There is no doubt that the Catskills have a lot of new route potential. There are amazing lines that have not yet been led at nearly every major Catskill climbing destination. Some of them are leadable strictly on gear, some require frequent piton and spectre placements and there are still others that may require bolts.

So how does one go about establishing a new route in the Catskills? I think about this all the time. Is there a right way to do things? What about a wrong way? It’s important to consider both the history of Catskill climbing, as well as the future of Catskill climbing. The Hudson Valley climbing scene is, in many ways, a bastion of traditionalism.  In the past climbers have used patience, experience and boldness when establishing new lines in the Catskills. Among the crowd of future visitors to the cliffs there will, no doubt, be stronger, bolder climbers. There will be climbers who decide that a line has enough gear on it to be led safely. This is a personal choice requiring solid self-assessment skills. Through a thorough understanding of conditions on a particular route year after year, protection and climbing ability one can mitigate some of the risk involved. All of us do this every time we drive, fly, climb, ski or do anything that is inherently dangerous. Climbing, especially ice climbing, is not safe. Anyone who says otherwise just isn’t paying attention. We make it safer by belaying, using protection, buying modern gear and learning from others who are experienced.

Two other really important considerations are the rules established by the New York State DEC and certain areas’ special ecological and sociological importance. Fixed climbing gear really isn’t allowed anywhere on DEC land. Additionally, some of the areas are designated as wilderness areas which are in the backcountry and are meant to be kept pristine and unspoiled.

Let’s not forget one of the most important considerations when deciding whether to add fixed gear to a climb that may be protectable for someone else – you can toprope every single pitch in the Catskills except for about 3 of them (pitch 2 of the following routes: the Curtain, That Climb and Sorenson’s Smear in Stony Clove). There are no pitches longer than 70m and most are only about 35m or less.

I’ve ruminated about these things a lot recently. Perhaps too much actually. My partner frequently tells me I should spend as much time making the world a better place as I do thinking about Catskill climbing ethics. I’m not inclined to disagree; she’s not wrong. That being said I’m going to offer some of my own thoughts about how to establish climbing routes in the Catskills.

1. On-sight, ground-up with no fixed gear is definitely the best possible style – This is at times both daunting and dangerous. It’s pretty hard to fish very small gear into an icy crack or hammer a pin in from a small, overhung stance. Alas, you can toprope everything here. This makes it easier to clean out dirt, find tool placements, or maybe pre-place some protection. You can even hang 4′ or 6′ slings down from above to the spot where your climb is less well protected for safety. Work as hard as you can to find gear on a route before you decide that fixed protection (bolts) are the way to go. Set your ego aside for a moment. Think about the past, future, and how important adventure is to climbers.
2. For the record, the DEC has stated that fixed protection is not allowed. – Some of the rangers are frequent climbers, and all of them have climbed before. They’re not too psyched about the number of bolts, especially in areas like the Black Chasm which is a designated “wilderness area” and the far left end of the Devil’s Kitchen which is private property (the first cliff on the left when you look down from the stone bridge). Obviously the DEC has tolerated bolts thus far but it would be pretty easy for them to say “no more bolts” or “no more climbing” at these areas. Not good things for PR or future access between climbers and the public land management agency.
3. AT NO TIME IS RETROBOLTING SOMEONE ELSE’S ROUTE AN ACCEPTABLE PRACTICE – One is free to establish their own climbs however they choose but don’t retrobolt other’s routes. Thus far first ascensionists have been pretty tolerant of that behavior but it’s definitely not ok to dumb down someone else’s route. In other areas you might get run out of town or have your property vandalized. Again, set your ego aside and just toprope it if you feel like you can’t lead it the way it was done on the FA. Gomorrah, Purgatory, Rawdon’s Roof, and the baddest mixed line in the center of the Black Chasm have all been retrobolted by a person who didn’t do the first ascent of that route and without the first ascensionist’s permission. This means that you need to make sure that the route you want to establish has not been led by anyone before. How do you go about finding these things out when the guidebooks don’t have this information? Spend some time in the area, ask local climbers and maybe wait a season or two to see if a route has ice in the same place every year. Along the way you will make friends, learn more about the history of the area and climbing, and perhaps learn a thing or several about yourself and your abilities.
4. Well-placed anchor bolts have been tolerated by the DEC – Anchor bolts aren’t a bad idea, and they help keep the top of popular areas from becoming too heavily eroded. We’ve all been out on a day when the top out isn’t necessarily frozen. That being said, on most routes, and especially on FA’s where one isn’t sure whether a route will be popular, the top out is an integral challenge to all of Catskill climbing.
5. Don’t place bolts in areas that see a lot of traffic from other visitors or have special importance – The Kaaterskill Amphitheater is amazing. It’s also home to NY’s tallest waterfall and is a very beautiful, special place for many people (non-climbers included). It’s not a good idea to place bolts in areas like this. Some of the ravines too are pretty unspoiled spots, and you can still toprope every single tier of every single ravine if you want.
6. If you’re going to place bolts to protect a section of completely unprotectable climbing do a high-quality job of placing them – This is a big one. There’s a lot that goes into placing bolts well. I’m no expert but I’ve seen it done both ways – poorly so that it’s still unsafe and so well done that you’re safe and you don’t even notice the bolts until you look for them.
   • Place bolts only where you feel they are absolutely necessary (to protect the unprotectable).
   • Bolted variations should be avoided, as you can toprope the variation. Squeeze jobs are not ok either. If you can reach right or left to clip gear on another route don’t place any bolts in that area.
   • By visiting an area year after year you can ensure that a bolt is placed in a dry, solid section of rock so that it’s exposed once the ice forms.
   • Toprope the route a lot, and with others who are not your size to see if the stance is good, and whether or not everyone can safely clip the bolts. Deliberately difficult clips make no sense and are an unnecessary danger.
   • Use stainless steel hardware so that the bolts don’t corrode as quickly.
   • Lastly, paint the bolts to match the color of the rock so that they don’t stand out to people who aren’t interested in your route.

As usual all of the normal LNT stuff also applies. Clean on weekdays if possible, be considerate of other visitors, watch your stuff and your mouth, and be both civil and friendly. The spirit of adventure, comraderie and independence is one of the things that attracts us all to climbing.

This list of considerations is my own, not necessarily comprehensive, personal list. I neither condone indiscriminate bolting nor disapprove outright of bolting in the Catskills and haven’t personally placed any as of yet. If I do you can bet it will be low key. Everyone can do as they please but always try to keep history, future, access to our precious cliffs, and the environment in mind when establishing new routes in the Catskills.

The Hudson Valley has a lot of climbing. Most of that climbing is very high quality. However, there are a few locations that stand out even in an area full of thousands of outstanding rock and ice climbs. One of these areas is called the Black Chasm. It’s located near the Devil’s Kitchen leanto, on the edge of Platte Clove. In the past this area has been referred to as the Devil’s Kitchen due to it’s proximity to the Devil’s Kitchen leanto.

The approach requires a one mile hike in and then a descent (it’s rare to descend on the approach) into a ravine where the sun literally doesn’t shine. During a good ice year there will still be pillars 6 ft. thick at the chasm long after ice has disappeared elsewhere in the Catskills. It’s a dark and ominous place. Intimidating too.

All of the routes in the Black Chasm are challenging leads. The grades in the guidebook are understated (typical) and leading here requires a good head and solid experience with all different types of ice quality. You see it all – flakes/plates, cauliflowers, mushrooms, brittle junk, and tons of tinsel-like ice. Many of the pitches here are given a rating of WI5, and this really doesn’t do the place justice. There is no snow cone or ramp at the base, just pure dead vertical ice for nearly 100 ft. (sounds more like 5+ to me).

I was in the Chasm yesterday, and being the third wheel I opted to climb around to the top and rap in to shoot photos. I took some very nice shots of Jason Hurwitz leading the Advocate, a beautiful lightly yellow-stained vertical pillar on the left end of the cliff.

I also had the chance to take a few minutes of video as Jason was topping out:

For more information about the Black Chasm get Marty Molitoris’ guidebook on Catskill Ice Climbing.

The Catskills have a lot of new route potential. In many ways the climbing there is like a winter extension of climbing in the Gunks. Most routes have been established without the use of bolts. When a new route goes in, and the route has bolts, the person who equips (and hopefully sends) the route is bound to catch some flak for placing the bolts. However, for a long time in the Catskills there have been features that seem logical to call routes yet are unprotectable or difficult to protect safely. Many of these routes would be fine climbs that would see a lot of traffic if they were safer to lead.

Last year Chris Beauchamp added bolts to a route that climbs up a gently overhanging wall and then steps onto a hanging dagger above. He calls it “Dream a Little Dream”. I have climbed this route twice now. I led it last year and got on it again today, and it’s a very fine addition to the climbs in the Devil’s Kitchen.

There are a few weeks during each winter when all of the stars seem to align in the correct position for climbing. Last week was one of those weeks. I climbed until my feet and hands really couldn’t take any more. By the end of the week I was feeling tired each morning despite sleeping well the prior night. It’s a good thing, I think.

One of the biggest challenges is finding strong, motivated partners that have the same days off as you (in this case – all week last week). Another challenge in the Catskills is the conditions – conditions are not always great due to frequent mid-winter thaws. Motivation can sometimes be a challenge too.

Well, last week everything fell into place and I climbed nearly every day. It was a productive week to say the least. On Sunday I bumped into Lucho Romero and Dawes Strickler at Moore’s Bridge. Lucho, a self-professed weekend warrior, was off for the week and looking to climb every day. Bingo! I had just found the best partner that I possibly could for the week.

Conditions in the Catskills are amazing right now, and Lucho’s as motivated as I am. We climbed four days straight: two days in the Hellhole where we established a new mixed line, a day in the Chasm and a day at Platte Clove High Cliff (the most scenic cliff in the Catskills). It was a great week: tons of good, hard pitches with a really strong climber who’s a blast to hang out with.

Lucho is part of a crew of climbers from NY/NJ/CT/PA that have been climbing very hard all over the world for many years now. You’ll hear their names mentioned occasionally in conversation, or see their names or photos in guidebooks, but otherwise these guys are mostly off the radar. However, their climbing generally speaks for itself. Throughout the week climbing with Lucho I learned that he’s led many of the hard routes in the Catskills before there were bolts (Purgatory, Instant Karma, Smear) and that he’s led a lot of Gunks climbs that are hard and scary (Like Bone Hard and To Be or Not To Be). Born and raised in Colombia he helped develop a cliff outside of Bogota called Suesca and made frequent climbing trips to the states to climb in Yosemite before permanently relocating to the United States. Weekend warrior or not, Lucho is a formidable ice climber. He has amazing technique, he’s very efficient and has a cool head. Solid, modest, and very understated, Lucho’s a perfect climbing partner.

Straight to Hell

Lucho, Devin Berberich and I cleaned and worked a line right of Purgatory in the Devil’s Kitchen (I like the old name “Hellhole” better). It didn’t have any scratches on it, which leads us to believe that it hasn’t been climbed before. The first third of the climb is shared with Purgatory. After the rock crux on Purgatory you climb up and right following small splitter seams to an overhang. From this point you must race to the top through the hangs to a tricky top out.

We initially thought that the route was going to need a few bolts. On day 2, after closer inspection, we found some really solid pin placements down low. There’s just enough protection to keep things safe. The upper section is protected with rock gear in some stacked blocks. The route has really classic climbing with a crux that’ll be hard to onsight. Although both of us don’t have a ton of experience with mixed grades I’m comfortable calling the route M7. Lucho and I feel that if the route becomes popular a few bolts would make things a bit safer and more straightforward. We’re not looking for the glory of another FA, but to establish more classic single pitch lines. The Catskills are a great training ground to prepare you for bigger badder climbs.

The Black Chasm

Lucho and I, along with James Shuford and Beth McClendon headed to the Black Chasm last Thursday. Of all the ice climbing areas in the Catskills this area may be the most impressive. It’s similar to the Waterfall Wall at Poke-O-Moonshine, but with more interesting features and more hanging ice. Each single pitch climb is challenging for the understated grade it’s given in the guidebook. Most of the routes in there have WI 5+ ice quality and remain vertical for more than 50 feet before letting up. The Black Chasm is a good place to go with a group of 4 or 6 people. Each group of two gets to lead a few lines and you can toprope a lot. It’s a good high mileage steep ice climbing spot.

Platte Clove High Cliff

Platte Clove High Cliff is the most scenic cliff in the Catskills. I try to get up there once every season to climb the classic lines and hang out in a scenic spot. It’s an amazing place and I just put together a page about it with more information what it’s like. Lucho and I have both climbed up there before and headed up there to see about the conditions and the potential for some new routes. The ice is in great shape up there and there’s some potential for new routes too!

Assuming it stays cold I’ll be out all next week trying to add some more new climbs in the Catskills. I’ve added new images to the Gallery. Many are from last week. Enjoy and be safe out there!