The Gunks: Peterskill

I was fortunate enough to climb in The Gunks, specifically the top roping area in Peterskill.  I climbed with Sal Trupia and Spencer Villano (amongst other climbers) from Island Rock.  I met these guys a few weeks ago during a Meetup at Island Rock.

The Golden Dream

Here are the routes we sended.

• It Ain't All It's Crack'd Up To Be 5.8
• Psycho Crack Right 5.8
• The Yellow Wallpaper 5.9+
• Pop Quiz 5.8
• Slot Machine 5.6
• The Golden Dream 5.9+

The Golden Dream and The Yellow Wallpaper were my favorites.  Golden Dream is a crack the entire way up, but the crack is in a corner, so you can use the opposing walls to shimy up while your hands anchor in the crack.  Yellow Wallpaper is a balancing act.  On my first attempt, I fell accidentally.  I thought I had a hold with my hand, but it just slipped out of my grip.  I struggled taking falls twice more on the ascent and decided to get lowered down.  I was getting frustrated.  The sun in my face, normally a good feeling added to the frustration.  I revisited the route a second time, and although I wasn't able to send clean, I did manage to finish with more grace this second time.  I think I'm at the edge of my current abilities outside on a 5.9+ which is remarkably close to my limit at the TRC gym back in NC.

According to the description at Mountain Project the rock at Peterskill is quartzite conglomerate.  We had initially planned to climb Saturday morning, but the rock was so slick from a previous rain that it would have been impossible to climb, so we took the afternoon off and returned at 4:30, the rock now in perfect condition for climbing.  This is when we sended Golden Dream and Slot Machine on The Golden Wall.

By the way, the Mountain Project site is amazing.  You can build a profile and keep track of routes you've done via "ticks".  There's also a highly functional iPhone app that can provide the same capabilities and can sync with the regular website.  There are a ton of other features available at Mountain Project including the ability to add your own routes, pictures, descriptions, ratings, etc.  Check this site out!

Moutain Project Site

I took a bunch of photos that I'd like to upload, but dumbass me forgot the USB cable for my camera, so I'm not sure how to get those photos off the flash card without purchasing yet another thing I already own.