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big_red
Mar 22, 2006, 9:29 AM
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Hey what's up all?
I'm going to spending 10 wks this summer (May-July) in CT an was curious if there's any good alpine climbs in the region in the summer. I already have plans to go to the shawangunks and do some rock...any other reccomendations? If I could find some ice/snow climbs in the mtns that would be awesome...
-Ben
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artaxerxes
Mar 22, 2006, 12:20 PM
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Hey dude, sorry to say, there is basically no snow or ice left in the Northeast in May. I'd say your best bet is Tuckerman Ravine on Washington...you can check the conditions as the time gets closer here:
http://www.tuckerman.org/photos/tucks
While Tuckerman is fun for people stranded on the East Coast, I'm not sure I would really even call it an alpine climb...have fun on your trip though.
Edited to make the link clickable, sorry.
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crackers
Mar 22, 2006, 1:38 PM
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to go alpine climbing in the North East in summer, you have to start at an international airport...
sorry, but, nope. There won't be anything. Just bring your trad gear and have a blast at the gunks, daks and NH. If you do three 5.8s in a day at Cannon you'll feel alpine. Or the case route on wall face in the adirondaks.
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olderic
Mar 22, 2006, 2:31 PM
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Pinnacle and other routes in Huntington have an alpine feel. Baxter Peak at Katahdin has some alpine like routes.
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antiqued
Mar 22, 2006, 3:04 PM
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N face of Katahdin is 2000' vertical, half + on scree, rest on rock. The middle of May will probably sport patches of snow here and there you can sprawl in and close your eyes for the alpine feel. It is an 8 hour drive from Connecticut. As Crackers wrote, you can fly to the best East Coast snow and Ice alpine climbing on Greenland and Baffin Island, or Labrador if you must stick to the mainland.
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iceisnice
Mar 25, 2006, 4:12 PM
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no snow, and defnitely no ice in the summer. those mountains are too small. if you want a good adventures that have an alpine feel to them though, there are a couple of climbs in the adirondacks that are fun. and, if you do them car-to-car it is a pretty long day that can mimic an alpine climb. try the North Face of Gothics (5.4-5.6ish slabs for 1500-2000ft), the Trap Dike on Colden (only 4th class, but fun), and, try and do one of the routes on Wallface in a day (long hike in with a brutal bush wack to the face). Wallface has a few good routes that are fairly hard rock climbs. That is pretty much the closest NY has to alpine.
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big_red
Mar 28, 2006, 7:02 AM
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OK I guess the next part would be....anyone willing to show me around this area?
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nedsurf
Mar 28, 2006, 7:08 AM
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I want to climb at cannon cliff this summer. pm if interested.
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pico23
Mar 31, 2006, 2:04 AM
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Ha ha...
not totally true. there is snow left in mid may but after that it gets iffy.
you can ski on the summits of Adams into mid may.
for alpine a never mentioned place is Katahdin. The routes rival anything out west. 2000ft 5th class climbs 5.4-5.10. problem is it's a pain to climb there. you need to make advance reservations or hope the park isn't filled when you get there. and it fills almost every weekend by 8am. also be prepared with a informal resume (list of skills, climbing experience, first aid), you will have to sign an intinerary and stay on your confirmed route. this isn't optional either. they also close the mountain down on class 4 days. And after a class 3-4 day if you climb you will be responsible for the rescue cost. yeah, it's a pain but it's sweet climbing in a superbly wild and remote location but you need to be sufficient and appease the climbing rangers.
beyond that there is plenty of good backcountry climbing in the Daks (wallface, gothics, big slide, and many shorter walls spread all over the place such as the summit of Noonmark or Rooster Comb) and definitely head for NH, canon, although you can see the interstate will definitely feel alpine after the approach and the scenery is superb.
in terms of snow on katahdin there was still plenty when i climbed the Chimney memorial day weekend a few years ago. i even had to cut steps. Lots of verglas as well. Take a look at the photos i have posted. It was snowing at Chimney pond that weekend. I'm headed back this may but only to do the knife edge and shoot wildlife photography. Climbing rock in May is boneheaded unless you like iced over cracks and faces :lol:
enjoy it out here. it's not the IPW or Wind Rivers but it's still pretty sweet when the heat dies down.
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climbforchrist
May 30, 2006, 4:42 PM
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In reply to: for alpine a never mentioned place is Katahdin. The routes rival anything out west. 2000ft 5th class climbs 5.4-5.10. problem is it's a pain to climb there. you need to make advance reservations or hope the park isn't filled when you get there. and it fills almost every weekend by 8am. also be prepared with a informal resume (list of skills, climbing experience, first aid), you will have to sign an intinerary and stay on your confirmed route. this isn't optional either. they also close the mountain down on class 4 days. And after a class 3-4 day if you climb you will be responsible for the rescue cost. yeah, it's a pain but it's sweet climbing in a superbly wild and remote location but you need to be sufficient and appease the climbing rangers.
Wild and remote? I think not
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pico23
May 30, 2006, 5:38 PM
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In reply to: Wild and remote? I think not
where is nearest power line? Phone? road? rescue? running water? nearest permenant structure from the summit? nearest town from the trail head? do cell phones work?
how long would it take to get you out in a rescue?
give the #'s then compare to other northeast or even lower 48 climbing destinations and we'll start the pissing match.
really if you want to get technical nothing short of the south pole is truly remote. with a helicopter or plane you can be at any location in the world in hours but you can only compare it to what you have locally to compare it to. and the thread was summer alpine, east coast style. not south pole or alaska style or andes style.
take it as you might but being the only 2 people on a hulking massif with 2000ft routes makes it remote and wild. never saw another group all day despite 15 hours on the climb/approach. just moose and thats the way I like it.
solitude, remote, wild whatever you want to call it, it was all there.
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climbforchrist
Jun 1, 2006, 5:27 AM
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In reply to: really if you want to get technical nothing short of the south pole is truly remote. with a helicopter or plane you can be at any location in the world in hours but you can only compare it to what you have locally to compare it to. and the thread was summer alpine, east coast style. not south pole or alaska style or andes style. .
If you fly over Maine you would see that it really does not have much wilderness area left. Heck the state politicians cannot even patch together a national park because of all the private land owners. Many rich folk of the northeast have ringed the lakes with summer homes and I do not think you could really argue that it really has a remote character to it.
Of course airplane and helicopter has made the world less remote then it was, but there are plenty of places in the Lower 48 and North America that qualify as remote. I can think of a few places such as the Wind River Range of Wyoming, numerous parts of Idaho, The North Cascades, The Coast range of BC, parts of the Canadian rockies, and parts of yellowstone.
Maine is a tiny state! Now I am not saying its not beautiful because it is, but to say that Khatidin is remote. I think not. It may have a remote feel..
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neurostar
Jun 1, 2006, 12:50 PM
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If the shit hits the fan on Katahdin, you're in trouble. It's remote enough for you to get really fucked up if something goes wrong.
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pico23
Jun 2, 2006, 7:25 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: really if you want to get technical nothing short of the south pole is truly remote. with a helicopter or plane you can be at any location in the world in hours but you can only compare it to what you have locally to compare it to. and the thread was summer alpine, east coast style. not south pole or alaska style or andes style. . If you fly over Maine you would see that it really does not have much wilderness area left. Heck the state politicians cannot even patch together a national park because of all the private land owners. ..
Just two things...
1) you do realize that maine is still covered by more percent forest then any other state in the 48? 90% of Maine is forested. And that the land is owned by relatively few landowners. Sort of like the daks, it's not all subdivided but generally large tracts by a single owner. I know maine doesn't aim to reclaim the private land like NY does but as long as it's forested I'm content knowing it's there. and honestly i'm not so certain with this administration that public land is any better then private. maine by the way is small but it's also sparsely populated. with no cities approaching 100K and all of them on the southern coast. washington states pop density is probably double maines.
2)national park is a death sentence on any area. And I pray that if and when there is a northwoods national park that it doesn't include Baxter State Park. If you have actually been there then you know it's quite a step up from a National Park. Well at least NY was the only state with enough balls to tell the NPS to shove it. IMO, a national park is just a slight step up from strip malls and urban sprawl. Rant over.
In terms of land use, washington state has lost 8% of it's forested land over the last 40 years. Sure your state is bigger but your citizens and government is more wasteful.
nevertheless, i'm certain Katahdin can be both characterized as remote and (gasp) a real mountain. thus it would make an excellent summer alpine.
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climbinhigh18
Jun 2, 2006, 1:19 PM
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Ye man forget about the snow, they were right about the lil patches on Katahdin though. I say go to Cannon in NH, easy; The Whitney Gillman, hardman; vertigo. Then you can jam across the highway to the eagle cliff in the notch, sweet spires to be had with a def feel of alpine rock. or if you wanna drive go to the Daks, bushwack into the depths of the forest to find your remote granite line, no highways there. wow, i think im going to Cannon maybe ill cya there, and if not. hang loose, K
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lumineferusother
Jun 25, 2006, 3:31 PM
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Does anyone know of any guides for alpine-style climbing on Katahdin?
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pico23
Jun 25, 2006, 4:03 PM
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none...there is a hand written guide at chimney pond. bring a pen and paper and write down the descript of your climb.
pretty cool.
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lucander
Jun 25, 2006, 5:13 PM
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Pick up David Horowitz and S. Peter Lewis' guide to Northeast Classics (Mountaineers Books) for beta on Kathadin.
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