIPC to open up the Highlands to climbing?

I don’t know who is working on this currently, if anyone is. I know that over time the GCC was working with them concerning opening more Minnewaska crags and the folks who got the Powerlinz open (Ramapo Climbers Coalition?) also have worked with them as well. 

Gunkiemike wrote:

Who's working with PIPC to open up the Highlands to climbing?

To my knowledge, nobody is seriously working on the Highlands or Palisades access.

Why?  You've got a number of major roads, city streets and trails that go over or under those cliffs.  At random intervals, large chunks of the Palisades cliff disgorge themselves.  An example is the stretch of cliff in Fort Lee and upwards.  Every few years, the river access, a favorite running, hiking and biking choice, is blocked by huge chunks of the cliff.  It usually takes weeks or months for the boulders to be fully cleared.

Additionally, for the Highlands, there are questions about the towns that surround them.

Alan Rubin wrote:

I don’t know who is working on this currently, if anyone is. I know that over time the GCC was working with them concerning opening more Minnewaska crags and the folks who got the Powerlinz open (Ramapo Climbers Coalition?) also have worked with them as well. 

We tried in the ‘80s it included having Jim McCarthy talk to Nash Castro who was the head of the PIPC at the time.  No go, the park manager at minnewaska did let a fledgling high angle rescue group train there. A town hall type meeting was held on campus that Nash attended, still was a no go. They did fund me to train for high angle rescue with the preserve rangers.  the state had a well funded rescue team with an incredible amount of gear, I quit after a couple of training sessions, they were incompetent, I then made a deal with the preserve rangers if I needed help.

we simply decided it was easy enough to climb with it not being legal, but I was the ranger….

SMarsh, I understand the situation in the Palisades and agree that in most sections there climbing isn't reasonable (though do wonder if there might be isolated sections with decent rock and minimal threat to others, where climbing might be permitted). However, could you please elaborate upon your "...there are questions about the towns that surround them" comment concerning the Highlands. What questions, which towns? I am aware that there are often local concerns that need to be considered when addressing access issues, but I don't believe that such potential "questions" should be an automatic roadblock to our efforts to reopen the Highlands cliffs to climbing.

Alan Rubin wrote:

I don’t know who is working on this currently, if anyone is. I know that over time the GCC was working with them concerning opening more Minnewaska crags and the folks who got the Powerlinz open (Ramapo Climbers Coalition?) also have worked with them as well. 

Torne Valley Climbers' Coalition is the name of the group - a great win for them getting Powerlinez re-opened under PIPC.

oldfattradguuy kk wrote:

we simply decided it was easy enough to climb with it not being legal

Likewise