9.25.2011 Chapel Pond Slab

This was my first "real" climbing experience.  I had been to Little Falls a few weeks prior, which was actually my first time climbing outside.  Charles, Cam, and I loaded up Charles' pickup truck at around 6pm on the 24th to make the ~2 hour drive up towards Keene Valley.  We set up camp on the side of the road and started to cook dinner before is got too dark.  First, we all walked over to the base of the slab we would climb the next day to check it out.  The rock was still wet from rain the previous day, but we were hopeful that it would dry out enough by the morning.  Charles and Cam decided to sleep in the bed of the truck and I set up my ENO hammock between some trees along the road.  There was a trail head next to the truck that was on the opposite side of the road as the Chapel Pond Slab, so we decided to take a hike and see if we could get any views of the surrounding area.  As we reached the top of the hike I caught my first glimpse of the Milky Way Galaxy.  I had never seen such a clear sky before.  We hiked back down to the truck and tried to get to sleep.

Climbing Report: We climbed the Regular Route (5.5 PG, 775') as noted in the Adirondack Rock book.  As expected, there were some pitches where friction was your best friend, and some where there were some nice cracks to work up with.  The crux of the entire route was at one of the last pitches, I think it was P6.  Looking back on the climb, the crux was really not all that difficult, but it was for someone with little experience.  The key to this climb was trusting your feet because most of the time that was all you had.

Photos:

 We hiked up to the cliffs towards the right of this wall.

 Here is the truck in the morning, packing up to start climbing.

 The view looking up from pitch 4(?)

 Turkey chili for lunch on a ledge near the belay for pitch 5(?)

 One of the best views of the day.

 Cam hauling packs for 2 guys we met on the trip.

The rack all organized for the climb.

 Cam and Charles between pitches.

 Charles and I working our way up towards Cam. Pitch 3(?).

View of Chapel Pond.