Mountain Skills Climbing Guides and Gunks Rock Climbing Instruction
Gunks Rock Climbing – 845-853-5450 – www.mountainskills.biz – Guiding the Gunks and BeyondArchive for September, 2008
High Angle Rescue Training with Mohonk Preserve Rangers and Mountain Skills Climbing Guides
Mark Folsom lowering with the litter
Mountain Skills Climbing Guides Wes Converse, Mark Folsom, and Doug Ferguson and the Mohonk Preserve Rangers Frank Tkact, and Ken trained with the high angle rescue equipment last week in the Uberfall area of Ken’s Crack 5.7. The Preserve Rangers are really experienced with high angle rescue senarios and it was a honor to be able to learn from them. Frank and Ken allowed us to see what to do in case the rangers are not around in the event of a accident at the cliff. Our guides got to raise and lower the litter, build the wrap 3 pull 2 anchors, use the rack rappel device, and play around with the Gizmo bag (tether and 5-1 hauling system). I’m sure I’m just being a gear geek but some of the equipment the Mohonk Preserve has is way cool to use.
Doug Ferguson lowering with the litter
Wes Converse lowering with the litter
Amazing Gunks climbing weather
The weather here has been amazing this week. It is the last real push for summer. Fall officially starts on Monday and the leaves have been changing more and more each day. The 10 day trend is calling for more of the same so if you can get a day off now is the time to get up here.
Doug Ferguson climbing Cold Turkeys pitch 1 5.8
Gunks top rope building courses and guides climbing hard
Brendan Mealia climbing Bragg-Hatch 5.10+++
The weekend went off even with the rain and high humidity. Brendan Mealia just missed the on-sight of Bragg-Hatch 5.10+++. He is climbing really strong right now and it is fun to watch him go for it. I climbed with Mark Folsom the other day. Both of us got on routes we had not climbed before. Mark on-sighted Protorsilex 5.9+ and I did a no star classic on-sight with lots of exposure call Cold Turkey’s 5.9-.
Top rope anchor building
Mark Folsom onsighting Proctor-Silex 5.9+
I also got to do some more Top Rope Anchor courses during the week. I like to show people how to use the friction hitch back up as well for rappelling in this course. Once you build the anchor up top you still have to get down safely, so it’s nice to be able to get over the edge of the cliff backed up. This is a popular course for us and is really easy to teach new or experienced climbers a quick and efficient way to set up top rope anchors.
Brendan Mealia climbing Bragg-Hatch 5.10+++
Building three point anchors and rappelling
Lots of Gunks Climbing Instruction
Bonitqou Crag 5.4
Gelsa pitch 2 5.4
With great weather all week and Labor Day weekend Mountain Skills Climbing Guides were busy on the cliffs. I did a lot of Learn To Lead courses and also had a great day with Noah climbing all the routes on the Arrow Wall. Wes Converse and Brendan Mealia headed up to Rumney in New Hampshire to clip bolts for a couple of days with Wes red-pointing 5.12a/b and Brendan red-pointing 5.10d. John Mackey and our friend Gabi went to the Wind Rivers Range in Wyoming for a week. I’ll get some photos from him and a trip report this week. Mark Folsom got rave reviews from a client on his own Top Rope Anchor building class. The leaves are already starting to change in the higher elevations and a real feel of fall is at hand. Brendan and Ralph will be headed to New Jersey this week to guide on some of the rock in the Delaware Water Gap. Things are really starting to shape up well for everyone and I am proud of our guides traveling to different areas to climb and guide.
