Class III trails in NE ?

[--M.]

Shawangunks?

I'm just a walker, never wore a harness, had to look up "YDS" to see precisely what you mean, and have never been to the Catskills, but...

Isn't there a huge helping of difficult material in the Shawangunks?

Based on the definitions of the Yosemite Decimal System* , I'd guess that maybe the 'Gunks are too technical, where New England may not be extreme enough.

But wouldn't you better succeed in getting the workouts you need by accessing more technical resources in New York? It seems New England lacks the difficulty you seek.

Curious as to how it works,

--M.

ps: Got my info at the library: Selected climbs in the Northeast : rock, alpine, and ice routes from the Gunks to Acadia / S. Peter Lewis, Dave Horowitz.

*"Class 3 - Climbing or scrambling with moderate exposure. Angle steep enough that hands are needed for balance."

.

 

[jfb]

But wouldn't you better succeed in getting the workouts you need by accessing more technical resources in New York? It seems New England lacks the difficulty you seek.

New England has routes that would be good practice for climbing Mt. Whitney. For example, the Whitney-Gilman route on Cannon Cliff would be good practice for the East Buttress route on Mt. Whitney. The Mountaineer Route would be a good descent route.

 

[DougPaul]

I'm just a walker, never wore a harness, had to look up "YDS" to see precisely what you mean, and have never been to the Catskills, but...

Isn't there a huge helping of difficult material in the Shawangunks?

Based on the definitions of the Yosemite Decimal System* , I'd guess that maybe the 'Gunks are too technical, where New England may not be extreme enough.

The YDS is for describing the difficulty of 5th class rock climbs as 5.x where x goes from 0 to 15. (I think 15 is the current top...)

Loose defs from memory:
* class 1: hiking, walking
* class 2: easy scrambling, occasional use of hands
* class 3: scrambling, requires use of hands, generally no ropes
* class 4: exposed scrambing, requires use of hands, falls could be fatal, ropes often used, but no/few fixed belays
* class 5: rock climbing: steep, exposed, ropes and fixed belays for safety
* class 6: aid climbing: uses ropes and equipment for forward progress

The defs may vary a bit and the boundaries between them are open to interpretation.

Also used as a verb referring to style of travel, as in "he 4th classed a section".

Many areas, including NY and the NE, include terrain of most or all of the classes.

Doug

 

[bcskier]

Also, i have seen some climbers up at Katahdin climbing straight up the 2000 vertical from chimney pond up to the knife edge. Probably not doable w/out ropes or a death wish.

Chimney (II, 5.5) Excellent introductory alpine route for the hiker making the transition into technical mountaineering routes. A mildly technical 2000' couloir that directly connects Chimney Pond to the Knife Edge. For the adventurous, this is a much more exciting way to the summit than the trails. Typically a 12 hour day car to car.