Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

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Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by climberslacker » Thu Jul 18, 2013 12:02 am

Hey Team,

I'm leaving in a few weeks to go to school in Upstate New York (North Country, I guess). I'm pretty much a SoCal kid and love the Sierra. Is there any alpine climbing to look forward to up there? I'll be above the Adirondacks so I would guess that will be my fix.

I'm pretty much just asking what I can look forward to up there or if the situation for alpine rock/ice is bleak.

Thanks!

-Jace

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anita

 
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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by anita » Thu Jul 18, 2013 1:24 am

not much in terms of 'alpine' rock like you have out there, but plenty, plenty of ice to climb. roadside crags to backcountry climbs. and not too far from vermont (smuggler's notch, lake willoughby) and new hampshire (where do I start?).

I guess for more alpine-y stuff, there's backcountry climbs like wallface and the stuff at avalanche pass and the slides which are usually low 5th, some harder.
new hampshire will have more alpine type rock routes, like cannon cliff and the routes in huntington ravine on mt washington.

pick up Adirondack Rock and start there. check out NEIce.com, NEClimbs.com. people are already itching for cold temps.

oh yeah, there's mt katahdin in maine - lots of alpine rock and serious ice climbs there.

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by MoapaPk » Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:17 am

You may get addicted to being able to XC ski out your back door in winter. As Anita pointed out, the ice climbing can be superb; and you can drive almost to the start.

But also be prepared for the summer bug conditions that are a bit worse than those in SoCal. Just a tad.

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anita

 
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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by anita » Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:41 am

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
bugs.
don't I know it.
it's been AWFUL. I guess they just like my taste but the bugs, and lately deer flies, have been unrelenting. and gnats - wtf?!

get me out of here!

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anita

 
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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by anita » Fri Jul 19, 2013 2:14 am

jerk

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by climberslacker » Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:07 am

Have fun at Clarkson, you geeky engineer, and don't be sad when Cornell destroys you in hockey.


St. lawrence!

Not the Himalayas for sure but when you combine the alpine experience you will gain in the North Country with the technical abilities you have acquired in California, you will be equipped to be a serious mountaineer if that's what you want.


That's the plan! I'm stoked to get on some ice, get used to some cold, and get ready for some big ranges!

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by DK » Fri Jul 19, 2013 6:36 pm

hey .. there are some sweet Alpine climbs .. Gothics North Face is a nice 8 or so pitch climb. Wallface has about 8 pitches as well and there are scores of others. Check out "Adirondack Rock" - it's a really good guidebook to climbs up there. I tell you, it ain't CA for sure, but the hiking is pretty intense nevertheless!

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by Bark Eater » Fri Jul 19, 2013 7:54 pm

There are a lifetime of adventures in the Adirondacks, and they will be right out your front door. Enjoy your time in NY!

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by Jfaub » Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:31 pm

The adirondacks are great! Basically my playground as far as mountains are concerned (I live about 3 and a half hours away in Ottawa). I've been doing lots of backpacking during the summer and winter, and lots of cragging but the next step for me is alpine routes during the winter. Gothics North Face, Basin East Face and Mt. Colden Trap Dike come to mind. There are also a huge amount of slide climbing (go look at MudRat's trip reports!), so the posibilities are definitely there. As others have said, don't write off the dacks because of their elevation : they are rugged and approches are usually long. There is also a lot of good ice to climb. If you ever need a climbing partner, shoot me a pm, i'm down there quite often.

Cheers,

Joel

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by climberslacker » Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:45 am

So as far as gear decisions go: should I be looking into buying a hardshell for winter conditions up there? I've been using my Patagonia Ascentionist for the last few years and it's kicked ass in the mild weather I have here.

Any other major gear differences between the Sierra and the North East I should be thinking about?

I'm super stoked to get up there and start checking out the scene (and figuring out the whole ice climbing thing!)

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by MoapaPk » Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:09 am

It can be a lot wetter than in the west. It's been a long time since I winter-camped there, but I have salient memories of freezing rain at night, then 0F the next day.

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by nartreb » Wed Jul 31, 2013 7:32 pm

Part of being wetter is that the snow itself has a high moisture content, so when it gets packed it turns to ice very quickly. You may find yourself wishing for crampons on an ordinary trail hike (the trails tend to be steeper too), but that puts your ankles at risk during the "shoulder seasons". The solution: Katoohla MicroSpikes. (You'll generally also want to bring snowshoes and of course I don't recommend ice climbing in the 'spikes, but the 'spikes are so light and comfy you may end up wearing them on a five-minute approach to an ice climb.)

Other top winter gear choices: real down jacket (or "down sweater" for belays/rests/camping), real down sleeping bag, fully vacuum-insulated Thermoses instead of water bottles.

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by anita » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:35 pm


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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by climberslacker » Thu Aug 01, 2013 12:36 am

That article makes me so psyched! I was getting a little down about the prospects (if you couldn't tell) but now the stoke it high!

I've alread got micro-spike (from the PCT) so I'll make sure to bring those. I would have totally forgotten about those otherwise! Thanks!

I've also got a ton of down stuff from various trips including a brief foray into high-altitude mountaineering (Citlaltepetl) that I'll make sure to bring.

Any other tips for NE climbing that I might not know as a west-coast climber would be awesome!

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Re: Going to school in upstate NY, what should i expect?

by kylenicolls » Wed Aug 07, 2013 10:40 pm

nartreb wrote: You may find yourself wishing for crampons on an ordinary trail hike (the trails tend to be steeper too), but that puts your ankles at risk during the "shoulder seasons".


I have to say, I've only been in the Adirondacks once this summer (planning the Great Range this weekend), but I did find there were a number of trails that were significantly steeper than I expected. Difficult, nah, I liked it. But the 1900 ft ascent over, what, 1.4 miles on the S side of Colden, was unexpected. I just wish the treeline was at like 3k feet, lol.

Oh and fewer mosquitos, I found, than the NW. I haven't really had a bug issue significant enough to put on DEET yet.

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