Trip Reports - 12/25/00 Christmas at the Gunks, New York

- as told by Mike Tennant

The Shawangunks (Gunks) are a series of SE facing quartz conglomerate cliffs that look out over the sleepy little town of New Paltz in upstate New York. The cliffs range up to 260 feet high and extend for 8 miles along several ridges. The Gunks are part of the Mohonk Preserve and there is a $5 (weekday) / $7 (weekend) day use fee for activities within the preserve. An annual permit can be purchased from the Mohonk Preserve <http://mohonkpreserve.org>. Low impact camping is allowed at the Trapps tenting area located at the west side of the Trapps bridge.

Enlarge photo of Gabe

Although the Gunks range is fairly extensive, all of the guidebooks have limited their descriptions to the four major cliffs; the Trapps, Near Trapps, Sky Top and Millbrook. Perhaps the most popular cliff in the Gunks is the Trapps area, which contains classic lines like Horseman 5.5, Shockley's Ceiling 5.6, High Exposure 5.6, Directissima 5.9 and Enduro Man 5.11R. The most popular top-rope area is perhaps the Uberfall area located on the west end of the Trapps. A network of well maintained carriage roads offers easy access to the cliffs and provides nice running/biking trails.

View larger image of Mike and Gabe

My youngest brother, Gabriel Tennant, and I pulled into the little parking lot at the Gunks on a blustery, but otherwise clear Christmas morning. Our mother was gracious enough to have the family dinner on Christmas Eve due to the apparent break in weather, which would soon be followed by another typical New England storm. She knew her boys really wanted to climb and this might be the only day with any good weather for quite awhile. There was some activity in the lot that morning and it even appeared as though at least one of the people there was a climber. "It's going to be a cold one, but it looks hopeful," I said to Gabe sipping down some warm coffee.

See larger view of Mike and Gabe

Trying to stay warm in the bitter wind, we unpacked the car. From across the lot I heard a chuckle followed by,

"You can't be from Florida, can you," in a booming, yet cordial voice?

I looked up to a smiling face and replied, "Well actually, I've lived in Florida for a few years and drove up to my mother's place in Binghamton just a few days ago, but I did grow up in upstate NY."

Enlarge photo of Mike

"I didn't think I'd see anyone else up here today. You guys must be crazy,"he shot back with another smile.

"Well apparently no more crazy than yourself, I mean just look at you," I taunted him jokingly.

He grinned and nodded in accordance. "It looks like it is going to be a nice day. I am going to head over to Kansas City to work on my aiding (KC is a 5.12 roof in the Near Trapps). Where are you guys headed off to?" He asked inquisitively.

"I think were are going to do some easy stuff in the Uberfall area, maybe Horseman or something like that" I replied.

"Oh, you guys definitely want to do Horseman. It's a beautiful climb. There are several ways to do the start, but I would take the direct route straight up the crack instead of traversing under the roof. I think the direct start makes a much nicer climb. BTW, check out the ice on Ken's Crack. It isn't quite enough for picks, but it looks hopeful." His eye got big and his smile stretched across his face.

View bigger photo of Gabe

The three of us chatted for a bit more, then we thanked him for the info and sipping the last few drops of coffee Gabe and I headed down the road towards the cliff. Upon reaching the snow covered carriage road we noticed that the wind had died off that it was actually quite pleasant in the sun. Its going to be a nice one, I thought to myself as we approached Horseman.

See larger view of Horseman 5.5

We started off with the direct version of Horseman 5.5, which is a very nice 90 foot line that follows a crack system up to a low roof. Stepping out around the roof you continue up the crack to the top. Finishing Horseman, we decided to check out Ken's Crack 5.7, a route that we managed to sneak in on a previous family outing last November. The bottom third of the climb was completely covered in a thin two-inch layer of ice. It looked beautiful, but I didn't want to fight the ice trying to get my first piece in. Maybe with some crampons it would have been a different story, but not without the right gear. It certainly wasn't worth the inevitable slip and quick ride into the talus down the hill.

View larger photo of Mike

Abandoning Ken's Crack on this trip, we moved back towards Horseman and climbed Rhododendron 5.6-. Rhododendron is an easy 80 foot crack system with friendly blocky ledges. After rappelling from Rhododendron we felt the cool air set in as the sun dropped lower in the sky. Knowing that we had time for one more short climb before sundown, we set up on the adjacent climb, Laurel 5.7. Like Rhododendron, Laurel is another friendly blocky crack system topping out at 50 feet. Making short work of Laurel, Gabe and I packed up our gear and walked back to the car watching the sunset over the sleepy little town in the valley below. A beautiful finish to a pleasant Christmas Day in the Gunks.

Story, links,  photos, and information submitted by Mike Tennant, (mtennant@ufl.edu), Gainesville local

Guidebooks:

The Gunks Guide by Todd Swain, 3rd ed 1995.Chockstone Press (covers Trapps, Near Trapps, Sky Top and Millbrook)

Shawangunk Rock Climbs: The Trapps by Dick Williams, 3rd ed 1991.

The American Alpine Club: Climber's Guide; AAC Press.
(A series of guides covering the Trapps, Near Trapps, Sky Top and Millbrook)

Mohonk Preserve and area info:

Mohonk Preserve, Inc.
P.O. Box 715
New Paltz, NY 12561-0715
Fax: (845) 255-5646
http://mohonkpreserve.org

http://www.gunks.com (Climbing page)

http://www.rocksnow.com (Local climbing shop)

http://www.newpaltz.org (Local area information)

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