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Logikal41
Jul 10, 2008, 4:19 PM
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Hi all,
I am just curious if any of you have climbed any routes on the main slab, (i.e. Little finger, screaming meany... ). I am planning to head up there in the begining of August ( i know it will be extremely hot ). I havent been able to find much beta from searching the forms or google. I do have the new ADK rock book which gives good info on the approach and route. I am mainly just curious as to what sizes of stopers / cams i will be in need of. I understand it is a finger to fist sized crack. I have TCU's and C4's, so should i maybe double up on the 1 - 4 range TCU? / 4 - 9 nut size? Any information on either pro to bring or the route it self would be greatly apreciated.
Thanks guys
-Matt
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adatesman
Jul 10, 2008, 4:57 PM
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Been a while since we did Little Finger, but I don't recall us having anything bigger than a #1 C4 (it was actually a Green Metolius...) and we didn't have any issues. We probably also had a set of hexes, but I don't remember if we used them and I think most of our pro was nuts and small tricams.
BTW, Little Finger is great fun.
-aric.
(edit way after the fact 'cause I screwed up the color)
(This post was edited by adatesman on Aug 31, 2009, 11:17 PM)
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gunkiemike
Jul 10, 2008, 6:05 PM
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You can do the whole Little Finger on gear one inch and smaller. So bring everything you have in that range and maybe one or two larger pieces in case I'm not 100% correct. If you watch your ropeline I believe you can do the route in 3 pitches, but you might plan on 4. A second rope speeds the descent (2 raps plus a bit of downclimbing, or a short 3rd rap). A single rope will still get you down but you'll be contending with the trees and bushes along the right side of the slab in a major way. Also a badly eroding/collapsing dirt ledge near the bottom.
Wear sunscreen. Don't capsize the canoe - the lake is DEEP there. (I always clip a lifejacket to the pack with the rack in it...seriously.)
If the slab isn't crowded, you should take a lap on Skid Row, directly under the second rap station. At sustained 5.9, it'll take your slab head to new heights.
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Logikal41
Jul 10, 2008, 7:25 PM
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Awesome, Thanks for the information! Some buddies and I are going to be renting a motor boat for a few days to do some water skiing and stuff. do you think that we can get close enough to the rock to get off with out having to jump into the water or is it too shallow ? I am not positive on how much of the boat is exposed under water but it cant be that much, although it is more then a canoe or kayak .
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gunkiemike
Jul 10, 2008, 8:25 PM
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I've been dropped off there by motorboat. It's really straightforward as long as the waves aren't really big. Make sure your friends take pics of you from the lake when you're high up on the slab.
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adatesman
Jul 11, 2008, 3:48 AM
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Dunno about the motorboat, but we had a horribly overloaded canoe with 4 people and enough gear for a big wall epic and managed to get onshore without getting too wet...
Just FYI, if you want to avoid the boating there is a trail down from the top, but its wicked hard to find the right spot to turn to find the cliff and its not well marked (not to mention crosses over private land marked No Trespassing....). After getting benighted and rained out we were kinda forced to find it to retrieve our ropes, but in hindsight I'd just canoe to the base again and climb it wet rather than doing that hike again. No GPS, so it went something along the lines of hike 50 yards along the trail, then 100 yards downslope (bushwacking), followed by "Does this look like the top of the cliff?", and then back upslope, and wash, rinse, repeat. Sucked big time.
Anyway, if you do end up going be sure to answer "Yes!" to all the people in their motorboats at the base of the climb when they yell up "Is it scary up there?". The kids get a kick out of it. 
-a.
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Logikal41
Jul 11, 2008, 1:28 PM
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Ya, i have heard nothing but bad things about the hike approach. I will stick to the boat idea. Thanks for the info !
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tradmanclimbs
Jul 12, 2008, 9:42 AM
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the canoe ride is at least half the fun of the whole thing
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Alpinisto
Aug 5, 2008, 1:52 AM
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Did the trip happen yet?
I'm also in the market for Rogers' Rock beta, as I hope to head up there some time in September.
How late in the month before it gets cold enough to make the canoe trip uncomfortable?
Thanks!
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gunkiemike
Aug 5, 2008, 2:16 AM
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Alpinisto wrote: Did the trip happen yet? I'm also in the market for Rogers' Rock beta, as I hope to head up there some time in September. How late in the month before it gets cold enough to make the canoe trip uncomfortable? Thanks!
You can still go there in November if you are careful not to get wet.
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Logikal41
Aug 5, 2008, 2:56 AM
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i am going this upcoming weekend, i will let u know more info when i get back
`Matt
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sbaclimber
Aug 5, 2008, 7:09 AM
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Just wanted to throw in my 2c regarding the motor boat idea.
If the waves/boat are big enough to make getting close to the shore difficult (there are rocks!), get ahold of a towable tube.
We used one to hold our gear, while we swam over to the rock. The gear stayed dry, and in the sun on the slab we were dry within a half an hour as well.
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j_ung
Aug 5, 2008, 12:03 PM
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A canoe approach? Sounds fun. Say, isn't the place named for the guy who slid down it to escape bandits or something? What a strange place.
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sbaclimber
Aug 5, 2008, 12:09 PM
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j_ung wrote: A canoe approach? Sounds fun. Say, isn't the place named for the guy who slid down it to escape bandits or something? What a strange place.
From the DEC site:
"The campground derives its name from an English Colonial fighter during the French and Indian War named Robert Rogers. Legend says that Major Rogers fled from his Indian pursuers to the top of what was called Mt. Pelee, above Trout Brook, where a cliff slopes abruptly into the waters of Lake George hundreds of feet below. One story is that he slid down the precipice to safety, a truly super-human feat. Another is that he back tracked on reversed snow shoes so that his pursuers thought he made the fatal leap, and descending a nearby path, picked up his pack. The superstitious Indians, who saw him mushing his way down the lake thought he must be a god, and feared to follow him. The hill is now known as Rogers Rock, and its steep face, Rogers Slide."
Growing up I heard numerous versions of the legend. 
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Logikal41
Aug 5, 2008, 1:17 PM
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sbaclimber wrote: Just wanted to throw in my 2c regarding the motor boat idea. If the waves/boat are big enough to make getting close to the shore difficult (there are rocks!), get ahold of a towable tube. We used one to hold our gear, while we swam over to the rock. The gear stayed dry, and in the sun on the slab we were dry within a half an hour as well.
That brings up a good point. We are going to have a 22' bow rider... probably will run into those problems and being taht its a a rental boat i dont really feel like bottoming out . We WILL have a tube though so that seems like a great idea.
Thanks
-Matt
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Logikal41
Aug 13, 2008, 4:53 PM
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Hey, i just got back from Lake George. The route is extremely prominent. Soon as you pull up to the slab you can see your line right away if your doing little finger. From the route i climbed i could see the bolts for the routes on either side of me and all of them looked fairly new and trustworthy. A canoe would deffinatly be the way to go for the approach but you can easily get there by a motor boat. We actually just jumped out of the boat about 10 feet from the base and swam to the base with our gear in a tube covered in life jackets incase it fell out. There are some beautiful sights to be had on the climb so be sure to turn around and take in the view. If you have any questions regarding beta or anything let me know.
Thanks for all the help in planning everyone,
-Matt
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sbaclimber
Aug 14, 2008, 8:55 AM
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Sweet, glad it worked out well for you, and you enjoyed it (can't see how someone wouldn't).
I like the life jackets idea. We just tied our stuff to the tube, and hoped it wouldn't get punctured.
Did you do the classic Little Finger line (follow the diagonal crack the whole way), or one of the variations?
My preferred way was to take the bolts up the slab to the right (they've been there at least 10yrs) for the first pitch, then follow Little Finger up to the vertical crack through the bulge (Little Finger Direct exit). Exit up that crack and across the slab above.
(This post was edited by sbaclimber on Aug 14, 2008, 8:56 AM)
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Logikal41
Aug 14, 2008, 11:14 AM
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We winded up doing just the classic route because we were rushed on time due to weather. There was quite a bit of lightning and thunder to the north and once it started raining we just booked it to the top and got off before we got stuck in something worse. Of course after all the rushing, once we got to the bottom it cleared up. Next time i go i am definitely going to either do a variation or maybe try something like screaming meany or the matrix.
-matt
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