So yeah I lived in oregon for 6 years. The last 2.5 I spent intermittently hiking and non technical climbs of various cascade peaks.

Got a job at a power plant, so moved across the states to Oswego. Get plenty of snow here, that's for damn sure.

It seems salmon falls is within 35 miles, if I get into ice climbing... Are there good mountain climbs/hikes in the state? Good NY state reference books? Also, got touring skis and skins a month before I moved. There good places to bust out that gear here in the winter/spring?

Thanks!

Get into ice climbing. That's the best mountain recreation in NYS.

The Adirondacks are where it's at. There is excellent hiking up there, especially the High Peaks region. The Rock climbing is the best trad in the east. The ice is very good, and the BC skiing is not VT or NH, but it's still a good time.

The Mountaineer is a really phenomenal local gear shop in Keene Valley, right in the heart of the Adirondack climbing areas. They have not only the gear, but all the beta you need. Order whatever books you are interested in - or better yet, drive up there and buy them in person and go for a hike. They can also hook you up with a guide, if you want to do a semi-technical climb. Cloudsplitter Guides could take you on an easy but technical ascent of the Trap Dike, which is an awesome and super-classic climb. They also guide BC skiing and can show you some local pow stashes.

Marcy is the popular hike, being the high point of NYS. It's also crowded with novice winter hikers and not the best hike by a long shot, so avoid it. I suggest Algonquin for an easy first day trip to check out the mountains. Just normal hiking gear and snowshoes (rent them if you don't have them, they are required) will work almost all winter long, but you might as well pack crampons if you have them. An axe can be fun for glissading the trails on the way down, but is by no means needed for the ascent, which is just a hike.

Cascade is a great half-day hike, if you don't have that much time.

The books:

Skiing:
http://www.mountaineer.com/store/mercha ... y_Code=933
http://www.mountaineer.com/store/mercha ... y_Code=933

Rock Climbing:
http://www.mountaineer.com/store/mercha ... _Code=9321

Ice Climbing:
http://www.mountaineer.com/store/mercha ... _Code=9321

Hiking (this book includes the best trail map for the region)
http://www.mountaineer.com/store/mercha ... y_Code=931

There are lots of hills for BC skiing near Turin.

Catamount wrote:After almost 44 years here, my favorite part about living in New York is that I live close to an airport.

Getting out and doing stuff elsewhere is great, but you can always make the most with where you live.

For instance, XC skiing is great in most of NYC. Somethning like a Madshus Epoch or Glittertind with beefy system bindings or light 3-pins makes for awesome two-track or touring for turns.

Road cycling in the summer is great almost anywhere. For how much snow they get, the roads are usually in great shape, and mostly paved. Finding sparsely traveled back roads is easy in most of Upstate.

Mountain biking is good most places, although I don't know about up by you.

Hiking and trail running are very popular in the Finger Lakes region. So is wine.

Kayaking is good, with lots of whitewater, lake, and river touring near you. Fishing goes right along with that. You might try sailing, too... it's pretty awesome, and I would totally own a little keel boat if I lived up there.

As I said, rock climbing is phenomenal in the Adirondacks (and the Gunks), although the rest of the state is pretty dead.

WHITEWATER!!!!!!!!!

New York is THE whitewater kayaking state! Just east of you is Pulaski and the Salmon River, a fun class 2-3 river.

Just a little further east near Rome is FISH CREEK that has the BEST PLAY BOATING on the east coast.

Then there are all of the creeks in the Adirondacks.

Check out the FLOW paddling club in Rochester, an awesome group of people.

Certain wind patterns on Lake Ontario also bring some big surf to your beaches! WOO-WOO!

WOO-WOO!

The Great White Slide on the Tayorville section of the Beaver, Adirondacks


WOO-WOO!
Fish Creek, play boating heaven!!!!!!! More surf waves and holes than you can imagine! WOO-WOO!

And don't forget to get up to Jay Peak while you're there, some of the best skiing in the northeast, and some of the best tree skiing anywhere.




Crystal rapid on the Bottom Moose, Adirondacks!

Thanks for the info, folks. I am not on here as much anymore, kinda seasonal I suppose.

But yes, I did check out the Salmon River, specifically the falls. Was neat to see a frozen fall for the first time. Shit ton of ice there, and on the south river wall. I dont know enough about ice quality to say climb/no, but I did read it is generally not in season until about now. After this week of teens it just may be.

I should consider myself lucky I am near the Adirondacks, relatively. I think for leaving the NW, this about as good of a spot as I could have found that has a nuclear power plant. There is only one in the NW, they don't hire man out of school-ers. A coworker of mine said there are 40-something 'high' peaks, I'll probably have to bag some this summer just because.

And I DO have a mountain-bike! Ironically I forgot it (seriously....my single most valuable possession minus my Yota) at my old place, my landlord said he'd ship it no prob. Not much use now anyway.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

kylenicolls wrote: A coworker of mine said there are 40-something 'high' peaks

That is quite right. A list was compiled in 1918 when it was thought there were 46 peaks over 4000 feet (not counting the Catskills). That turned out not to be exactly right, but the ADK club stuck to the original list. Some of the peaks don't have real trails to the summit, which can be a challenge in the dense evergreen forests.

See http://www.summitpost.org/northeast-115/176935

Hmmm, I'll soon move to NY for some months, and was wondering how one would best find other climber/hiker types, in order to piggy back on their excursions to great places in New York state Is there by any chance a regular New Yorker-SummitPost meet up?

Been a while since I've been here, but thanks for the additional info. Looking forward to doing a bit of backpacking this summer. Next winter I'm legitimately going to get into ice climbing, now that I am established here. On the plus, seems that there are enough roads around that winter ascents aren't always far off. I know in the NW sometimes it can be a bit of a milestone just to get to a trailhead in the winter. The Sisters before April, lol need a few days off and a lot of motivation. Granted it is a bit, uh cooler here. At least at the TH.