Little Falls Climbing Trip

Little Falls isn't considered to be within the limits of the Adirondacks, but it's in Herkimer County and sits only around 10 miles outside the southwest border of the park.  Because of its nearby location, it shares the same Precambrian gneissic bedrock as much of the rest of the Adirondacks. Glaciers scoured the overlaying shale and marble out of the Mohawk riverbed and valley floor, leaving the ancient gneissic boulders and cliffs unprotected.  Where the gneiss and shale meet again creates a falls, where the Erie Canal's lock 17 is located.  Seemingly out of an unwillingness to make Little Falls particularly exciting, a landmark sign next to the lock says something like: "Lock 17: one of the tallest canal locks in the world."

Lock 17

As bland as the lock is itself (unless you're there on a geology field trip like the first time I visited), the surrounding gneiss cliffs on the south bank of the Mohawk and on Moss Island, where we were, are incredibly exciting because of their rock climbing.  They make up some of the best climbing in the Northeast, featuring hundreds of routes ranging in difficulty from very, very easy to very, very hard.  This past Tuesday I went climbing at Little Falls on a HOC trip, and although it was only my second time climbing on real rock outside, instead of inside a climbing gym or wall, it was thrilling and extremely tiring over the course of the day.

Because there are so many routes, there are different features on each that necessitate different styles of climbing.  Most routes have cracks, but they fade and force you to make a jump to the next feature and style, like crimping (holding on for your life with the very tips of your fingers) over a slab or bouldering hanging horizontally on the roof of a cave.  Fueled by a diet of a handful of Sour Patch Kids and two large carrots, I tried and sent five out of six routes that we set up, but by the end of the fifth my forearms were so tired that I could barely untie myself from the rope, much less climb another decently difficult route.

Not us climbing at Moss Island

I was a relatively experienced climber in our group on this trip. Even though some of us had never climbed outside or hadn't even climbed inside in years, everyone managed to send three routes, which was a huge success.  Over the course of the day, I realized that I had more fun helping others on the wall by pointing out holds or suggesting possible sequences than I did when I was climbing myself, especially towards the end of the day when we were all tired.

The climbing community at Hamilton and elsewhere is great, so get to know some peeps by signing up for the next climbing trip to Little Falls next Wednesday 9/30 leaving at 2:45 from the Glen House!  No experience necessary, lots of enthusiasm required!  Email gmurphy if you're interested!




Photos:
http://www.tug44.org/erie.canal/lock-17/images/lock17-1.jpg
http://www.mountainproject.com/images/4/64/105830464_medium_884e3a.jpg