tallnik
Aug 21, 2006, 3:43 PM
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Registered: Apr 18, 2004
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Adapted from an email I wrote to a friend:
I'm back in Montreal now after a few days running around the backcountry of New York state.
Alive and well too! My friend Anthony and I had a great adventure which saw us on the move almost continuously for 20hrs. Takes a different kind of person to call that fun, I suppose. I'd include photos, but alas my camera cable is still in Europe.
The plan was to climb the Diagonal route (5.8) on Wallface (600ft) We drove in friday night, camped out and went to bed just shy of midnight. We wanted to get up at 530am with a 6hr hike in to the wall we would try and climb. I stayed awake for a long time that night as I couldn't seem to fall asleep. I had been up late for a number of nights previously, and I guess my body clock was all whack. Well, eventually I did manage to fall asleep, only to be awoken at 430am by a group of hikers in the campground getting ready to head out. By 5am we gave up trying to sleep and got up and go some breakfast in us, organized ropes, food, and gear, and took off.
It took us just over the six hours we figured we needed to get to the route we wanted to take up the wall (going through the bush was tougher than expected). But it was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and we had the whole place pretty much to ourselves. No one else at all at the cliff face (probably the first time I've had that experience). Nice and warm without being too hot. The climb was fun. The climbing was fairly straightforward, after a mistaken route choice on the first pitch, and challenging, but only to the point where it was still fun and satisfying. We also got to experience three rather unusual things:
-1. We hung out with a Peregrine Falcon for a while. It was gliding on the thermals off of the cliff, and was about 10m away at one point. So cool.
-2. Search and Rescue helicopter flew around the valley we were climbing in. We don't know why they were there (we figure probably a training excercise), but those things are also cool. Not to mention I have a lot of love and respect for the search and rescue guys. They did bail me and a friend out of some trouble another time, and boy does a helicopter sound like salvation sometimes.
-3. a US jet fighter also soared through the valley. If I hadn't been so shocked to see one, I might have been pissed that it was disturbing our backcountry experience (along with the SAR guys, but I love them too much!)
Besides the mechanized signs of civilization, there was nothing but mountains and valleys, forests, and lakes as far as the eye could see. God it was beautiful.
The hike out was god-awful on the other hand, and we were really really happy to make it back to a proper trail after thrashing through the thickest undergrowth I've ever experienced. Once we'd reached the proper trail network it took us another 3 or so hours to make it back to the tent before we could pass out. That part wasn't so bad, it was just fighting the urge to fall asleep anywhere.
We kindof made it harder on ourselves as the two of us, and my roomate, Erica, are doing a 24hr Orienteering race in about three weeks, and we want to have an idea of how our bodies respond to that kind of stress, ways to dress to make ourselves more comfortable (lots of clean pairs of socks is amazing) and what we need to eat in order to keep going and not crash.
Beta on the Diagonal:
- The first "six" pitches are really easy... Consider the direct route up to the finishing two money pitches. The direct route goes at 5.9, and the last two pitches of the diagonal are 5.8
- Pro is excellent, we brough a reduced rack with micro cams to fist-sized, and a set of nuts, and had too much gear. One fist sized piece is a must, as are micro cams unless you want to trust the pins which have been in situ for 40+ years.
- I recommend rapping the Diagonal route instead of attempting the bushwhack. We didn't follow the bushwhacked trail as we were practicing compass and map work for our orienteering race. Our pace was slowed down to one kilometer an hour as the undergrowth is super thick! Perhaps the direct bushwhack in a northerly direction towards a creek is faster. Once in the creek, the going is a little slippery but relatively straightforward.
Camping: There are lean-tos a couple miles up Indian Pass, but there is also a climber's camp site right next to summit rock. Note: this campsite contravenes the backcountry rules about camping 200ft away from a trail, so keep that in mind. However, the summit rock site is a 35-45min bushwhack from wall (finding your way through the talus field is tough!)
The hike in from ADK lodge to summit rock is about two hours at a good clip with light packs.
Thanks for reading it!
Nik
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