The Good, the Brittle and the Dirty
Ice climbing at Cascade Pass proves to be a solid start for beginners to the sport
ice climbing
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Ice climbing outfitters and guides
There are so many great outfitters and guiding businesses to start ice climbing. Here is a short list of some in the area that offer climbing gear rentals and guiding services. They can help point you in the right direction if you are looking to start climbing! Adirondack Rock & River Guide 615 Alstead Hill…
Gearhead: An overview of ice climbing gear
“Are those the Cassin X Dream tools?” Much like rock climbing, in ice climbing you’ll find people absolutely obsessed with gear and they will most likely be the same people. Gearheads don’t just include climbers, it just includes anyone who has a passion for their outdoor gear. Rock climbers trade in their chalk and climbing…
Crazy Freedom
There is no easy way to access “Passion and Warfare.” The location combined with winter weather anomalies can present a logistical nightmare, but nothing worthwhile is easy.
Alpine enchantment on ice
By Phil Brown
Avalanche Mountain Gully lies across the lake from the Trap Dike. It’s an old climb that rated a brief mention in Tom Rosecrans’s 1976 guidebook “Adirondack Rock and Ice Climbs,” the first guidebook to catalog the region’s ice routes.
Adirondack Explorer stories of the year: No. 8
When climbing the Trap Dike, hikers can expect to see scenery of other summits in the high peaks including Iriquois, Algonquin, Wright, Marshall, and Santanonis.
Classic Rock-Climbing History Gets Update
By Phil Brown
The new edition of Yankee Rock and Ice describes Matt Horner’s efforts to repeat a notoriously difficult ice climb called Gorillas in the Mist on Poke-O-Moonshine's cliffs.
DEC responds to climbers’ concerns over access
By Phil Brown
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has compiled 132 pages of public comments and responses regarding its proposals in the High Peaks Wilderness and Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest. The Adirondack Park Agency is expected to vote on whether to approve DEC’s proposals this Friday. About ten pages of comments and responses pertain to concerns raised by…
Accidents In Adirondack Climbing In 2016
By Phil Brown
Each year the American Alpine Club publishes a little book titled Accidents in North American Climbing, on the theory that reading about accidents is one way to avoid them. Usually, most of the reports are from out west or Alaska. Occasionally, an accident in the Adirondacks makes the book. This year, however, a full three…
Mountaineer’s New Sign Is A Work Of Art
By Phil Brown
When Matt Horner, one of the region’s best ice climbers, fell on a route at Chapel Pond last winter, he had to stop working for a while. For Matt, work is guiding and sculpting, usually in rock and metal. Matt has recuperated well enough to resume his artwork, and his latest piece was unveiled Thursday…