Chip
Well-known member
Question: Is it ever a great idea to be suspended 300 feet above a 200 foot deep lake on a slab of granite's tiny foothold with two other guys you hardly know, trusting your lives to $40 worth of hardware in a torrential downpour ?
Answer: Absolutely.
This trip report begins 35 to 40 years ago with me as a boy vacationing on Lake George and seeing Roger's Rock rising defiantly out of the lake. I am quite sure I never saw climbers on it, maybe I was told people do climb it, but ever since I first saw it I've wanted to climb it.
Fast forward to a year ago where I post here in "Trips & Events" Roger's Rock, Lake George: Need a Lead. 151 views and I get a PM from some newish member, J.Dub, who happens to live in the next town over. He and a friend climb and "definately want to do Roger's"
. Well, we do finally get together for some very local outings, summer turns to fall and winter and we end up doing some ice climbing and a few more local climbs.
Things look good: J.Dub has more experience, gear and is a better climber than me and his friend Paul is more experienced, has more gear and is a better climber than him ! So I'm in good shape ! I have the boat we all need for the "approach" to Roger's !
Plans are batted around and we all decide the August 1st weekend will work. I'll take my family, with the boat, camping at Roger's Rock Campground and J. Dub and Paul will join us for an overnight Saturday and the climb on Sunday. Weather will have to work for us, as the schedule is set.
Me and mine drive up friday afternoon, set up camp and enjoy a starry night and a beautiful, sunny day on Lake George on Saturday. J.Dub and Paul arrive at our site in time for dinner Saturday night. Campfire, drinks and the passing of the guitar ensue.
Sunday at 6:30 we begin to stir. Breakfast, gear check, and the quick drive from our site to the boat launch and we are boating our approach to the climb. My wife and boys came with us to drop us at the cliff and return for us later. The rock pretty much extends straight down into the lake with a couple of mossed and treed out-croppings to set up in.
By about 9:30 Paul set off on the first lead under grey skies. Paul would lead the first pitch and I would belay him. I would then climb next attached to his rope, belayed by him and drag up the second rope, which J.Dub would then be belayed from and clean the pro as he ascended. My major responsibilities were to listen well to the instructions, belay and re-clip the pro from the first rope to the second as I ascended.
Roger's Rock climbing is a bit of a spectator sport. Boats come by, take pictures, tool around a while and then move on. As I climbed one pitch, a tourist in a rented pontoon boat was heard screaming "THEY'RE CRAZY...THEY'RE CRAZY !!!" As J.Dub climbed, a boat of 20 somethings slowed and one shouted out the "Tarzan" yell several times until I acknowledged their presence with a wave.
The first pitch was nearly the full length of the 60m rope, about 180'. J.Dub's Part Deux of this report will describe more of the details of the climb, hopefully, as I was pretty much the client on this one. J.Dub would lead the second pitch, which was about another 120', again I seconded (nice lead J.Dub, nice follow by me !) and Paul would third and clean. We really started to scramble now as the clouds darkened. At 300' we all stood crammed on a couple of footholds, clipped in and attached to the wall. Paul was about to set off on the third and final pitch when I felt some spit from above. I didn't mention it and hoped it would pass, but within minutes we were attached to the side of the cliff in a downpour. The "Little Finger" crack we had just come up quickly became a ribbon thin waterfall. Unspoken was the more serious concern regarding lightning, though no thunder was heard. As quickly as could safely be accomplished, Paul and J.Dub organized and orchestrated the ropes and protection for the raps down. Paul went down first to a fixed rap station directly below, again I followed and J. Dub went third.
By now my wife and boys were circling in the boat in the water below. They had spent the morning on the boat but were now getting wet and rightfully concerned and wondering about why we were still on the rock and how soon we would be off it.
Before too long the second rap was completed by all three and we were laughing and High Fiving at the base. My wife nosed the boat into the rock and we all quickly jumped aboard for the quick ride back to the campground.
J.Dub teased me that my childhood dream to climb Roger's Rock had turned into a wet one ! We all three agreed it was now a grudge match where we'd have to return soon to properly finish. I was very happy with what we all had accomplished.
Within hours we were all packed, showered, fed and in traffic heading back home.
It was an excellent Trip. Many thanks to J.Dub and Paul. Quite an experience.
Slideshow of the pics so far.
One of the reasons we're all smiling like idiots in these photos is that I was doing the "self portrait" mode of upside down and backwards camera photography and kept pushing the Power Off button instead of the Shutter.
Answer: Absolutely.
This trip report begins 35 to 40 years ago with me as a boy vacationing on Lake George and seeing Roger's Rock rising defiantly out of the lake. I am quite sure I never saw climbers on it, maybe I was told people do climb it, but ever since I first saw it I've wanted to climb it.
Fast forward to a year ago where I post here in "Trips & Events" Roger's Rock, Lake George: Need a Lead. 151 views and I get a PM from some newish member, J.Dub, who happens to live in the next town over. He and a friend climb and "definately want to do Roger's"
. Well, we do finally get together for some very local outings, summer turns to fall and winter and we end up doing some ice climbing and a few more local climbs. Things look good: J.Dub has more experience, gear and is a better climber than me and his friend Paul is more experienced, has more gear and is a better climber than him ! So I'm in good shape ! I have the boat we all need for the "approach" to Roger's !
Plans are batted around and we all decide the August 1st weekend will work. I'll take my family, with the boat, camping at Roger's Rock Campground and J. Dub and Paul will join us for an overnight Saturday and the climb on Sunday. Weather will have to work for us, as the schedule is set.
Me and mine drive up friday afternoon, set up camp and enjoy a starry night and a beautiful, sunny day on Lake George on Saturday. J.Dub and Paul arrive at our site in time for dinner Saturday night. Campfire, drinks and the passing of the guitar ensue.
Sunday at 6:30 we begin to stir. Breakfast, gear check, and the quick drive from our site to the boat launch and we are boating our approach to the climb. My wife and boys came with us to drop us at the cliff and return for us later. The rock pretty much extends straight down into the lake with a couple of mossed and treed out-croppings to set up in.
By about 9:30 Paul set off on the first lead under grey skies. Paul would lead the first pitch and I would belay him. I would then climb next attached to his rope, belayed by him and drag up the second rope, which J.Dub would then be belayed from and clean the pro as he ascended. My major responsibilities were to listen well to the instructions, belay and re-clip the pro from the first rope to the second as I ascended.
Roger's Rock climbing is a bit of a spectator sport. Boats come by, take pictures, tool around a while and then move on. As I climbed one pitch, a tourist in a rented pontoon boat was heard screaming "THEY'RE CRAZY...THEY'RE CRAZY !!!" As J.Dub climbed, a boat of 20 somethings slowed and one shouted out the "Tarzan" yell several times until I acknowledged their presence with a wave.
The first pitch was nearly the full length of the 60m rope, about 180'. J.Dub's Part Deux of this report will describe more of the details of the climb, hopefully, as I was pretty much the client on this one. J.Dub would lead the second pitch, which was about another 120', again I seconded (nice lead J.Dub, nice follow by me !) and Paul would third and clean. We really started to scramble now as the clouds darkened. At 300' we all stood crammed on a couple of footholds, clipped in and attached to the wall. Paul was about to set off on the third and final pitch when I felt some spit from above. I didn't mention it and hoped it would pass, but within minutes we were attached to the side of the cliff in a downpour. The "Little Finger" crack we had just come up quickly became a ribbon thin waterfall. Unspoken was the more serious concern regarding lightning, though no thunder was heard. As quickly as could safely be accomplished, Paul and J.Dub organized and orchestrated the ropes and protection for the raps down. Paul went down first to a fixed rap station directly below, again I followed and J. Dub went third.
By now my wife and boys were circling in the boat in the water below. They had spent the morning on the boat but were now getting wet and rightfully concerned and wondering about why we were still on the rock and how soon we would be off it.
Before too long the second rap was completed by all three and we were laughing and High Fiving at the base. My wife nosed the boat into the rock and we all quickly jumped aboard for the quick ride back to the campground.
J.Dub teased me that my childhood dream to climb Roger's Rock had turned into a wet one !
We all three agreed it was now a grudge match where we'd have to return soon to properly finish. I was very happy with what we all had accomplished. Within hours we were all packed, showered, fed and in traffic
heading back home. It was an excellent Trip. Many thanks to J.Dub and Paul. Quite an experience.
Slideshow of the pics so far.
One of the reasons we're all smiling like idiots in these photos is that I was doing the "self portrait" mode of upside down and backwards camera photography and kept pushing the Power Off button instead of the Shutter.
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