TR: Diagonal (Wallface, Adirondacks)
Steven Cherry
at gunks.com). Surprisingly there are no trip reports at dejanews. This
report is from last year, I'm still hoping to get back this season (but
this report's partner is unavailable this year).
-Steven-
----------------
Diagonal III 5.8
Wallface, Adirondaks
October 3-4, 1998
Wallface is perhaps the most alpine of Adirondaks cliffs. It's one of the
100 numbered tallest Adirondaks peaks. The climbing wall is broad and
flat, much like Cannon. The climbing guidebook says that it can be done in
a day by a good climbing party who knows the approach, which involves a
1-3 hour bushwack after a 2-hour hike. You can approach from the north or
the south. The southern approach is the better one if you are going to
stop by Summit Rock, which offers the only available good view of the
entire cliff.
My partner, Mike Burk, had been to Wallface the year before (coming in
from the north), intending to do Mental Blocks (III, 5.7X, A2). His
partner wasn't up to such a project and he left with little more than
tantalizing views and firm intentions. I too had the Mental Blocks bug,
but the advice of locals and commonsense dictated a more modest goal on
my first trip to this cliff.
Diagonal is a 6 or 7 pitch 5.8 route whose two main features are a ramp
across the middle of the cliff and a steep corner crack finish. The
climbing promised to be long and moderate. Mike and I had climbed together
a few times before, rock climbing locally and ice climbing in New
Hampshire. For each of us the other was the one climbing partner most
interested in anything more ambitious than a road trip to the New.
We left northern New Jersey after 6:00 on Friday, arrived at the old Iron
Works parking lot near midnight, and bivied there. Despite the best of
intentions we slept late. It took us almost 5 hours to arrive at the base
(with full packs) via Summit Rock too late to do the route Saturday.
Summit Rock was where Mike had bivied his previous trip but this time he
thought it would be better to bivy at the base of the cliff. From Summit
Rock Mike had scoped out an alternate start to the left of the regular
one. We saw one party in the neighborhood of Mental Blocks and that was
about it. We heard more than saw a few hikers, and saw one other climbing
party but not closely enough to even say hello.
The regular start to Wallface is one or two pitches of 4-class climbing.
Our alternate start was 300-400 yards left of that and began at a shallow
open book. It was wet (in fact, we collected water from the drip at about
1 liter/15 minutes, the only water we could find) but all the wetness was
avoidable (at least in October!). Basically the pitch worked up and right,
all 5th class climbing, roughly 5.4 to easy 5.6 moves, except for one spot
that offered a choice of grassy ledge and easy face to the right or a
short, somewhat rotten crack slightly left. I chose the crack. The rock
was okay if you jammed deep enough into it, and was very nice 5.7 (very
sharp and very dark rock, reminiscent of Pegasus at the Beer Walls, but
sharper).
We decided to fix the first pitch because we thought it would save time
the next day and also because it just sounded so cool to say "we fixed the
first pitch". As it turned out, we overslept yet again (memo to self: buy
a travel alarm clock) and without ascenders probably didn't save much time
jugging (in fact, I toproped it and Mike probably would have been faster
to do the same).
A second pitch, which Mike led, continued to work up and right, 5.6 or
easy 5.7, and took us to about 30-40 feet below the ramp, bringing us
almost right back on track for the route as described in the book. Both
these pitches were about 175 feet (we used 60m double 9's, double ropes
were helpful but not necessary. In fact it was a running joke that the
green rope started to feel left out since it only got one or two clips at
the beginning and end of each pitch.)
When we rapped the route we got a good look at the regular start, and
would recommend ours instead. It follows the general flow of the diagonal
ramp better, was cleaner, and allows one to start real climbing well
before the ramp.
Pitch 3 took us up and onto the ramp. From Summit Rock this looks like a
shallow line across the cliff. The reality is a ledge almost deep enough
to build a strip mall, if the stores didn't mind being constructed at a 75
degree slant. Actually it's hard to say what the angle is, because the
slant is both left-to-right and front-to-back. The back of the ramp has
more cracks and grass, I stuck toward the front because it seemed the more
aesthetic and challenging course.
Neither Mike nor I had been placing very much pro, both because gear
wasn't exactly abundant and to save time. We're both fairly solid 5.8-5.9
Gunks climbers with at least as much respect for the shortness of an
October day as the difficulty of the terrain we were on. We climbed with a
single pack containing boots, rain shells, lunch, a few emergency
supplies, and Mike's heavy and bulky camera. On the ramp itself I didn't
have much choice but to run it out but the climbing was only about 5.6. My
pitch stopped shortly before a short headwall, where three faces meet: the
ramp, the back (main) wall, and the headwall, which would eventually merge
with the main wall. Mike led up the headwall with some neat underclings,
then finished the ramp. There were probably a few 5.7 moves, and even with
two ropes not much gear was placed because of the geometry.
The guidebook's fifth pitch traverses a grassy ledge that slopes *down*,
the last of the ramp that gives the route its name. I linked this and the
next pitch by placing no pro until halfway up a short sidewall. A second
piece, then a fixed pin, then a large cam, then up onto the final belay
ledge. While the last pitch would prove to be the hardest, this pitch had
the single hardest move (5.9ish), right after placing the large cam.
The last pitch was Mike's and he did a great job. In the shade most if not
all day, the corner crack was surprisingly off-widthy, wet, and cold.
Without great footholds for stemming, and minimal smearing on the cold
rock, he placed gear mostly by brute-force hanging on his arms. It was
pumpy just cleaning it, and even strenous climbing didn't warm either of
us much. Mike was cold enough when I got up to him that we didn't even
take in the view but set up the rappel with determined speed.
We rapped the route, and didn't get back to the base around 7pm. A
different bushwack led us back to a trail that followed a stream closely
enough that it was a solid army-style mud slog the whole way, and we lost
the trail several times as it crossed and recrossed the stream without
blazes. We were smart to have picked a full moon weekend but it still took
us till after 11:00 to be back at the car. We got back to my house at 3:30
and Mike crashed on the couch, we both had to be at our jobs at 7:30.
In hindsight we should have gotten an earlier start and gotten at least to
the Wallface lean-to the first night. An alarm clock start would have
gotten us to the base at the same 10:30 that we started climbing. Getting
back to the leanto after dark wouldn't be a problem if it were Saturday
night instead of Sunday. We should have committed to a single day and
traveled much lighter.
If you want solitude and climbing adventure in the Northeast it can be had
in the Adirondaks. There was enough wetness on the cliff that, like
everyone, we're thinking of going there in wintertime, and of course we'll
be back for Mental Blocks and maybe also our first mini-big-wall full-aid
climb, fixing pitches and maybe even banging in pins.
-steven-
--
<ste...@panix.com>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The mountain was beautiful; perhaps that is all that need be said.
That, and it would be very hard to climb. -- David Roberts
weasle
Wallace is the horrendous slab (hauling a bag on it is being a masochist),
free climbing it makes more sense but lowers the diversity of the climbs
there. Better off setting 3 days off to do something nice (pack in, camp,
climb, camp/rest, leave)
--
______[\/\^/]_/\^/\______
The world isn't flat for a reason!
lmo...@aei.ca
http://members.tripod.com/luc_m/
=========================================
Steven Cherry <ste...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:7rjh3s$ac5$1...@panix3.panix.com...
Steven Cherry
> Wallace is the horrendous slab (hauling a bag on it is being a
> masochist), free climbing it makes more sense but lowers the diversity
> of the climbs there. Better off setting 3 days off to do something nice
> (pack in, camp, climb, camp/rest, leave)
-steven-
--
<ste...@panix.com>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
It's hard to successfully maintain a bad mood for an entire
three hour approach. -- Tom Dunwiddie, rec.climbing
weasle
shoes for walk back down (rappelling can be a pain there)
Steven Cherry
>> Why would you haul on Wallface?
>Stiff aiding= climbing gear, WATER, snacks, jackets, emergency bivy gear,
>shoes for walk back down (rappelling can be a pain there)
I'm not trying to start a flame war, but this still sounds like a not-too-
large, not-too-heavy pack for the second to wear, even with the "emergency
bivy gear", the need for which is worth questioning, since with two ropes
you can fix two-thirds of the route and just get back to the ground. It's
a 600 foot wall, after all. The stiffest undertaking in the guidebook is
probably Eastern Shield, rated a grade IV listed as 7 pitches.
Roanokeclimber
better off going light and moving fast. Sounds like this guy wants to carry
the kitchen sink.
Eric
Steven Cherry <ste...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:7ro0dr$nrh$1...@panix3.panix.com...
Steve Miller
>everyone, we're thinking of going there in wintertime,
If you make the stomp back in there this winter, please post another trip
report. I've looked down on the face several times from the tops of Algonquin
and Iroquois, but never have seen much ice on the face (at least from that
distance anyway). I know the guidebook lists a few possibilities, but would
love to hear first hand about what you might find there. ...Steve