Clik here to view.
I Got the Elbow Blues
(Photo: Elbows.)Just a week ago last Thursday, I was feeling like I'd settled into a reasonably good place from which to start the season.There were a bunch of new problems on the "Highball Wall" at...
View ArticleElbonics Continued
I took almost the entire month of March off from climbing. It seemed like a lifetime.I rested.It was so boring I wanted to die. What do people do in the evenings?I read a book.It was okay. I considered...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Single-Pitch Cragging in the Nears: Tulip Mussel Garden (5.10d), Easter Time...
(Photo: Climber on Birdland (5.8). Taken from base of Grease Gun Groove (5.6).)I'm back, baby.The elbow seems okay. I've been to the Gunks twice in April and, knock on wood, I've had no problems.My...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Millbrook: Westward Ha! (5.7) & Cruise Control (5.9)
(Photo: Just above the final crux of Cruise Control (5.9). Photo by Christian Fraccia.)Millbrook is a cliff with a fearsome reputation. Unlike the other large cliffs at the Gunks, Millbrook has no easy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gunks Routes: Silhouette (5.7+) & Moby Dick (5.8), plus Keep on Struttin' (5.9)
(Photo: David almost to the GT Ledge on Silhouette (5.7+).)Last Sunday I met up with David to climb in the Gunks. The weather was gorgeous and I was feeling pretty good. I wanted to hit one of the...
View ArticleGunks Routes: Moonlight (5.6), Yesterday and Today
Moonlight (5.6) was the location of my first and only climbing epic.When I think back on that time (which wasn't really so long ago), it is hard to relate to the person I was then. So much has changed....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gunks Routes: P-38 (5.10b)
(Photo: Past the low crux overhang and into the awkward corner of P-38 (5.10b).)Gail and I recently got out for a little weekday fun in the Gunks. We saw little reason to stray too far from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hooked on Crack: A Few Days in Squamish, B.C., Part One
(Photo: Most of the way through the 5.10a pitch one of Exasperator, at the base of the Grand Wall of The Chief.)I've been waiting all year for my trip to Squamish. The plan was hatched in the depths of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Still Hooked on Crack: A Few Days in Squamish, B.C., Part Two
(Photo: Starting up Triage Arete (5.9).)On my third day in Squamish, I got out of bed expecting blue skies. But I pulled back the curtain to see clouds and wetness. Oh no, not again?!Seriously, what...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Far Out in the Nears: The Main Line (5.8), Mac-Reppy (5.8 A0), Up In Arms...
(Photo: Gail showing off a little Moxie (5.9), approaching the good moves before the crux.)This past Saturday was a fine day in the Gunks. A little warm (high 80's), but sunny. Gail and I expected the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Wet Week at the Gunks: Stannard's Roof (5.10a), Uncle Rudy (Pitch 1, 5.7+)...
(Photo: Approaching the big overhang on Stannard's Roof (5.10a).)I just finished a whole week in the New Paltz area with my wife and kids. It has become our tradition to rent a house in or around New...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Revisiting My First 5.9's: Bonnie's Roof, Ants' Line & Directissima
This post will eventually describe the climbing I did on Labor Day weekend with my old pal Parker. But first I want to talk about what I did this summer. You will recall that I spent a disappointing,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gunks Routes: Proctoscope (5.9+), Feast of Fools (5.10b) & No Glow (5.9)
(Photo: Below the roof on the first pitch of Feast of Fools (5.10b).)What a difference two weeks can make.During Labor Day weekend I felt a little rusty and out of shape, trudging up climbs in a sticky...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gunks Routes: Broken Sling (5.8) & Bird Cage (5.10b)
September 25 was one of those incredible autumn days in the Gunks. We enjoyed perfect temperatures, fresh air, grippy rock... Who could ask for anything more?I was climbing with a new partner named...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tough Acktin' Adirondack Acktion, 2013 Edition: The Spider's Web
(Photo: Reaching for the top on Mister Roger's Neighborhood (5.8), pitch two.)We had quite a good run of weather here in New York this September. There were some amazingdaysin the Gunks, and late in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Crack-A-Lackin' Adirondack-in' at Poke-O: Fastest Gun (5.10a)
Manny and I had a good day at the Spider's Web on our Friday in late September. That evening we were in Lake Placid, eating sushi and drinking sake. I felt tired. I'd driven five hours the night before...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Weekday Fun in the Uberfall: Birthday Biscuit Boy (5.9), Nosedive (5.10b),...
(Photo: Peak colors along the carriage road.)September was a beautiful month.October has been a little more spotty. Gail and I were supposed to get together to climb on October 6 but we got rained out....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gunks Routes: Teeny Face (5.10a), Simple Stuff (5.10a), Wegetables (5.10a) &...
(Photo: Climbers on Cool Hand Dukes (5.8), as seen from the optional first belay on Obstacle Delusion (5.9).)Another October weekend. It was a nice one in the Gunks.I was climbing with Maryana,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cool November Climbing: The Nose (5.6+), Bold-ville (5.8), The Winter (5.10d)...
(Photo: Gail in the traversing portion of the Nose (5.6+).)We're running out of climbing days in 2013.The last time I got out was Sunday, November 10, with Gail. The forecast was for temperatures in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Winter of Our Discontent? Early Season Climbing in the Uberfall
(Photo: Snowshoeing around the Trapps in mid-February.)Man, it has been a long winter, hasn't it?When I climbed in the Trapps on November 10, I didn't really believe that was going to be it for the...
View Article
